Adventist Hospitals in Inter-America to join the Adventist Health International Services Network

August 24, 2010 – Miami, Florida… Libna Stevens/IAD

All Seventh-day Adventist healthcare institutions in the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory will soon be part of Adventist Health International Services (AHIS), a management organization formed in Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California, and registered in Switzerland. AHIS partners with Adventist healthcare services in developing countries to strengthen management and mobilize personnel and resources to promote quality health care.

This was a decision taken recently by church administrators from throughout the IAD. The group met to study each health center throughout the territory and proposed to form AHIS-Inter-America (AHIS-IA). AHIS-IA will exist as a regional branch and act as liaison for all 13 hospitals and 21 clinics throughout the territory.

“This is like a dream come true,” said Elie Honore, MD, MPH, MHA, recently appointed as president of the AHIS-Inter-America (AHIS-IAD). “In an increasingly changing world bringing challenges to our health care institutions, it is critical that our hospitals and clinics come closer together in this new partnership.”

Under the new venture, hospitals and clinics will continue to be operated by their local church organization but will partner with AHIS and AHIS-IA to help structure boards and provide technical support and resources.

Dr. Honore said there is an appropriate Memorandum of Understanding governing that partnership. He said the by-laws for the new association have been in the works for some time and will take effect in the coming months.

For several years now, seven hospitals and five clinics throughout the IAD have been under AHIS leadership, according to Honore. These hospitals and clinics have benefited immensely from this partnership, especially Haiti Adventist Hospital in Port-au-Prince, which is still recovering from a powerful earthquake which caused wide-spread destruction last year.

“AHIS has continued to provide assistance still today, strengthening the hospital in Haiti to become one of the best known quality hospitals in the country,” Dr. Honore said.

“It’s important that we continue to better our hospitals and clinics and continue to provide quality services in harmony with our Adventist philosophy and principles throughout our territory,” said Dr. Honore.

Plans are underway to study each hospital and clinic to improve the quality of services, implement best management practices, and accredit every institution locally and internationally.

“We want to have 90 percent of our institutions accredited locally and some 35 percent accredited internationally within the next five years,” added Dr. Honore. “We want all institutions to have solid scientific footing, have a good prevention program, a strong missionary outreach in the community, with a comprehensive maintenance program, an highly effective risk management program and a strong effective in-service training and continuing education.”

The Seventh-day Adventist Church operates 13 hospitals and 21 clinics in nine countries throughout the IAD, including Belize, Trinidad, Guyana, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Jamaica.