Just the FACTs 2025 Volume 2
President’s Letter
Greetings!
I am happy to report that FACT has so much to celebrate! In this newsletter, we highlight our appreciable progress in catching up on accreditation inspections following the delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic. An enormous thanks to all our volunteer inspectors, our accredited programs, and our headquarters staff for your dedication and flexibility toward making this happen. David Schmahl (FACT Chief Executive Officer), and the entire FACT team, are committed to resolving the backlog and operating within established accreditation timelines to bring stability to our already accredited programs and to rapidly accredit new programs that we are expecting in the coming year.
We also excitedly announce that FACT’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Phyllis Warkentin, and many other FACT leaders were honored at the Tandem Meetings in Honolulu this year. With so many FACT volunteers achieving honorific recognition, the deep involvement of the medical community in the establishment of FACT Standards and the inspection of programs is underscored. I therefore send my sincerest congratulations to all of the recipients!
Also from Tandem, I am delighted to report that the FACT Education Committee and FACT staff members hosted extremely popular and highly successful events. In particular, the Quality Boot Camp, Accreditation Workshop, and Inspector Training were attended by hundreds of people and received rave reviews. To those who organized, led, and/or participated in these events, a huge thank you!
Finally, in this newsletter, we highlight the importance of teamwork between our accredited programs and third-party manufacturers providing research or commercial cellular therapy products, specifically related to written agreements and vendor qualification. All of these entities are working tirelessly to onboard new products and network sites so that more eligible patients have access to new cell-based therapies. We recognize that, as leaders in this new frontier of medicine, it is challenging and requires a lot of coordination and negotiation. We aim to work with everyone involved in a collaborative manner to pave the way for more and more quality options for the patients we serve.
On that celebratory note, I want to express my profound gratitude to you all for your continued commitment and dedication to realizing FACT’s mission “. . . to improve the quality of cellular therapy through peer-developed standards, education, and accreditation for the benefit of patients.”
Sincerely,
Cath
Catherine Bollard, MD
FACT President
