A Winn Army Community Hospital primary care medical clinic has earned the highest possible certification by an outside health care accreditation organization.
According to Michelle Gordon, Winn public affairs officer, Richmond Hill Medical Home received a Level 3 certification from the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of health care. Depending on the overall score, NCQA assigns accreditation to medical practices at level 1, 2 or 3, with 3 being the highest accreditation possible.
“Our health-care professionals and administrative professionals are the real source behind this award,” said Desmond “Desi” McMullan, group practice manager. “This award is recognition of their teamwork. Everything we do on a daily basis is focused on the patient. As a result of that, not only has the Army recognized us as a model of outstanding patient care, so has an outside agency.”
Col. Ron Place, commander of Winn ACH and Medical and Dental Activity Command for Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, presented the NCQA accreditation to McMullan on Thursday on behalf of the RHMH staff. Specifically addressing staff members who gathered in the clinic’s main lobby during the lunch hour, Place reminded them that only two years ago, their building was a grocery store.
“The Army said, ‘Maybe we’re not doing what we need to do to take care of our soldiers families,’” said Place, who explained how RHMH became one for the Army’s first community-based medical homes in March 2011. “Winn was one of the first six or seven locations selected for a patient-centered medical home.”
He summarized how the Army and MEDDAC worked with city officials in Richmond Hill in selecting and preparing the site for the clinic, and then began staffing it with the most qualified and dedicated health-care and administrative professionals. He said it quickly became obvious their clinic was a model for the Army, but noted the staff and leaders at the clinic wanted to prove their efficiency level by contracting with an external agency for certification. That agency would measure the clinic’s efficiency and quality of patient care by evaluating 149 elements of performance.
“We got the results back in December,” he said, grinning. “While I’m proud of all our clinics (which also received accreditation), your score was the highest. In fact, your score was well over the baseline required for a Level 3 accreditation.”
Richmond Hill Medical Home provides primary-care services to active-duty families and the families of military retirees. For more information, call 435-7464.