Atrium Health’s Carolinas Rehabilitation (CR), of Charlotte, North Carolina, ratified a new partnership with the Qatar rehabilitation Institute (QRI) in Doha earlier this year. QRI is the region’s largest tertiary rehabilitation hospital and is part of the Hamad Medical Corp. (HMC), the principal public healthcare provider in Qatar.

According to QRI’s chief medical director and Chairman of the Geriatric and Long-Term Care Department at HMC, Hanadi Al-Hamad, MD, the institute had several compelling reasons for seeking a new arrangement with a leading rehabilitation hospital in the U.S.

“First and foremost, we wanted to enhance the quality of clinical care for our patients,” Dr. Al-Hamad says. “We take pride in providing services based on the most up-to-date rehabilitation research and practice in an environment that encourages healing – both mentally and physically. One of the ways to ensure best-practice is to work more closely with clinicians who are highly regarded in all major areas of rehabilitative care. Specifically, we are collaborating with the CR team to develop bespoke staff training and work with us to develop new services that meet the needs of our population groups.”

Dr. Al-Hamad says there is also interest in gaining accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

“We’ve started consulting with our counterparts at CR to learn more about CARF procedures and expectations to establish the right basis for us to apply for this renowned accreditation,” Dr. Al-Hamad says.

CARF is an international organization that assists service providers to improve the quality of their services; demonstrate value and operational efficiency to  payors; and meet internationally recognized program standards.

In 2010, CR started a unique informationsharing platform, EQUADR^SM (Exchanged Quality Data for Rehabilitation), which enables participants to share information, ideas and best practices. EQUADR^SM was the first rehab-specific quality AHRQ-listed (Agency for Healthcare Quality & Research) patient safety organization in the world.

Carolinas Rehabilitation is an integral part of Atrium Health, a large healthcare system with more than 70,000 clinical and administrative employees serving patients at 40 hospitals and more than 1,400 care locations, with several nationally recognized facilities including Carolinas Medical Center, Levine Children’s Hospital, Levine Cancer Institute and Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, among others.

In January, CR will cut the ribbon on a new $100 million hospital occupying 160,000 square feet. The new facility will have 72 private rooms, offer extensive outpatient services and feature many new amenities.

Vishwa Raj MD, CR’s Vice Chair for Clinical operations, says CR has always benefited greatly by being part of a fully integrated healthcare system. “We share a common goal – for patients to receive the right care at the right time. By working together, we are effectively helping each other improve in all aspects of care delivery.”

Diane Lynn, head of Global Healthcare Services at Atrium Health, agrees that the future of rehabilitative care lies in integrated services. “Being part of a larger system is a transformative way to do business,” she says. “This was a big reason QRI sought out a partnership with us, to stay ahead of future trends.” CR is doing everything possible to support QRI’s ambition to be a destination hospital for patients throughout the Middle East. “For our part, we’re thrilled to be in a position to help.”

CR has been ranked as a Top 20 Rehabilitation Hospital by U.S. News & World Report for the last two years. Many of Atrium Health’s other component hospitals and programs routinely achieve top national rankings from U.S. News and other rating agencies.

“Our people enjoy being involved internationally,” Lynn says, “and the benefits of these arrangements flow in both directions. We’ve learned a great deal by working with QRI, and we look forward to initiating other successful partnerships in the future.”