ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Airmen from the 97th Air Mobility Wing’s Medical Group won 2021 Air Education and Training Command and Air Force-level awards.
The 97th MDG is comprised of two squadrons: The 97th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron and the 97th Healthcare Operations Squadron.
Maj. Carlo Tiano, 97th HCOS pharmacy operations chief, won the Air Force-level Trusted Care Hero Award, an award that embodies the nine principles of trusted care: zero harm, speaking up, commitment to resilience, respect for people, maximizing value to the patient, systems thinking, constancy of purpose, focusing on the people who do the work and problem solving.
“I feel deeply honored to receive this award. I am grateful for my colleagues who took the time to nominate me for work on something as important as patient safety, which makes it more special,” said Tiano. “I feel proud to be part of an organization that embraces a culture of safety and continues to find ways to break down barriers to zero harm.”
Lt. Col. Michael Keeley, HCOS commander, said the actions that earned Tiano the award resemble the 97th MDG’s shared values.
“As a ‘High Reliability’ organization, the 97th Medical Group always strives to improve processes and procedures to become better each day,” he said. “Patient safety is the foundation of our organization’s culture. Providing safe, reliable care for all patients and their families is essential. Maj Tiano’s keen attention to detail allowed him to discover a foreign object in a syringe from the manufacturer that could have harmed a patient if not detected in time. He demonstrated how an organization with a patient safety mindset can improve patient outcomes by preventing harm and set the example for others to follow.”
Technical Sgt. Justin Crawford, 97th OMRS Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight instructor, won the AETC Air Force Medical Service Bioenvironmental Engineering Noncommissioned Officer of the Year Award.
“As a commander you want the Airmen that make your life easy. They don’t require micro-managing, don’t get in trouble, and lead their team to success. Tech. Sgt. Crawford checks those boxes,” said Capt. Mohamed Dharas, bioenvironmental flight commander. “He took his flight to new levels, ensured the success of our training mission, and exceeded all expectations. This award is an (indication of) the quality NCO that he is.”
The mission of the 97th Air Mobility Wing is “We Train Exceptional Mobility Airmen,” and the 97th Medical Group continues to support the wing’s global reach mission by providing services to enable the training, deploying and care of the Air Force’s C-17 Globemaster III, KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-46 Pegasus aircrews and their families.