Medical Director Awards

Urology Medical Director

Major Elizabeth B. Tullos distinguished herself in the performance of outstanding service to the United States as Urology Medical Director, 48th Surgical Operations Squadron, 48th Medical Group, 48th Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. During this period, Major Tullos completed 2,080 clinic visits and 441 surgeries worth $1.8M in care. Additionally, she initiated the implementation of training for routine urologic procedures, boosting support staff capabilities. Her efforts enabled the expansion of procedure appointments and eliminating a 10-week vasectomy waitlist, vital to winning the '23 USAF's SG Hospital of the Year. Moreover, Major Tullos drove a new imaging protocol for cancer diagnosis, eliminating network referrals, saving $25,000, and slashing time to treatment by one month. Furthermore, she revamped the MTF's cancer committee, reviewing 72 encounters and creating three templates for urologic cancers which identified 12 incomplete records and standard of care discrepancies for patients referred to HN network. Finally, Major Tullos coordinated six medical TDYs within EUCOM to provide continuity of care for patients with complex disease processes requiring robotic surgical approach. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Major Tullos reflect great credit upon herself and the United States Air Force.

Chief of Medical Staff

Colonel Julie Freilino distinguished herself in the performance of outstanding service to the United States as Chief of Medical Staff, 96th Medical Group, 96th Test Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. During this period, Colonel Freilino directed healthcare at the Air Force's third largest hospital, safeguarding care for Eglin's 123,000 beneficiaries through execution of two million encounters and 344,000 referrals. As the Florida Panhandle Market Chief Medical Officer, she leveraged diverse networks to execute 140,000 specialty visits, generating 102 million dollars in services. In addition, Col Freilino advanced the 96th Medical Group's top strategic priorities, successfully launching an enterprise level Tele-Critical Care program, securing Critical Care clinicians, and restoring bronchoscopy and microbiology lab capabilities. Finally, Col Freilino's leadership was critical to the 96th Medical Group's 2023 and 2025 Air Force Material Command's Hospital of the Year Awards, 2024 3-year Joint Commission Hospital reaccreditation, 2024 Leapfrog Grade "A" designation, 2023, 2024, and 2025 Becker's Hospital 5-star ratings, and 2023 Air Force Material Command's Best Inpatient Facility Patient Safety Program. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Colonel Freilino culminate a distinguished career in the service of her country and reflect great credit upon herself and the United States Air Force.

Mental Health Element Chief

Major Meghan E. D. Witten distinguished herself in the performance of outstanding service to the United States as the Mental Health Element Chief, 18th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron, 18th Medical Group, 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan. During this period, Major Witten pioneered Kadena's first Behavioral Health Data Portal remote access for specialty care and prescriptive partnership with Family Advocacy to treat peripartum care for 349 mothers, which reduced wait times by eighty-five percent and expanded specialty services to 15,000 beneficiaries. Additionally, she dual-hatted Flight Medical Director responsibilities where she led a thirty-two-member team, interpreted 254 labs, and consulted on eleven critical inpatient transfers, which achieved a ninety-six percent return-to-duty rate. Furthermore, Major Witten flawlessly bridged an Army manning gap, mobilized five technicians, and cleared eighty-five deployers, enabling a rapid security response for four hundred United States Embassy staff members and her team earning five joint-service citations. Moreover, she developed five Defense Health Agency treatment groups, generating 288 additional monthly patient encounters and improving customer satisfaction by twenty percent, which paved the way for being benchmarked Air Force-wide across seventy-six Military Treatment Facilities. Finally, Major Witten expertly covered Flight Commander duties for three months where she directed 44 joint staff across three elements, operated four wing programs, and established the region's first tele-behavioral health platform, which hiked access to care by fifteen percent and slashed wait times from 6 months to one week, culminating in her earning two Squadron and one Wing Field Grade Officer of the Quarter, two Squadron Team of the Quarter, one Wing Squadron of the Quarter, an Outstanding Unit, an Army Certificate of Achievement, and Air Combat Command's Privileged Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year awards! The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Major Witten reflect great credit upon herself and the United States Air Force.