A.D., Aegis Patient in La Mirada - "About two years ago my life took a positive turn when I became a patient at Aegis Medical Systems in La Mirada! I will celebrate two years clean/sober in June 2012. One of the major reasons why I am clean and sober today is because of the services Aegis has to offer and is available to me. Not only do I have the opportunity to talk out my issues with my counselor once a week, but I can also take care of certain responsibilities, such as legal issues, and also work toward achieving goals of mine such as signing up for college courses. Because I am a clean/sober patient, I am also a PAAG member. Being part of PAAG is incentive for me to stay clean because of the responsibilities I have been given. I proudly put together our quarterly newsletter and I keep our Keys 2 Recovery meetings running. I will complete my treatment in April 2013. However, I plan to continue attending our K2R meetings because the fellowship supports my recovery and I believe this program will change your life for the better. I am grateful to all the women at Aegis La Mirada for never giving up on me, believing in me and treating me with respect and dignity. I feel loved. I want to thank, Regina, Lesvy, Cynthia, Bridget and Liana, and of course, Dr. Radnia."

An Aegis Patient's Mother - "Hi I am the mother of one of your patient's and I just wanted to let you know how lucky we were to have found you and your facility and all the wonderful people there helping my son. We have been lost for so long going thru the motions of living with life’s big roadblocks. He is talking and just to be with counselors and in a group setting listening or participating is a miracle! He was not a people person and this is what he needs. He feels very comfortable and it is so awesome so many opportunities are offered in one place. I have seen the change & he is feeling so good about himself now. And I asked him that first day if this meant he would answer my text or phone call that same day and he said yes. And he has kept his promise. It used to be days or weeks before he would respond. I’m so sorry he went down this road. But we don’t really get to know what we are made of until we hit the hard crap. He took on a lot of responsibility after his dad left when he was 17. I want to say THANK YOU for all your caring ways to help all these special people. We all need another chance! I hope to attend a Friday meeting someday soon, you mentioned it to me and so did my son tonight. I’m here for my son in any way I can help."

Steve D., Aegis Patient - "At the time I sold my business and relocated with my family to California, I decided to continue my treatment at Aegis, and I was very pleased with their holistic approach, and treatment environment. There is no doubt in my mind that the treatment in Aegis has improved my health, and quality of life. It also enabled me to overcome my post-traumatic stress disorder, which was a result of my long service in the Vietnam War. However, the medication by itself is not enough, and I also credit my continuing success to my family's support, the Keys to Recovery support groups that I am attending, and my involvement with my church."

Russell I., Aegis Patient - "I've been a member of the Patient Advisory and Advocacy Board for almost six years, and I'm very appreciative of the partnership that Aegis has developed over the years with its patients. It had humble beginnings, with a lot of growing pains, but now we were able to have local chapters of the Patient Advisory and Advocacy Group in all Aegis clinics. It allows us, the patients, to express our opinion, and give our input to the corporate staff and clinic managers. At the same time, it has allowed the staff to bounce their ideas with PAAG members. We are also assisting Aegis with community relations and legislative work, while they are helping us with the protection of our Constitutional rights. Not only has it been a great experience for me personally, but I considered it to be one of Aegis' greatest achievements."

Mark G., Aegis Patient The combination of the medicine [that] help[ed] me to get off drugs, along with the counseling, was the key to my recovery. Aegis gives you the tools to build skills that equip you for life’s challenges that await you while you’re in recovery."

Amie A., Aegis Patient - "I would just like to say how much Aegis and Keys 2 Recovery has helped me not only in my personal growth, but how much Aegis and Keys 2 Recovery helped me in court and my legal problems. Thank you."

Victoria W., Aegis Patient - "I have found a new path in my life. I have had a fulfilling experience due to being a patient advocate. I have recently started school to receive a rehabilitation degree to try and help others that have been in turmoil due to addiction. I hope to be able to give back what was given to me."

Steve Maulhardt, VP for Government Relations - "Over the past 10 years, Aegis has been involved with supporting various legislation and policy discussions focused on patient rights to treatment, raising the standards of patient care, and fighting discrimination towards recovering addicts by the public and various branches of the government. We are especially proud of our successful campaign for Prop 36 – treatment diversion instead of incarceration and adding buprenorphine to the medication choices for our patients. Both efforts support treatment of non-violent drug offenders, in the place of incarceration. We are also very pleased with gaining regulatory changes that have eliminated the arbitrary 180mg cap on daily doses and extending the duration of take homes to one month. We feel that these changes together with the accreditation of NTP clinics, are consistent with Aegis' strategic goal of bringing Medication Assisted Treatment Programs in line with "mainstream" medicine standards."

