News

January 2009

RELEASE UPON RECEIPT January 7, 2009

For more information, contact:     Anne Thomure, Director Hospital/Community Relations 618-257-5649

MEMORIAL EARNS AABB ACCREDITATION

          Memorial Hospital - Belleville has been granted accreditation by AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) for transfusion activities.

          Accreditation follows an intensive on-site assessment by specially trained AABB assessors and establishes that the level of medical, technical and administrative performance within the facility meets of exceeds the standards set by AABB.  By successfully meeting those requirements, Memorial joins approximately 1,800 facilities across the United States and abroad that have earned AABB Accreditation.

          “The AABB Accreditation procedures are voluntary,” said Mark Turner, Memorial’s president and CEO.  “Memorial has sought AABB Accreditation because this program assists facilities around the world in achieving excellence by promoting a level of professional and medical expertise that contributes to quality performance.”

          Since 1958, AABB has been engaged in the accreditation of blood banks and transfusion services.  The standards used in the accreditation process reflect the level of proficiency for blood banks and transfusion services in the United States, but also provide the basis for practice at similar facilities around the world.

          Memorial’s success in the accreditation process was truly a team effort, Blood Bank Supervisor Mary Rose Jones pointed out.  She said the cooperation between the laboratory, blood bank and nursing personnel was key to earning this distinction.

AABB Accreditation is the designation of choice for blood banking, transfusion medicine, blood management, relationship testing and cellular therapies because it demonstrates the organization’s commitment to advanced learning, continuous improvement and innovation by striving to sustain the highest possible level of patient and donor care.  AABB-accredited organizations are recognized by their peers as leaders in their field and as pivotal voices in the dialogue through which consensus-based, voluntary standards are developed and implemented.         

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