HOHENFELS, Germany -- When a Soldier, civilian or family member from the Hohenfels community needs medical care, they visit the Hohenfels Health Clinic where before seeing a doctor, they most likely first see an American nurse.
When one of those community members is referred to an off-post facility for specialty care, they likewise will probably first see a German nurse.
The two groups got the opportunity to meet and share stories when nurses from the Burglengenfeld and Parsberg hospitals visited the Hohenfels Health Clinic, May 14, as the culmination of a week\'s worth of events the clinic planned to honor its nurses during National Nurse's Week.
"I honestly believe we have the best nursing staff in Europe and we really wanted to take this week to honor their service to this community and their contributions to the health care team," said Lt. Col. Derek Cooper, Hohenfels Health Clinic commander.
Events earlier in the week included a nurse's breakfast, massage treatments, and a nurse's five kilometer run. The week's festivities concluded with the German nurse's visit on Friday.
"We wanted to incorporate the German nurses that treat our patients on a daily basis into our Nurse's Week as another way of saying thank you for taking care of our beneficiaries here in Hohenfels," said Maj. Jimmie Tolvert, Hohenfels Health Clinic chief nurse.
Hohenfels nurses gave their German counterparts a tour of the facility, after which the two groups sat down for a discussion about the similarities and differences between their two roles before ending the visit with a potluck lunch.
"We tried to have all the German nurses here so they can see our side, can understand what we do here, why we ask for what we ask for-basically to increase the understanding between us," said Tolvert.
Glerena Penate, a nurse at the Burglengenfeld Hospital, and her colleagues said learning about differences between the way American and German nurses and facilities operate will help them better understand their American patients.
"It was very interesting because we get lots of patients from Hohenfels but we don't know how things work here; we didn't know what kind of support the patients get in a military clinic," said Penate. "For example, we are surprised when the Americans come to the hospital and they bring nothing (no towels, hygiene items, etc) but now we know why, because it is normal in the United States for the hospital to give them to you."
"We got to see what they have here. An x-ray is possible, small surgeries are possible. The support here is great," said Penate.
Both German Nurses and officials at the Hohenfels clinic said an increased understanding between the two sides would ultimately help patients.
"It was helpful to understand better how it works here so we better understand when we see the patients," said Andrea Williams, a Parsberg Hospital nurse.
"We send patients off post for a lot of things so it is vital that we have a good relationship with our host nation providers," said Leslie Mittag, population health and wellness nurse at the Hohenfels clinic.
Cooper said that facilitating a positive working relationship between American and German providers helps ensure patients receive comprehensive care and a seamless transition between facilities.
"Typically in a hospital you go up and down floors (instead of from facility to facility.) Our patient hand-off is a little more challenging, so knowing the person on the other end of the line is important for providing coordinated healthcare," said Cooper.
At the end of the day, Cooper said the clinic's patients are for the most part very satisfied with the care they receive off post and thanked the nurses for being instrumental in providing that care.
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