FORT STEWART, Ga.  –   Winn Army Community Hospital took its first steps on the path to transforming beneficiaries’ relationship with the hospital Nov. 7 with a kickoff town hall-style meeting for its new patient-focused committee that beneficiaries can join and share their insights.

The first meeting of Winn’s Patient and Family Partnership Council (PFPC), held in the hospital’s conference room, introduced the concept of and the reasons behind the council. Fifteen people participated, including the hospital commander, staff members, spouses, retirees, and others.

The PFPC’s goal is patient-centered health care through identifying both areas of success and improvement at Winn.

Having the voice of the beneficiaries in the council providing input is critical, said Col. Margaret Berryman, hospital director and commander. While she and her children and many on the hospital staff get their care at the hospital, the point of view is different than that of a beneficiary who does not work at Winn.

“I’m vested as a leader and as a patient in this facility to make sure we are the community’s first choice for care,” Berryman said. “(But) being in a health care system, we see things through our lens because we’re in it every day. Having patients provide us feedback on what you see from your perspective is invaluable.”

Retired Maj. Gen. Reginald Neal was invited to join the council because of his 37 years of military experience and his connections to southeast Georgia. Most recently, he served as the deputy commander of U.S. Army Pacific, but his home is Ludowici. He gets his health care at Winn, and shared that both of his children were born at the hospital.

“I’m a believer in military medicine,” he said.

Neal reinforced Berryman's comments on getting input from beneficiaries when he said feedback is a critical tool for leadership to drive improvement.

“It is very hard to open yourself to criticism, to look at things that are wrong,” Neal said. “From a commander’s perspective, if you do that now, you can get a sense of what’s bubbling up, what’s churning, and give you an opportunity as the commander to have an awareness of things before they get out of hand.”

There are positives to be had, too, though, Neal said. The council is a two-way communication tool allowing the hospital to share its successes with beneficiaries.

“There are some good things going on, but if nobody knows about them, then sometimes the programs may end or people may leave,” he said. “We have an opportunity to provide feedback of things that are going well.”

The patient council is part of the coming changes in how beneficiaries will get their care at Winn. Berryman shared with those gathered that hospital leadership met a few weeks ago during an off-site meeting to meld minds and adjust the hospital’s priorities.

The priorities the hospital leaders created are warfighter and medical provider readiness; innovate and transform health care; provide notable, safe, quality care; and nurture the team to provide the best care, Berryman said.

“That is really the holistic approach to our purpose,” she said. “It’s really providing that warfighter readiness. We view it as making sure the families are also taken care of. When a Soldier deploys down range, we don’t want them to worry about their families and their health needs.”

The shift in care is Defense Health Agency-wide and called Accelerated Care Transformation. It is a movement from a provider-centric system to a patient-centered one, Berryman said. The original model of care, where patients call for an appointment, wait for an appointment, go to the appointment, wait to be seen, and so on will change to accommodate patients’ needs.

“We’re really trying to revamp the way we deliver care to our patients, making it more virtual,” she said. “We realized our family members and our retirees, they have a choice, and we want our patients, our family members, our retirees to choose Winn for their care.”

Berryman closed the meeting by thanking those who attended the first council and urged everyone to find participants.

“For this to be really meaningful, we need recruitment,” she said. “We need patients.”

Deputy Commander for Quality and Safety Lt. Col. Samantha Bazan, chair of the PFPC, echoed the need for participation, specifically because beneficiary input would help Winn meet the intent of the population it serves.

“The more inputs we get from folks, the better chance that we’re going to get it right,” Bazan said. “Each one of you brings a different perspective.”

Retirees, parents of pediatric patients, family members and active-duty service members of various ranks may join the council to share their ideas and concerns, Bazan said. Additionally, members must be or become Red Cross volunteers, sign a nondisclosure agreement and take privacy training.

For more information and to learn how to join, email the PFPC co-chair Cpt. Deanne Travis at deanne.m. travis.mil@health.mil.