95th Medical Group receives 'excellent,' achieves three-year acreditation Published Feb. 23, 2007 By Tech. Sgt. Eric M. Grill 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The 95th Medical Group underwent an Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care survey and Health Services Inspection Feb. 12 to 16 and received a three-year reaccreditation, and an overall "excellent" respectively. Concurrently, every three years, civilian surveyors from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care and military inspectors from the Air Force Inspection Agency come to Edwards to evaluate and improve the quality of health care delivered to the Edwards community. "The reaccreditation and 'excellent rating' shows the group is committed to delivering high quality health care and, in the process, has met and exceeded national standards," said Col. Clara Nielsen, 95th Medical Group commander. Some of the areas evaluated included the group's infection controls, medical emergency preparedness, pharmacy management, behavioral health and dental procedures, Colonel Nielsen said. The Health Services Inspection was performed to verify readiness, provide an independent assessment of medical care, identify any instances of fraud, waste or abuse, and to evaluate and report the effectiveness and efficiency of medical management. Talking about the combined inspection and survey, Colonel Nielsen said she views the two as the group's way of telling a story. "We work for three years and document our processes and teamwork," she said. "This is about marketing ourselves and our services." The inspectors agreed. The preliminary report from the Air Force inspectors said "the 95th Medical Group is fulfilling the healthcare needs of the beneficiary population in an excellent manner while actively supporting the Department of Defense, Air Force Materiel Command, 95th Air Base Wing and all other associate units." The inspectors also said the 95th Medical Group's executive leadership was faced with "correcting historical deficiencies in a number of clinical, administrative and support areas..., tremendous improvement has been noted in most areas of endeavor from referral management, to medical readiness." In fact, Colonel Nielsen said three areas, Deployment Processing, Workplace Surveillance (i.e. Industrial Hygiene) and Behavior Health, were recognized with "outstanding" ratings each. "They overcame a lot of challenges and persevered through dedication and hard work," Colonel Nielsen said. "Teamwork and combined effort all the way through -- military, civilians and volunteers alike; they all contributed."