The story of the American University of Beirut’s Medical Center, AUBMC, is quite a beautiful one. The now world-renown Medical Center began its mission around 145 years ago in a small rented building in Zokak El-Blat in Beirut, and was home to the first classes of the School of Medicine, which was established by the Syrian Protestant College – eventually called the American University of Beirut (AUB)).
Quite quickly, it became quite clear that the School of Medicine would need to expand to meet the needs and demands of the “country” and the region. Subsequently, in 1902, the College expanded across the street from the now-infamous AUB Medical Gate and went on to establish a 200-bed hospital, providing ancillary services.
The newly acquired property housed wards for gynecology, obstetrics, and children’s diseases. In 1905, the School of Nursing, the first of its kind in the entire Middle East region, was established. AUBMC has since garnered support and funding from institutions and individuals from all over the world.
Today, AUBMC is the first medical institution in the Middle East to have earned five international accreditations of Joint Commission International (JCI), Magnet, College of American Pathologists (CAP), and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to name a few; all attesting to the AUBMC superior standards in the areas of patient care, nursing, pathology, laboratory services, and graduate medical education.
As yet another milestone in the history of this incredible Lebanese Medical Center, and for the third consecutive time, AUBMC has been awarded Magnet Recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which is a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association.
In that regard, the Chair of the Commission on Magnet Recognition, Dr. Jeanette Ives Erickson, stated, “The result of the vote for AUBMC redesignation by the Commission on Magnet was unanimous, highlighting an outstanding exemplar related to the transformational leadership for creating a robust environment for quality and innovative care delivery.”
ANCC is one of the most prestigious nurse credentialing organizations in the United States. It recognizes healthcare organizations for nursing excellence through the Magnet Recognition Program.
Only about 8% of American health care organizations have achieved Magnet recognition and AUBMC is the first in the region to earn this honor, not only once but three consecutive times!
This prestigious honor is given every four years. AUBMC first achieved Magnet designation in 2009 and was awarded re-designation in 2014.
New additions to the AUBMC as part of their 2020 vision include the Wassef and Souad Sawwaf Building, the Medical Administration Building, the Halim and Aida Daniel Academic Clinical Center, as well as the highly advanced New Medical Center to add 250 beds.