HONOLULU -- A total of 40 medical personnel from Schofield Barracks Health Clinic (SBHC), Warrior Ohana Medical Home, and Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) came together to participate in a three day "Move to Health" course, held here on August 4-6, 2015.
In order to expedite The U.S. Army Surgeon General's (TSG) vision to transform to a System for Health (SfH), there needs to be a premeditated culture shift and health delivery that focuses on health readiness and resiliency at the point of care.
This course can initiate the cultural shift and be a key facilitator in moving forward towards the vision of proactive, personalized, patient-centered care that focuses on health and wellness.
The "Move to Health" model is intended to empower and engage the patient to be accountable for their self-care with the support of their healthcare team," said Lt. Col. Tamara Funari, Nurse lead for the System for Health and Performance Triad at The Office of The Surgeon General. "It is also intended to get us to start looking at patient care in a predictive, preventive measure instead of the disease centric model."
There are eight components of Proactive Health and Well-Being that allow us to have a healthy environment --Sleep, Activity, Nutrition, Personal Development, Surroundings, Emotional, Spirituality, and Family/Social.
These eight components are all connected in the sense that improving one area can benefit other areas in your life resulting in better overall health.
Day one of the course focused on the provider's welfare, which stressed the importance that if they are unable to take care of themselves, how are they going to take care of their patients?
Lt. Col. Robert Oh, Physician lead for the System for Health and Performance Triad at The Office of The Surgeon General stated, "Once we heal ourselves and understand how to take care of ourselves we are more likely to bring that to our patients and move to a more systematic approach to a SfH."
Day two concentrated on how to teach holistic medicine to patients to treat common conditions such as obesity, low back pain and hypertension.
Providers were taught not to look at their patients as a person with a disease but as a person with a story.
Understanding a person's story can allow the provider to look at all aspects in life that contribute to a sense of well-being.
On day three, providers formed into groups and discussed ways to implement a Move to Health approach within their respective clinics.
Each clinic came up with clinic goals, the reality of said goals, strategies on how to implement Holistic Health into their clinics, as well as opportunities that clinic staff can take to ensure said clinic reaches their goals.
Maj. Jason Judkins, Chief of Occupational Therapy, SBHC briefed multiple groups on ways SBHC can implement a "Move to Health" approach to their patients.
He suggested that a realistic goal would be that each week two out of the eight components of proactive health and well-being be taught to staff and that by January 2016 all staff will have a solid understanding of all eight components and be able to carry them out individually as well as teach them to their patients.
Judkins also suggested that an environment change within staff areas be made to keep staff focused on a healthy holistic lifestyle.
This was the sixth "Move to Health" pilot program that has taken place across Army Medicine.
With continued training and understanding the importance that all aspects in life contribute to a person's well-being, a "Move to Health" approach will not only fix a patients medicals needs but also their life needs, promoting a healthier, happier Army.
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