Welcoming a Maryland Leader to Our Campus

Last week, I had the privilege of welcoming Robert R. Neall, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, to the GBMC campus for our Lean Daily Management (LDM) walk and for a tour of our Family Care Associates (FCA) practice. The Secretary was very complimentary of our use of LDM to drive improvement and was impressed with our use of the patient- centered medical home concept.

During Secretary Neall’s visit to the FCA practice, Dr. Sarah Whiteford, one of our lead physicians, did an excellent job of explaining to him how the office was designed to reduce waste, highlighting the fact that there is no patient waiting room. Secretary Neall was impressed with the patient flow and ease of access in the evening as well as during weekends and holidays. Dr. Whiteford also showed him how the rooms are replenished with supplies from the “off-stage” area outside the room.

Sarah Fogler, our Senior Director of Population Health, discussed GBMC’s Care Transformation Organization and how our primary care teams are driving measurable improvements in the management of chronic disease, especially diabetes. Secretary Neall was grateful for our work in redesigning care, as he is the leader responsible for Maryland’s Primary Care Program (MDPCP), which is funded through an agreement with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Secretary Neall was intrigued by the design principles used in the practice and how the use of these principles has led to better health outcomes and a significantly improved patient and provider experience.

I was grateful for all the time that the Secretary spent with us and was delighted to show him our successes. Prior to his departure, the Secretary told me how much he truly appreciates our work in transforming care and how impressed he was with our use of hospital revenue to move upstream to better manage and prevent chronic diseases. We should all be very proud of what we have accomplished in building a system of care that the patient experiences as a whole!