Clinic seeks patients to serve as committee members

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Carolyn Herrick
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The 49th Medical Group clinic at Holloman Air Force Base N.M., is branching beyond the standard by inviting patients to serve as committee members for the population health function, access to care working group, and Executive Committee of the Medical Staff.

This is a groundbreaking move for any Air Force clinic, and is equally as unheard-of among sister services in the Defense Department.

Only 30 percent of the top-performing hospitals in the civilian sector invite patients to be part of their committees, according to Col. Leslie Knight, 49th MDG commander. It was her initiative to carry the idea into the clinic here, with the approval of the Air Combat Command surgeon general.

"The ultimate goal is to put patients on all of our committees, all the way up to our Executive Committee, which is made up of senior staff in the medical group," said Knight.

Population health deals with population-related ideas regarding public health and disease management, integrating a variety of services the clinic here provides, said Maj. Phil Broberg, 49th MDG Family Health Flight Commander and Health Care Integrator.
"Instead of looking at people one at a time as they come into the exam room, we try to figure out what our whole population needs," said Knight.

That means, for instance, if issues common to Holloman AFB patients include obesity or smoking, the clinic can focus on providing better care in those areas instead of on high cholesterol, if that's not a common issue.

By including patients on committees, they are looking at weaknesses and how they can provide better care for the 14,000 patients they take care of.

"What we're looking for is for patients who have been seen by the medical group in the last three years who are interested in helping us understand what our patients' needs and concerns are," said Knight.

What's in it for the patient?

"Some people enjoy the community involvement and they can get their voice heard - in fact, they can get the voices of all their friends heard, and hopefully make positive change in care for them," said Knight. "We want our community to be integrated into the basic decisions we are making. Then, they can also help carry the message forward and talk about what we're doing to overcome some of these issues."

Patients on committees will have an equal but non-voting voice on the way the medical group runs its business. Outside the military, these groups of patient committee members are called the patient advisory council.

"We're not just looking for patients who love us - we're looking for patients who want to help us improve our services," she said. "We believe that putting patients on our committees and functions will result in increased patient safety. There are things we do that we don't look at from a patient perspective; we look at them from a provider, nurse or management perspective. But if we decide to put a new policy in place, and the patient on the committee says they've been through the process before, we would [consider that] in decision making."

"It would be nice to hear their perspective, because maybe there are some other concerns they have that we haven't addressed yet," said Broberg.

"Just because we think something is a priority doesn't mean that's what the population thinks is a priority," said Knight. "We would like to hear what they think is important."

The application process is easy, according to Knight. Anyone interested should put in an application including a statement of intent and a couple of references. With the approval of the Executive Committee, applicants will also become Red Cross volunteers and attend an orientation training class. For more information, contact Major Broberg at phil.broberg@holloman.af.mil.