509th Medical Group Wins Three ACC Awards

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Faulkingham
  • 509th Medical Group
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  The 509th Medical Group was notified Dec. 10 2008, that they were awarded three Air Force Medical Service awards by Air Combat Command for superior achievements in human performance, pharmacy, and dental services. 

"We're very excited to have been selected for these awards and pleased to know that the efforts of our medics is recognized in delivering the finest healthcare to Team Whiteman," said Col. Kathleen Dunn-Cane, 509th Medical Group commander. 

The various awards focus on performance in three distinct areas of the medical group; aerospace medicine, pharmacy, and the dental clinic. 

The human performance team, headed by Maj. Troy Faaborg, chief of human performance enhancers, and Tech. Sgt. Paul Hankins, Non-commissioned officer in-charge of aerospace physiology, are counter-fatigue experts that supported more than 1,300 B-2 mission hours and were heralded as the "most productive team in ACC" during a recent inspection. Their driver safety program earned accolades as an ACC benchmark and has reduced private motor vehicle accidents 66 percent since inception. 

Pharmacy technician, Tech. Sgt. Knicole Akins, NCOIC of pharmacy services, earned distinction as ACC Pharmacy NCO of the Year. She launched a workload capture effort to convert age-old manual data input to new bar-code technology, saving hundreds of man-hours on over 122,000 records. 

Additionally, she revolutionized the group's non-formulary drug request process, saving the 509th Medical Group thousands of dollars and slashing approval time by 75 percent. Her efforts earned the pharmacy recognition as top 1 percent in the Department of Defense. 

Selected as the best medium sized dental clinic in Air Combat Command, the 509th Dental Clinic delivers full-spectrum oral healthcare to Whiteman AFB, as well as many geographically separated units. 

Over the past year the dental clinic updated many equipment and treatment areas, surpassing projected patient goals. The clinic also developed new procedures to manage members who are referred off-base for specialized treatment, saving money, and reducing patient appointment wait-time by weeks. 

The dental team's robust "can do" attitude has a record of placing the 509th Bomb Wing in top position for dental readiness and customer service in the command. With all their achievements this year, it's easy to understand why the 509th Dental Clinic also earned a Team Superior Performer award during a higher headquarter visit. 

Excellence in all we do is the cornerstone of service provided at the 509th Medical Group and its recent recognition with three annual Air Force Medical Service awards by Air Combat Command solidly highlights their proud accomplishments in 2008. 

However, don't expect the group to bask in limelight very long, as they're already planning many program improvements for the coming year. With its group call-out of "We treat the elite", the 509th Medical Group goes the extra mile to deliver only the best in military healthcare.