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AF surgeon general visits 87th Medical Group

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Bryan Swink
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  The 87th Medical Group welcomed the Air Force surgeon general to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst during his visit Sept. 9.

Lieutenant Gen. (Dr.) C. Bruce Green, Air Force surgeon general, took a tour of the medical facilities and met with many members of the staff to gain feedback on their working conditions.

"I wanted to meet the young people and understand their issues." said Lt. Gen. Green. "My goal is to make things better for the people doing this great work."

He also spoke with members of the JB medical community about the Family Health Initiative improving healthcare service.

"It is important people understand the history and goals of setting up the medical home concept of care," said Lt. Gen. Green. "A common vision drives better performance."

The Family Health Initiative focuses on the personal relationship between patient and provider. It is designed to create continuity of care for the patient, providing them with a medical team consisting of a doctor, nurse and five technicians to partner with the patient in the provision of care.

"We have seen a 20-percent increase in continuity - patients now see their assigned provider at JB MDL under medical home," said Lt. Gen. Green.

This concept of care also improves referral care by an outside physician. All our efforts try to ensure patients receive the best and most consistent treatment possible.

"Decision support for physicians is also being developed to further improve care," said Lt. Gen. Green.

This system is not only beneficial to patients being seen, but also improves the practice of the physicians and other professionals on the team.

"Our medical teams will have the advantage of having the best medical evidence from the best consultants in the industry pushed to them. This will improve healthcare for everyone," said Lt. Gen. Green.

He also recognized the contributions the 87th MDG has made in deployed environments and complemented the unit mission readiness.

"The 87th MDG proves every day that it is an invaluable operational platform for medical readiness," said Lt. Gen. Green. "They send nearly 30 people every deployment cycle, supporting operations around the globe. It's great to see a well-managed group that's contributing so actively to the war and, at the same time, taking great care of patients at home."