AUBMC Receives US Accreditation

AUBMC doctors and staff attend accreditation ceremony

The AUB Medical Center (AUBMC) formally received full accreditation by the Joint Commission International (JCI) on January 2, 2008.

AUBMC was the first medical institution located outside the United States to be accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals in 1956. The hospital was repeatedly surveyed through the years and maintained its accreditation until 1986. At the end of the war years in Lebanon, however, AUBMC was required to be again surveyed and reaccredited by the JCI.

In its commitment to continuous improvement in the daily performance of patient care, JCI is the largest accreditor of health care organizations in the United States and through a voluntary accreditation process surveys nearly 20,000 health care programs. In the letter informing about the reaccreditation, JCIA Executive Director Ann K. Jacobson stated: "It is with great pleasure that I inform you of the decision to grant accreditation to the American University of Beirut Medical Center. Congratulations to you, and all the other leaders and staff of American University of Beirut Medical Center in achieving this recognition of your commitment to provide quality care on an ongoing basis… The citizens of Beirut should be proud that the American University of Beirut Medical Center is focusing on this most challenging goal-to continuously raise quality to higher levels."

All members of the survey team agreed that AUBMC clearly ranks among the top ten of the 142 hospitals accredited outside the United States. They indicated that AUBMC has met all the measurable elements, with 1012 being fully met and the remaining 21 being partially met.

AUBMC is the private, not-for-profit teaching center of the Faculty of Medicine and includes a 420-bed hospital. Its mission is to consistently provide consistently excellent, accessible, and comprehensive health services to the people of Lebanon and the region.