NORWICH, N.Y. – As community members come to Norwich High School to receive no-cost health care during the Greater Chenango Cares Innovative Readiness Training July 11-20, the first faces they see are Air Force and U.S. Navy patient administrators working side by side with local volunteers.
“When patients walk in the door the first people they see are us,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael Saraceno, a patient administrator with the 140th Medical Group, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado. “We check them in, figure out which providers they need to see, and with the help of local volunteers, get them on the right path to receive care.”
Being the first faces that patients see as they come in for care, it’s up to the patient administrators to set the standards for care and customer satisfaction.
“As reserve members, we are more understanding of how the civilians operate and are aware of the differences in the culture and demographics,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Neelam Panchal. Panchal is the assistant officer in charge of patient administration for the Norwich site assigned to Expeditionary Medical Facility Bethesda, Maryland.
Having the understanding that the patient population is different than what they see in a military medical facility, they change their processes to benefit the community members looking for care.
“Throughout this IRT we have been calling the patients to remind them of their appointments and to inform them when their prescription glasses are ready for pick up,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Marti Irizarry, the NCO in charge of patient administration for the Norwich site assigned to the Wisconsin National Guard’s 115th Medical Group. “That’s something we haven’t done on any of the previous IRT’s I’ve been on.”
The IRT’s focus: providing real-world training in a foreign environment while simultaneously providing no-cost care, means that patient administrators are gaining the training they wouldn’t receive with their home unit.
For U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Fernando Paredes, a medical laboratory technician with the 507th Medical Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and a patient administrator for the IRT, this IRT is providing him training in a completely new career field.
“Being a patient administrator on this trip gives me a better understanding of how the whole process works up front,” said Paredes. “From the initial interaction with patients to solving issues they may have and finally gathering information at the end of the services provided.”
As a team, the patient administrators can help each other so they can perform to the best of their abilities when they are called to service.
“With the different services working cohesively together we can learn from each other by sharing experiences unique to each branch,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kristina Zorin, a patient administrator, assigned to the 920th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.
The no-cost medical, dental, optometry, and veterinary services will be provided at the Norwich High School from now to July 19th 8 am - 5 pm and July 20, 8 am - 12 pm.
“We treat everyone that comes in for care with the respect and kindness they deserve,” said Panchal. “We want you to feel comfortable receiving our services and to refer others to receive the care as well.”