66th Medical Group wraps up exercise, earns excellent rating

  • Published
  • By J.C. Corcoran
  • 66th Public Affairs
Hanscom Air Force Base --  It took hard work and many long hours, but for 66th Medical Group personnel the effort was worth it as they received an 'Excellent' rating on their recent Health Services Inspection.

The inspection was conducted by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc. and the Air Force Inspection Agency.

The inspection team's executive summary of their final report praised the effort of the group stating, "The 66th Medical Group is fulfilling the health care needs of the beneficiary population in an excellent manner while actively supporting the Department of Defense, Air Force Materiel Command, the Electronic Systems Center and the 66th Air Base Wing contingency requirements."

To the Hanscom community, the 'Excellent' rating is an external validation that the quality of medical care provided here meets or exceeds nationally recognized standards of medical care, said Lt. Col. John Poremba, 66 MDG Medical Staff chief.

Col. Tom Schluckebier, 66th Air Base Wing commander, praised the "preparation, hard work and long hours" of the group.

"They [66 MDG personnel] simultaneously provided stellar health care, implemented sweeping changes in the storage of record and medical data and dealt with other major initiatives during this time.

"The degree of difficulty could not have been higher, but they rose to the occasion and walked away with stellar results. My congratulations go to each and every member of the Med Group" he said.

Lt. Col. Scott Shields, Medical Support Squadron commander, also expressed his pleasure about the outcome of the inspection and the efforts of the group.

"Everyone pulled together to address discrepancies and the flight commanders guided them through to make sure all areas were complete," Colonel Shields said. "The exemplary teamwork allowed many issues and programs to excel and be very successful."

The inspection team will now submit their report with their recommendation for accreditation to their governing committee for approval. Full accreditation by the AAAHC is anticipated in about 45 days.