Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation Announces First-Ever Global Partnership with Qatar Rehabilitation Institute to Improve Quality of Care

QRI to draw from Carolinas Rehabilitation expertise to achieve accreditation 

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation and Qatar Rehabilitation Institute (QRI) have entered into a partnership aimed at improving quality of care and outcomes for patients receiving rehabilitation services worldwide. The multiyear collaboration will include the sharing of expertise and data between Carolinas Rehabilitation and QRI and will be a cornerstone of the Atrium Health rehabilitation service line's effort to expand its global presence.

The collaboration will proceed in three phases, the first of which will focus on enhancing QRI's clinical rehabilitation programs. During the second and third phases, Carolinas Rehabilitation clinicians and staff members will provide virtual and on-site consultation and assessments aimed at preparing QRI to apply for accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF^®). The highly sought-after CARF accreditation helps rehabilitation service providers meet international standards for quality, assuring patients and their families that they are receiving the best available care.

"QRI handles some of the most complex rehabilitation cases in the Middle East. This collaboration will allow us to share best practices widely recognized as valuable in driving positive patient outcomes here at Carolinas Rehabilitation," said Robert Larrison, Jr., enterprise group vice president of the Atrium Health rehabilitation network and president of Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation. "It will also advance our goal to improve the depth and quality of rehabilitation services globally."

As part of the collaboration, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Carolinas Rehabilitation will work closely with QRI on clinical pathway development and quality improvement. Doha, Qatar-based QRI will join Carolinas Rehabilitation's Patient Safety Organization and contribute to the Exchanged Quality Data for Rehabilitation (EQUADR^SM) network, which was founded by Carolinas Rehabilitation and is on a mission to improve the quality of services provided to rehabilitation patients before, during and after their time in the hospital. During the initial phases of the partnership, QRI will consult with Carolinas Rehabilitation on some of its most complex cases as it works towards its own certification.

"There is no equivalent to EQUADR in the Middle East, so it will be extremely valuable for QRI to participate and contribute data to this effort," said Diane Lynn, assistant vice president of Global Health Operations and Administration at Atrium Health. "It will allow us to collect data and use it to share best practices. That will not only help QRI achieve the highest standard of care, but it will also help us learn from QRI's experiences in patient care."

"Since opening in 2016, Qatar Rehabilitation Institute's ambition is to be the region's leading rehabilitation facility, where we continually improve services and engage with all our stakeholder feedback in order to serve our community," said Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad, medical director at QRI and Qatar's national lead for Healthy Aging. "Our partnership with Carolinas Rehabilitation will help us strengthen every aspect of our rehabilitation services and provide the highest quality of care to our patients, including pediatrics, adult and older adults.

"We're honored to work with Atrium Health's specialists to build sustainable and scalable rehabilitation services for all citizens of Qatar," said Mahmoud Al Raisi, chief of continuing care at QRI. "This partnership represents a strategic effort towards QRI achieving CARF accreditation."

Carolinas Rehabilitation has been CARF accredited for over 40 years and was the first hospital ever accredited in cancer rehabilitation by CARF. In 2019, it became the first and only rehabilitation hospital to be awarded the American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Award. Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation is widely regarded as a leading-edge facility for both capabilities and expertise. Last year, it was named among the top 15 rehabilitation hospitals in the United States by U.S. News and World Report. It is also among Newsweek's "Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers" in the nation.

Carolinas Rehabilitation is a key contributor to Atrium Health's "for all" mission, which promotes diversity, equity and inclusion as well and helps ensure access to care for underserved populations. Among its many outreach efforts is partnering with Special Olympics to create a local MedFest®, where Carolinas Rehabilitation residents provide sports physicals for the athletes taking part. These events are frequently the first exposure these athletes have to medical care and can identify serious medical conditions. Special Olympics presented Carolinas Rehabilitation with its 2018 Golisano Health Leadership Award for its leadership and partnership.

Carolinas Rehabilitation is in the process of opening a new, state-of-the-art hospital on the grounds of Atrium Health's flagship hospital, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, in Charlotte. It will replace the current building initially constructed in the 1950's, and added to over the past six decades. Upon completion, this 160,000-square-foot specialized hospital will feature 70 private patient rooms, and 16,000 square feet of dedicated therapy areas – including three separate gymnasiums and private treatment space – an outdoor therapy garden, an aquatic therapy program and a center for independent living to help patients re-learn activities for daily life. The hospital will also feature the David L. Conlan Institute, which will become home to specialty programs, including the Adaptive Sports and Adventures program, comprehensive rehabilitation, brain injury recovery, spinal cord injury recovery, stroke recovery and the world's first CARF-accredited program in oncology rehabilitation.

The project broke ground in September 2020, marking the first step in the modernization of the Carolinas Medical Center campus.

About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is an integrated, nonprofit health system with more than 70,000 teammates serving patients at 40 hospitals and more than 1,400 care locations. It provides care under the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist name in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, region, as well as Atrium Health Navicent and Atrium Health Floyd in Georgia and Alabama. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the academic core of the enterprise, including Wake Forest Innovations, which is advancing new medical technologies and biomedical discoveries. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing more than $2 billion per year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.

About Hamad Medical Corporation
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is the main provider of secondary and tertiary healthcare in Qatar and one of the leading hospital providers in the Middle East. For more than four decades, HMC has been dedicated to delivering the safest, most effective and compassionate care to all its patients. HMC manages twelve hospitals – nine specialist hospitals and three community hospitals – as well as the National Ambulance Service and home and residential care services.

In May 2019, HMC achieved its greatest international accreditation success to date with thirteen of its facilities and services accredited by US-based Joint Commission International (JCI). This included accreditation for the first time for three new hospitals as well as the Hamad Dental Center and Mental Health Service. This represents the greatest number of JCI accredited facilities in Qatar to date and the culmination of HMC's largest ever hospital accreditation program. HMC also remains the only hospital system outside of the United States to achieve corporate Academic Medical Center accreditation for all its hospitals simultaneously. Additionally, the National Ambulance Service, Home Healthcare Service, Stroke Service and Palliative Care, have all received this prestigious accreditation since 2011.

To meet the needs of a rapidly growing population, HMC has announced ambitious plans to expand capacity across its network through to 2030.

HMC is leading the development of the region's first academic health system – combining innovative research, top-class education and excellent clinical care – and is committed to building a legacy of healthcare expertise in Qatar. HMC collaborates with key partners who are experts in Qatar and beyond, including Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Partners Healthcare, Boston. HMC is also the first hospital system in the Middle East to achieve institutional accreditation from the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education – International (ACGME-I), which demonstrates excellence in the way medical graduates are trained through residency, internship and fellowship programs.

SOURCE Atrium Health