After being inspected for reaccreditation last fall, the Medical Department received the designation of "accreditation with commendation," the highest possible level of accreditation granted to only 10 percent of the 5,200 hospitals seeking accreditation. The distinction was awarded by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the nation's oldest and largest healthcare accrediting body.
MIT Medical has now earned this highest level of accreditation for a second three-year period.
"Receiving accreditation with commendation is a significant achievement, one that recognizes exemplary performance by MIT Medical," said Dr. Dennis S. O'Leary, JCAHO president. "The organization should be commended for its commitment to providing quality care to the people in the MIT community."
Dr. Arnold N. Weinberg, medical director, said he was "extremely pleased" with the distinction. "We're being judged using the same standards that apply to the largest teaching hospitals in the country. Receiving accreditation with commendation is clear evidence of the exceptional care that MIT Medical provides to students, MIT Health Plan members and others in the MIT community.
"I want to thank everyone here at MIT Medical who worked together to make this achievement possible, by providing the best possible health care for our patients. But we're not going to rest on our laurels," Dr. Weinberg said. "This is just an incentive to continue to improve our services."
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on April 30, 1997.
