The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) accredited another 21 organizations in the fourth quarter, bringing its total number of accreditations this year to 67—more than any other single year since the association was founded in 2001.

AAHRPP, a non-profit organization that offers accreditation to organizations that conduct or review research with humans, has accredited 159 organizations representing more than 750 entities. The most recent list of accredited organizations includes two independent institutional review boards, a teaching hospital, a cancer center, a university and 16 Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Earlier this year, the association accredited its first independent investigative research facility.

“Interest in accreditation continues to increase, primarily because organizations are realizing that accreditation can strengthen and streamline their research protection programs—and help safeguard research participants,” said Marjorie Speers, Ph.D., executive director of AAHRPP, in a company statement.

The list of organizations that received full accreditation includes: Aspire Independent Review Board, La Mesa, Calif.; Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, Bay Pines, Fla.; Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Coatesville, Pa.; Hampton VA Medical Center, Hampton, Va.; IRC – Independent Review Consulting, Corte Madera, Calif.; Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, Ill.; Miami VA Healthcare System, Miami, Fla.; Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, Texas; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, N.Y.; Salem VA Medical Center, Salem, Va.; St. Louis VA Medical Center, St. Louis, Mo.; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis.; VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, Calif.; Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, Md.; Washington DC VA Medical Center, Washington, DC; Wilkes-Barres VA Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Columbia, S.C.; William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wis.; and Winthrop University Hospital, Mineola, N.Y.

Durham VA Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System in Nashville, Tenn., received qualified accreditation, which means the facilities met AAHRPP standards with only a few minor deficiencies in administrative processes, not involving patient care.