Research & Technology

Spectrum Health Receives National Clinical Research Re-Accreditation

Spectrum Health recently underwent a rigorous re-accreditation of its Human Research Protection Program by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc.®  (AAHRPP) and has achieved full accreditation for five years.  

AAHRPP is a non-profit accrediting entity that works with organizations involved in clinical research to establish high standards for the protection of participants. Spectrum Health is one of five organizations that hold this prestigious accreditation in Michigan and the only organization in West Michigan.

“We are proud to have received re-accreditation from AAHRPP because it confirms our commitment to the highest quality and safety standards for clinical research and our patients,” said John MacKeigan, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer, Spectrum Health System. “We have a long history of bringing the best research to the communities of West Michigan, and we remain focused on selectivity, ethics, rigorous quality control and 24-hour accountability for 100 percent of our studies.”

AAHRPP examiners from organizations across the country came to Grand Rapids during a year-long process to assess Spectrum Health by a set of extremely thorough standards, ensuring the system has appropriate measures in place for the protection of any individual who is enrolled in a research project. Organizations are required to renew their accreditation every five years to demonstrate compliance with current AAHRPP criteria.

Spectrum Health has West Michigan’s largest health system-based research program with more than 90 percent of Grand Rapids-area clinical studies connected to Spectrum Health. More than 700 clinical research projects at Spectrum Health offer alternative therapies to patients in West Michigan in cancer, heart and vascular diseases, pediatrics, and specialties, including neurosciences, orthopedic surgery and women’s health. The Spectrum Health Office of Sponsored Programs assisted in obtaining 63 federal and state awards for more than $10.4 million. 

Spectrum Health collaborates with the Van Andel Research Institute on translational research that brings basic science to the bedside. The health system also partners with Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine to match medical students with physician investigators for meaningful learning opportunities. 

“Investigation and discovery of new clinical treatments bring leading-edge therapies to our patients more quickly,” said Denise Roe, Spectrum Health’s director of research. “Spectrum Health’s involvement in research and its strong partnerships bring advanced care — sometimes lifesaving treatment that is only available at a select number of medical centers in the country — to patients in our local communities.”

Over the years, many of Spectrum Health’s studies – surfactant for premature infants whose lungs are not fully developed, platinum-based chemotherapy for testicular and other cancers and lasers for coronary artery treatment – have become the current standard of care.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, which is comprised of nine hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a state of the art children’s hospital that opened in January 2011, and 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group and West Michigan Heart, physician groups totaling more than 700 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with 600,000 members. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with 19,000 employees. The organization provided $204 million in community benefit during its 2012 fiscal year.