JCAHO awards full accreditation status to David Grant USAF Medical Center

  • Published
  • By James Spellman
  • 60th Medical Group Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CA. --  The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has awarded full accreditation status to the David Grant USAF Medical Center here for another three years as a result of a recent combined survey with the Air Force’s Health Services Inspection.

“The Joint Commission was very impressed with the level of healthcare services provided by Team DGMC,” said Col. [Dr.] Byron Hepburn, commander of the 60th Medical Group.

“Their direct quote is, ‘You have a fine hospital here,’” said Colonel Hepburn. “Our ability to continue to provide high-quality healthcare to those entrusted to our care has been fully validated by the Joint Commission.”

The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States.

An independent, non-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation’s predominant standard-setting and accrediting body in health care.

Since 1951, the Joint Commission has maintained state-of-the-art standards that focus on improving the quality and safety of care provided by health care organizations.

The Joint Commission’s comprehensive accreditation process evaluates an organization’s compliance with these standards and other accreditation requirements.

Joint Commission accreditation is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.

To earn and maintain the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every three years. Laboratories must be surveyed every two years.

Additionally, the Air Force Inspection Agency team performed a rigorous look at many of DGMC’s operational support functions, which included leadership, operational medicine, medical readiness, deployment preparation and support operations, public health and bioenvironmental functions, resource management and business planning, dental operations, behavioral health and community programs.

Four areas were rated “outstanding” including: dentistry, behavioral health, community support and support to general medical education programs, while seven areas were rated “excellent” including deployment processing, workplace surveillance, epidermiology and public health surveillance, clinical services, executive oversight, human resource management and business planning: revised financing.

“We are right in the same ballpark as the other Air Force medical centers,” Colonel Hepburn explained. “When you consider our high operations tempo, exercises and deployments as well as the complexity of our organizational challenges, this survey was very good, and one we should all be proud of.”