The Health Care Quality Program at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is among the first four programs to receive national certification by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).
“We have been working on this for the last two years, and this certification is a credit to the faculty and students that allowed us to achieve this great recognition,” said Kenneth Harwood, PhD, director of the Health Care Quality Program, director for research for the Physical Therapy Program, and associate professor of clinical research and leadership at SMHS.
Receiving certification is an important milestone. CAHME is currently developing accreditation standards that schools can apply for in the coming years. To develop the certification process, CAHME selected the top ten health care quality and safety programs across North America to support the effort, which included the Health Care Quality Program at GW. Harwood has been instrumental in helping CAHME develop certification and accreditation standards.
“This is an important step to addressing a major need in health care and for health care systems to improve quality,” said Harwood. “We are honored to have been chosen for this process and to help shape the future of health care.”
The Health Care Quality Program at GW was developed to meet an emerging demand for quality and patient safety specialists who have the capacity and competence to grow and sustain a culture of continuous improvement at all levels and within every sector of the health care delivery system. Through the program, students can receive a Graduate Certificate in Health Care Quality or Master’s in Health Sciences in Health Care Quality, both available online. The program has earned a reputation of graduating leaders in the field, who go on to transform health care in their communities.
