COMMANDER’S CORNER: REDEFINING A SHOTGUN LEADER - PAGE 2 Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Vol. 62 No. 5
Airman upholds the Trusted Care principles through the delivery of efficient care and patient satisfaction By Shireen Bedi Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — For U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Ashley Strong, delivering patient-centered Trusted Care is more than a policy. For this Air Force dental flight chief, Trusted Care is about using the expertise and experiences of all Air Force Medical Service Airmen at every level to find better ways to provide quality, patient-centered care. Throughout her 12-year career with the Air Force, Strong has sought to empower her fellow medics to focus on how they each can ensure efficiency and patient satisfaction, and their critical role in achieving the Air force mission. Her efforts has worked to foster the Trusted Care culture and one of the many reasons she was recognized as an Outstanding Airman of the Year for 2017. Strong is currently stationed at Schriever Air Force Base as a part of the 21st Space Wing Medical Group, but like most Airmen, her career has taken her many places. At each stop, she focuses on efficiency by relying on each team member’s experiences. Strong takes the time to learn from other Airmen and use their expertise as a vital resource to improve processes. “My key to efficiency is knowing the strengths of your team and knowing what they are good at,” explained Strong. “That way you can strategically place them in positions that play to their abilities. I also try to listen to my team when something is just not working right. Sometimes we are so tied to a regulation that we start to lose focus. Our Airmen are innovative and a source of knowledge. It is important that our leadership listen to them to improve outcomes.” Strong also reminds her team of the importance of patient satisfaction when it comes to delivering quality care. From remembering personal details of each patient to ensuring their comfort during appointments,
Strong works to create an environment where patients are placed at the center of their care. “My commanders taught me ways to improve patient satisfaction in the Air Force, and I try to share those ideas with the rest of my team,” said Strong. “For example, coming in to a medical facility can be a vulnerable experience for a patient. I try to focus on making them comfortable. It can be something as little as remembering that their daughter just had a birthday and bringing that up in conversation. Things like that heightens patient trust and satisfaction all around.” Strong’s dedication to efficiency and patient satisfaction support Trusted Care’s patient-centered principles. For her, Trusted Care all starts with open communication with both the team and patients. “When you are delivering patient-centered care, open dialogue with patients ensures they get the right treatment and appropriate care,” explained Strong. “When patients feel understood, they feel that their time is not wasted and increases trust between patient and provider.” What makes Strong such a vital member of the AFMS is her ability to make every Airmen accountable in how they support the mission. Having each Airmen take pride and ownership of their work is key to ensuring quality care is being delivered at every level. “I think that if every Airmen behaved as if they were the CEO of their own organization, not only would they have a lot more pride in their job, but we would also see a tremendous increase in patient satisfaction,” said Strong. Strong believes this process starts with engaged leadership who reinforce the message that all Airmen play a vital role in supporting their local wing mission, as well as the overall Air Force mission. “We take care of the patient from the moment they See Care page 7
(Courtesy photo)
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Master Sgt. Ashley Strong, U.S. Air Force dental flight chief out of Schriever Air Force Base, was a recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Airman of the Year award and was recognized for her dedication to efficiency and patient satisfaction.
Shanahan asks all DoD personnel to read, internalize new Defense Strategy By Jim Garamone Department of Defense News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON — All Department of Defense personnel need to read and internalize the new National Defense Strategy, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan said here Jan. 19. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis unveiled the bones of the strategy during a speech at the Johns Hopkins Paul Nitze School for Advanced International Studies in Washington. An 11-page summary of the strategy is available on the Defense Department’s website. Shanahan said he wants the more than 2 million members of DoD to be in alignment with the strategy to create a powerful impetus to making the joint force more lethal, helping DoD to strengthen old alliances and build new
partnerships, and reforming the way the department does business. “When you have a common understanding of priorities and a common lexicon, we’re the most powerful team in the world,” Shanahan said. Foundational for future budgets The NDS is foundational, the deputy secretary said. “As we put together the fiscal 2019 budget, it was derived from the framework of the National Defense Strategy,” he said. “We apply our resources based on the way we budget. So, if the strategy is going to come to life, it must be resourced. It has been the foundation of what we put together for ’19, and it will be the underpinning for what we do for fiscal 2020.” The essence of the strategy is that it is not prescriptive -- it’s directional and descriptive, he said. “The strategy in its most distilled form is about doing more,” Shanahan said. “It’s about being
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more lethal, it’s about having more relationships and it’s about being more affordable.” Technology is important, but that is not where most of the money is riding, he said. “All of our bets are on people,” he added. “Technology is an enabler to allow people to do more. The thing that makes our military great is our ability to be joint and its will. The investment we make is to enable greater will and greater jointness. That’s what flows out of the strategy.” People are at the heart of the joint force, and the strategy recognizes it, Shanahan said. “When I’m sitting in the room with the staffs … thinking about strategy, I’m really thinking about the person most downrange,” he said. “It’s all about how do we make them more lethal? How do we make their efforts easier? How do we make them smarter, faster, stronger, better?”
(Department of Defense photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Kathryn E. Holm)
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary James N. Mattis announces the new National Defense Strategy, Jan. 19, at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, a division of the Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C..
1,000 food boxes for local food banks, homeless
Peterson Tax Center to open, provide free tax assistance
Air Force Prepares Heritage Flyover for Super Bowl
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