Jade Kelly, General Counsel - "As the General Counsel for Aegis, I deal with a wide range of legal matters. However, to me the most rewarding part of my job is the assistance that I can provide patients that have had their rights violated or have been subject to discrimination. I'm quite often able to resolve conflicts that patients have with courts, Child Protective Services, and other agencies. Many of these patients have no access to an attorney, or legal advice at all, without my involvement."

Bill Shilley, Ombudsman - "I am very proud to be the first Ombudsman in this field, and hope other providers will adopt a similar practice. Over the last five years, I have been able to help hundreds of patients with their problems both relating to their treatment in Aegis and outside parties. Patients have realized that the Ombudsman's office is independent and unbiased and have taken full advantage of my ability to help."

Arron Hightower, Director of Clinical Services - "Recovery is a tricky business, which requires the patients to overcome their addiction and deal with their other co-occurring conditions at the same time. Unfortunately, in such cases, medication, alone, is not good enough. We provide our patients with a comprehensive scope of treatment and services. It is only when all the pieces in the puzzle come together that you see the patients getting better by improving their health and lives."

Becky Heinicke, Director of QA & QC - "Aegis has campaigned for the accreditation of Narcotic Treatment Programs. Aegis also was among the first 30 programs to participate in a nation-wide NIDA accreditation study, which resulted in new regulation that required the accreditation for all NTP's. Since then, all of Aegis' clinics were rated among the highest in the nation, and have been able to maintain the maximum term of accreditation from CARF."

Pete Petit, Corporate Auditor - "Over the last decade Aegis has been at the cutting edge of narcotic treatment programs, setting an example of excellence for NTP’s throughout the nation. Aegis’ strategic plan was intended to position Aegis within mainstream medical care, and increase its curb appeal to non-traditional clientele, including HMO and PPO insured patients. In order to do so, Aegis had to redesign itself, and the quality of its patient care. Special emphasis was placed on developing a new scope of practice, recruiting of highly qualified clinicians, and maintaining top-of-the-line ethical standards. We also felt that it was important to focus on providing outstanding customer service that recognized the individual needs and strengths of each patient, as well as the central role that patients play in their own recovery."

Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) -

"Information Management
Exemplary: Organization assesses its use of technology to improve efficiency and productivity of personnel, and communicate with stakeholders."

Rights of the Person Served
Exemplary: Organization implements policies promoting the rights of persons served."

Leadership
Exemplary: Corporate social responsibility, include policies and written procedures on waste, fraud, abuse, and other wrongdoing, etc. / The organization employs a full-time investigative auditor to monitor all corporate compliance issues, funding source concerns, individual complaints and grievances, or any additional oversight requested by corporate officers.

Exemplary: Organization conducts or participates in public education or activities that reduce stigma. / The organization employs a full-time lobbyist and a corporate vice president to developed, monitor, and expand linkages within multiple federal, state, and county agencies. Specifically, these individuals have been essential in educating various agencies, professions, and community leaders on the need for sustained treatment of persons who are opiate dependent.

General Program Standards
Exemplary: The program assist patients with local advocacy, consumers groups, self help groups, other avenue of support / The program actively supports the persons' advocacy and advisory group. The parent organization has established a nonprofit company to fund the activities of the group. This has resulted ina number of educational, therapeutic, and community involvement activities that would normally not be available.

Exemplary: The programs offers a group led by persons served called Keys to Success. The organization supports the group by offering attractively printed materials and recruiting persons served to run the group. At this site, few persons served are active in the group, but the organization persists and will no doubt build this into a supportive program for the persons served. [Referring to Aegis' Delano and Santa Maria clinics]

Exemplary: The organization is active and successful in outreach to both the medical and judicial community by the clinic manager. Through this activity, she has strengthened the support and acceptance in this community for medication assisted treatment. Also exemplary is the inclusion of the individual advocacy and advisory group members in this endeavor."  [Referring to Aegis' Santa Maria clinic]