In gaining this prestigious recognition, Nemours becomes one of only three freestanding pediatric institutions in the United States to achieve this distinction, along with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital.
“Full accreditation by the AAHRP is a testament to the dedication and commitment of Nemours Associates across the enterprise. This accomplishment reminds us that we are living our commitment to patients and families each day by treating every child as if they were our own,” said Dr. David Bailey, president and chief executive officer of Nemours. “It is affirmation of our deep and abiding commitment to achieving excellence in patient satisfaction, quality and clinical outcomes that will help us continue to raise the bar in children’s health care.”
Nemours began working toward accreditation approximately three years ago and underwent the rigorous AAHRPP application review and site visit process that lasted approximately 15 months. During this time, Nemours demonstrated a system-wide commitment to assuring the ethical conduct of human research and the protection of the rights and safety of study participants. To be accredited, applicants must also demonstrate institutional practices that exceed the benchmarks established by federal regulations.
“Nemours commitment to accreditation is important, because setting uniform, high standards across the research universe―in non-profit, industry, and government sectors—will improve protections for research participants in the U.S. and internationally,” said AAHRPP’s President and CEO Marjorie A. Speers, Ph.D. “Their undertaking will expand the number of participants covered by AAHRPP standards.”
AAHRPP accredited Nemours with distinction among its peers in two specific areas. The first being the organization’s thoroughness in communicating and coordinating research across the enterprise which spans four states. Nemours uses an electronic platform, very similar to an electronic medical record, which houses all research protocols, applications, letters and communication with investigators. The second area of distinction reflects Nemours’ commitment to children, as AAHRPP cited the organization for strong advocacy for children by non-scientific members of its Institutional Review Boards.
“This accreditation is especially important to us since we specialize in research involving children,” said Paul Garfinkel, director of Nemours Office of Human Subjects Protection. “We feel this is an essential component to improving our research program as a whole, and most importantly, it is the right thing to do for the patients and communities we serve.