West Palm Beach, Fl—April 12, 2022— Lord Baltimore Hotel has now earned both GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council™(GBAC), a Division of ISSA, and GHA WellHotel® Accreditation for Medical Travel from Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA). This means the property is the first in the United States to achieve the joint GBAC STAR™ / GHA WellHotel® Accreditation for Medical Travel, ensuring that it complies with cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention standards, as well as customer experience and safety protocols specific to the needs and expectations of medical travel guests.
“Hotel cleanliness and safety is of the utmost importance for guests traveling to receive healthcare,” said Patricia Olinger, executive director, GBAC. “This joint accreditation assures guests that their wellbeing is a top priority while staying at the Lord Baltimore Hotel.”
Prior to the pandemic, the medical tourism industry was valued by VISA and Oxford Economics at $100 billion with a projected growth rate of up to 25% year-over-year for the next 10 years. Despite the slowed growth due to COVID-19, medical travel is returning due to pent-up demand for healthcare services.
The GBAC STAR / GHA WellHotel Program aligns GHA’s WellHotel program with GBAC STAR, the cleaning industry’s only outbreak prevention, response, and recovery accreditation. The virtual accreditation is performance-based and requires documentation for 38 elements, including cleaning and disinfection chemicals; goals, objectives, and targets related to guest satisfaction for medical travel; audits and inspections; and emergency planning and response.
“While concern for hotel cleanliness increased worldwide during the pandemic, medical travelers have always experienced unique health and safety needs,” said Karen Timmons, CEO, GHA. “Our partnership with GBAC STAR ensures that hotels meet the highest standards of cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention, as well as customer experience and safety standards specific to the needs and expectations of medical travel guests. I would like to congratulate Lord Baltimore Hotel on achieving GBAC STAR / GHA WellHotel Accreditation for Medical Travel.”
The Lord Baltimore Hotel is aniconic property in downtown Baltimore that combines late 1920’s architecture and grace with a modern, private club aesthetic. Towering over the Baltimore skyline at 23 stories high with 440 guest rooms, the hotel offers more than 20,000 square feet of meeting, banquet, and event space. Since 1982, it has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Located in the vicinity of Johns Hopkins Medical Center and other top U.S. hospitals, the hotel offers packages and services that meet the unique needs and expectations of medical travel guests.
“We are proud to be the first hotel in the United States to achieve the prestigious GBAC STAR/GHA WellHotel Accreditation for Medical Travel,” said Onahlea Shimunek, General Manager, Lord Baltimore Hotel.“ This accreditation provides assurance to guests and companions seeking medical treatment at top hospitals in the Baltimore area, that we have implemented protocols to meet their unique needs pre and post treatment. Additionally, the accreditation gives our guests confidence that we comply with internationally-recognized hotel cleaning and hygiene standards.”
For more information about GBAC STAR/GHA WellHotel Accreditation, visit: GBAC STAR™ / GHA WellHotel®
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