Blood and Marrow Transplant Program Earns Accreditation Renewal

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., — The Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) has awarded a three-year accreditation renewal to the Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program of Mayo Clinic, Nemours Children's Clinic, Jacksonville and Wolfson Children's Hospital. The foundation awarded the accreditation renewal after thorough site visits at all collection, transplantation and laboratory facilities at the three locations.

"FACT accreditation is the standard of excellence for blood and bone marrow transplant programs in the United States," says Michael Joyce, M.D., Ph.D., a hematologist/oncologist at Nemours Children's Clinic and medical director of the pediatric blood and marrow transplant program. "FACT assures our patients that we are adhering to and meeting the highest standards in the field. The physicians, hematology/oncology nursing, allied health and laboratory staff at all three organizations worked extremely hard to achieve this goal."

"We are pleased that the Mayo Clinic, Nemours Children's Clinic and Wolfson Children's Hospital have met the requirements of the Foundation and have been granted accreditation for their joint Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program," says Dr. Phyllis Warkentin, FACT medical director.

The joint program was created 10 years ago to allow for greater collaboration in physician and staff expertise, research and clinical protocols. Many patient referrals to the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program come from physicians at Nemours Children's Clinics in Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola, as well as from across the region. Since it was established, the combined program has transplanted patients with a variety of illnesses including childhood leukemia, Ewing's sarcoma, neuroblastoma, multiple myeloma, lymphoma and amyloidosis. Stem cell sources include the patient, HLA-matched family members, unrelated adult marrow donors or unrelated umbilical cord blood donor units.

The program shares a single cryopreservation laboratory (where hematopoietic stem cells are frozen and processed) at the Mayo Clinic hospital. Mayo's hospital maintains the program's adult blood and marrow transplant unit, and Wolfson Children's Hospital maintains its Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit. The program shares information systems, network and other clinical and administrative staff.

"This is a unique program that combines forces between adult and pediatric specialists to create a unified transplant program that is efficient and effective. We are pleased to celebrate our third FACT accreditation since 2002," says Vivek Roy, M.D., medical director of the adult blood and marrow transplant program at Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville.

"The success of the program, both academically and clinically, is attributable to a group of outstanding physicians and staff who continue to do what is in the best interest of their patients and the community-at-large," says Jerry Bridgham, M.D., chief medical officer of Wolfson Children's Hospital.

Current medical directors for the program include Vivek Roy, M.D., overall program director and the medical director of the adult blood and marrow transplant program, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville; Michael Joyce, M.D., Ph.D., pediatric blood and marrow transplant medical director, Nemours Children's Clinic; Abba Zubair, M.D, Ph.D., medical director of the cryopreservation laboratory, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville; and Jeffrey Goldstein, M.D., medical director of the pediatric apheresis program, Wolfson Children's Hospital. Mayo Clinic hematologist Lawrence Solberg, M.D, Ph.D, was the merged program's first director.

About FACT

In December 1994, the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) merged their Standards into a single document covering all aspects of hematopoietic cell therapy (collection, processing, and transplantation). The two societies established FACT in order to develop a voluntary Inspection and Accreditation Program based on the joint Standards. FACT promotes quality medical and laboratory practice of cellular therapy through its peer-developed standards and voluntary inspection and accreditation program.

In 2006, FACT, in collaboration with the Joint Accreditation Committee–ISCT & EBMT (JACIE), developed international standards in the field of cellular therapy. JACIE was founded by the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) and the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), the two leading scientific organizations involved with cellular transplantation in Europe.

The FACT Inspection and Accreditation Program was developed by Dr. Phyllis Warkentin, FACT Medical Director, the FACT Directors and Officers, as well as the ISCT and ASBMT Regulatory and Standards Committees. The first edition of the FACT Standards was published in September 1996, and the first inspections began in September of 1997 with the first programs awarded accreditation in 1998.

About Nemours

Nemours, one of the nation's leading pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children's health by offering a spectrum of clinical treatment, research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont's bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.

Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, and major children's specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Lancaster and Newtown Square) and New Jersey (Egg Harbor Township and Voorhees). Nemours will establish a new full-service children's hospital in Orlando in 2012. Nemours' award-winning website, KidsHealth.org, is the #1 most-visited site in the world for pediatric health information.

Nemours employs over 4,100 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for almost a quarter of a million children in 2009. The organization's goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children's advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child.

About Baptist Health

Baptist Health is a faith-based, mission-driven system comprised of Baptist Medical Center Downtown and Baptist Heart Hospital; Baptist Medical Center Beaches; Baptist Medical Center Nassau; Baptist Medical Center South; and Wolfson Children's Hospital — Jacksonville's only children's hospital. All Baptist Health hospitals, along with Baptist Home Health Care, have achieved Magnet status, an international quality designation that recognizes excellence in patient care. Baptist Health also includes cardiology and cardiovascular surgery services; a comprehensive cancer center; orthopaedic institute; women's resource center; neurosciences, including neurosurgery and two Joint Commission-certified stroke centers; a full range of psychology and psychiatry services; outpatient facilities; urgent care services and a network of primary care physicians' offices throughout Northeast Florida. Baptist Health is the official healthcare provider for the Jacksonville Jaguars. For more information, visit Baptist Home Health Care. Read more information on Wolfson Children's Hospital.

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