Los Angeles County’s newest medical school is now fully accredited.

On March 17, the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, which opened in 2020 in Pasadena, received accreditation from a commission that accredits higher education institutions. The milestone allows the medical school to qualify for government financial aid programs, among other things.

The accrediting body is known as the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission. It provides accreditations for public and private universities, colleges, as well as elementary and secondary schools in select states.

To receive this accreditation, Kaiser had to demonstrate it is achieving its stated educational objectives. The school also must demonstrate it has adequate financial resources.

Other accreditations achieved

Last summer, the school received the other crucial accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which signifies that the students, faculty and programs of the medical school meet key medical standards. This is the standard accreditation that all medical schools must get to be generally accepted in the medical community.

In L.A. County, three other medical schools have obtained this accreditation: the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine; the USC Keck School of Medicine; and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Willowbrook.

Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona received its WSCUC accreditation in 1990. The various specialty schools within the university also have their own accreditations from organizations representing those specialties, such as the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Some of the schools within the university have accreditations from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, but the entire university does not.