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Members of the Kaiserslautern Military Community met with 86th Medical Group leaders to ask questions about medical services and share feedback on challenges affecting care during an open house, Sept. 29 at the Northside Chapel.
Members of the 86th MDG Patient and Family Partnership Council developed the event to bring patients and clinic staff together, identify concerns affecting the broader community and work toward solutions. The open house expanded that dialogue by bringing squadron commanders and subject matter experts together with community members to answer questions, provide insight and address concerns directly.
“It’s not another forum to simply collect feedback,” said Jen Maffeo-Morrissey, Ramstein PFPC co-chair. “It’s about creating a space for meaningful conversation where community members can ask questions, share their experiences and work directly with medical professionals to identify concerns and improve patient care.”
Patients asked about topics such as appointment scheduling, the patient portal, pharmacy services and access to care. With experts from several areas in one room, attendees had an opportunity to receive answers without contacting each office separately. Organizers also structured the open house with spaces for private health-related discussions.
Lt. Col. Connie Converse, 86th Healthcare Operations Squadron commander, said the event offered the 86th MDG a more personal way to engage with the community.
Converse said that while social media and other online platforms are used, they can oftentimes seem very impersonal.
“It’s nice to just be able to see people and work together face-to-face and be able to help work through challenges,” Converse said.
Creating opportunities for patients to provide direct feedback helps health care teams better understand their experiences, identify recurring challenges and determine where improvements can be made.
“We need to work together to try and make it as good as possible for our patient population,” she said. “If we don’t ask those questions and get feedback from people, then we don’t always know the challenges they may be facing.”
Maffeo-Morrissey said the council builds on that exchange by pairing community members with clinic staff to address issues that extend beyond an individual patient’s experience.
“Our objective as community members is really to elevate and give voice to the challenges that our community is facing when it comes to navigating health care here at Ramstein,” Maffeo-Morrissey said.
As a military spouse and mother of two, Maffeo-Morrissey said her own experiences navigating health care overseas help inform her work with the council and provide perspective on challenges other community members may face.
“As community members and patients, we use our lived experience and our ideas to help make improvements where possible,” Maffeo-Morrissey said. “We work with the clinic to make those improvements, that’s the piece that’s really important.”
Beyond addressing individual questions, the open house allowed 86th MDG leaders to identify common concerns across the community and better understand where additional communication, education or process improvements may be needed.
Airmen assigned to the 86th MDG will review feedback raised during the open house and work with clinic staff to identify value-added solutions for the community.
Converse emphasized that simply being present can give patients an opportunity to learn from others, stay informed and take information back to their families and community.
For information about upcoming 86th MDG open houses and other community health events, visit the Ramstein 86th Medical Group Facebook page or look for announcements distributed through commanders, first sergeants and key spouse channels.
