UF Student Health Care Center achieves AAAHC accreditation

October 21, 2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Student Health Care Center has once again achieved accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, or AAAHC.

While more than 5,000 ambulatory health care organizations across the U.S. are accredited by AAAHC, just 220 of those accredited are college health services. The center was first accredited in 1984 by The Joint Commission, later changing to AAAHC accreditation to better match the facility and its services.

The on-site AAAHC surveyors also recognized phlebotomist Kathy Williams for embodying the spirit of the center with the presentation of a special coin, an extension of the accrediting body’s 35th anniversary. Williams, known for her rapport with patients in the laboratory, was surprised and honored to have received the special recognition.

Status as an accredited organization means the center has met nationally recognized standards for the provision of quality health care set by AAAHC after an extensive self-assessment and on-site survey by expert surveyors — physicians, nurses and administrators who are actively involved in ambulatory health care. Not all organizations seek accreditation; not all that undergo the rigorous on-site survey process are granted accreditation.