A Message from Roy Proujansky, MD, Executive Vice President, Health Operations and Chief Operating Officer
I want to share great news with you. The Nemours Office of Human Subject Protection (NOHSP) received full accreditation for our human research protection program from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP). This recognition places us among the top research institutions in the United States for assuring the protection of participants and conducting ethical, high quality research.
In gaining this prestigious recognition, we become only one of three freestanding pediatric institutions in the United States to achieve this distinction, along with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital.
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. This is a reinforcement of practices that will help us achieve long term process efficiencies while improving quality and clinical outcomes.
Our strategic destination is to be in the top five percent of child health institutions in the nation by 2015, defined by patient satisfaction and targeted health and quality outcomes. Being fully accredited in this important aspect of our integrated system of care will help us achieve this goal.
We began working toward accreditation approximately three years ago and underwent a rigorous AAHRPP application review and site visit process that lasted approximately 15 months. During this time, we demonstrated a system-wide commitment to assuring the ethical conduct of human research and the protection of the rights and safety of our participants. To be accredited, applicants must also demonstrate institutional practices that exceed the benchmarks established by federal regulations.
AAHRPP accredited Nemours with distinction in two specific areas. They noted our thoroughness in communicating and coordinating research projects across the enterprise. Our use of an electronic platform, very similar to the electronic medical record, houses all of our research protocols, applications, letters and communication. The second area of distinction reflected Nemours’ deep and abiding commitment to the health and well being of children, as AAHRPP cited the strong advocacy for children by non-scientific members of our Institutional Review Boards.
By achieving this prestigious accreditation, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting patient health and that as shared guardians of children’s health and joy; we are always striving to do the right thing. Congratulations to Paul Garfinkel, Mary Clancy, the Nemours Office of Human Subject Protection and all Nemours Associates who contributed to this great accomplishment.