The campus health center improved on all compliance measures
University Health Services (UHS), the UW-Madison campus health center, received a full three-year reaccreditation as an ambulatory health care center by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). UHS has been continually accredited by AAAHC since 1983.
Accreditation is a voluntary process that happens every three years. This year’s in-person survey was delayed from 2021 due to the pandemic. Preparation for the on-site evaluation begins more than one year in advance and involves reviewing policies and procedures, assessing quality improvement projects, and working with every UHS unit to ensure rigorous health, safety, and education standards are met.
AAAHC surveyors, who are health care professionals at other organizations around the country, spent two days at UHS this spring evaluating clinical spaces, reviewing records, and meeting with providers, staff, and students to determine if UHS was meeting more than 150 standards established by AAAHC.
“Re-accreditation is a significant achievement for our entire organization. I’m grateful to all UHS employees for their commitment to providing exemplary service and care to our students daily,” says Jake Baggott, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Executive Director of UHS.
In their summary report, AAAHC stated that UHS demonstrated overall ‘substantial compliance’ with all of the AAAHC standards and achieved exemplary levels of organizational performance and quality amidst fighting a pandemic for two years.’
UHS improved compliance levels on all standards. One surveyor noted that “I have not been to an organization that has been this well prepared or hospitable…” and “…There’s a culture of quality here.”
“I’m impressed by the thorough and rigorous preparation by the entire UHS team to make this survey successful, knowing that just a quarter of college health centers pursue the voluntary accreditation at all,” says Lori Reesor, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. “This accomplishment, achieved during a stressful and uncertain period for our staff both professionally and personally during the pandemic, is an affirmation of the high standard of care and commitment UHS has for our students.”
The most recent accreditation process was led by Courtney Blomme, Associate Director of Population Health and Tami Morin, the former Director of Nursing who retired from UW-Madison in April. UHS will next participate in the accreditation process in 2024.