174th Attack Wing Medical Group streamlines physical processing

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Catherine Hutson
  • 174th Attack Wing
Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Syracuse, New York --  Military members stationed here may notice some positive changes the next time they visit the 174th Attack Wing Medical Group. Fewer stops and a streamlined process will reduce the amount of time Airmen spend waiting to see a medical provider.

These changes are part of the Action Plan developed by fourteen subject matter experts and customers during a week-long Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) event hosted on Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Syracuse, New York. The event was facilitated by Master Sgt. Megimose from the NGB/CPI office the week of April 15th, 2013.
 
One look at the classroom covered with process flow charts, facility spaghetti diagrams and cycle time metrics paints a picture of the tremendous effort and large scope of processing multiple physical requirements.

Over the past five years, the number of physicals processed by the 174th Medical Group  has increased by 245%. Focusing on efficiency will ensure operational readiness and improve customer service. Both are vitally important to the men and women of the Medical Group.

New York Air National Guard Lt. Col. Gilbert Harvey, MSC, 174th Attack Wing Health Administrator, is one of our local CPI champions who served as the Process Owner.

He was a team member in 2009 when the Medical Group first looked at streamlining the Physical Health Assessment (PHA) process through an Air Force Smart Operations 21th Century (AFSO21) event.

The 2009 AFSO21 event was a success and many changes were applied to benefit production. The recent event was able to take this evaluation even further using extensive data collection and analysis of the facility layout.

According to Lt. Col. Harvey, "the team benefited from the input of our Geographically Separated Units and Unit Health Monitors. They helped us look at the process from their perspective and remove non-value added steps."

During the out-brief to Wing leadership their action plan included some quick fixes to be implemented the following drill weekend. This plan will help transform the Medical Group to better meet the demands of the current missions.

The 174th Attack Wing Commander, Col. Greg Semmel, thanked the team for dedicating time and attention to this process. He emphasized that, "this is very important to leadership and to executing our mission."

The CPI team left with many tasks to complete as part of the Action Plan, but also with the knowledge that their hard work was recognized and that they helped the Medical Group better meet their customer's needs.