Accreditations at Children's Hospitals Follow Rise in Research on Children

Washington, D.C.

With clinical research on children rising, the number of independent children’s hospitals awarded accreditation for their human research protection programs has increased nearly three-fold in 2009. Last week three children’s hospitals—Miami Children’s Hospital in Florida, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc., in Georgia—joined four other organizations in receiving full accreditation status from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP).

Two other independent children’s hospitals—Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and Nemours, with offices in Wilmington, Delaware, and Florida—achieved accreditation earlier in the year. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Boston had earned accreditation previously, in 2007 and 2005, respectively. In addition, many accredited organizations include children’s hospitals within their organizations’ human protection programs.The seven new accreditations bring the total number of accredited organizations to 194, representing more than 930 entities.

The organizations that were awarded full accreditation are: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. (Atlanta, GA), Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (Hartford, CT), Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC, Miami Children’s Hospital (Miami, FL), Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center (Charleston, SC), University at Buffalo—State University of New York (Buffalo, NY). The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (Galveston, TX) qualified for accreditation.

The accreditation program utilizes a voluntary, peer-driven educational model. Through the rigorous accreditation process, organizations must demonstrate that they have built extensive safeguards into every level of their research operation and that they adhere to the highest standards for research.The accreditation process typically results in system-wide improvements that enhance protections for research participants and promote high-quality research. For organizations interested in learning more about accreditation, visit http://www.aahrpp.org.