VIRGIN ISLANDS MEDICAL INSTITUTE, INC.
The Quality Improvement Organization for the U.S. Virgin Islands since 1977

BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
Since March 1977, the Virgin Islands Medical Institute, Inc., (VIMI) has been an agent of change for health care quality improvement in the U.S. Virgin Islands healthcare system. VIMI was founded by Cora L.E. Christian, MD, MPH with the assistance of James Glenn, MD and Alfred O. Heath, MD to improve the quality of health care for all residents, and for over 35 years we have been committed to this longstanding objective. VIMI was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the U.S. Virgin Islands on March 15, 1977 by these three members of the Professional Standards Review Organization (PSRO) Committee of the Virgin Islands Medical Society (VIMS) resulting in the ability for the corporation to apply for funding to fulfill the requirements of Public Law 92-603.

On August 2, 1977, VIMI received its Planning Contract from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (DHEW). That contract ended in 1978, when the grant mechanism, through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), became the successor program for DHEW. On July 1, 1978, VIMI began its first contract as a PSRO under the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Professional Standards Review Organizations were replaced with Peer Review Organizations (PRO) under Public Law 97-248 as part of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. The Program, originally known as the Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organization (PRO) Program, was created by the Social Security Act, as amended by the Peer Review Improvement Act of 1982. With the change in legislation from PSROs to PROs, VIMI’s contract with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as a Professional Standards Review Organizations (PSRO) ended on August 31, 1984 and VIMI began its first Peer Review Organization (PRO) contract on September 1, 1984.

VIMI successfully contracted with the Health Care Finance Committee (HCFA), from 1984 to January 1, 2003 and subsequently with HCFA’s successor, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from 2003 – 2014.