Maine Quality Counts teams with
FFHC to change health care
FORT FAIRFIELD — Staff at TAMC’s Fort Fairfield Health Center (FFHC) recently received a visit from Maine Quality Counts, a regional health care collaborative committed to transforming health care for the people of Maine.
Photo courtesy of The Aroostook Medical Center
STAFF AT TAMC’S Fort Fairfield Health Center (FFHC) recently received a visit from Maine Quality Counts, a regional health care collaborative committed to transforming health care for the people of Maine. The purpose for the visit was to collaborate with the team of health care professionals at FFHC to assess where they are in regard to implementing the Patient Centered Medical Home model of health care. Pictured are, from left: Kerry Spooner, FFHC manager; Jennifer Hubbard and Joanne O’Neil Lafferty, quality improvement specialists for Maine Quality Counts; and Dr. Daniel Fowler.
The purpose for the visit was to collaborate with the team of health care professionals at FFHC to assess where they are in regard to implementing the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of health care. A patient centered “medical home” is an approach to providing primary care to patients through a team of health professionals who work together to provide a central point for coordinating care to help people become as healthy as possible. A PCMH model helps to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and also improve both quality of care and the patient experience.
Specialists from Maine Quality Counts not only work with local health care professionals to identify areas of improvement, but also to point out what they are doing well in the process.
“A major strength we have seen is the commitment of the staff here at the Fort Fairfield Health Center,” said Jennifer Hubbard, quality improvement specialist for Maine Quality Counts. “The staff is clearly focused on finding ways to best serve their patients and improve the health of the Fort Fairfield community.
“The Fort Fairfield Community Health Advisory Committee is another true demonstration of TAMC’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of the Fort Fairfield community,” she said.
The advisory committee was established in November, 2012 in order to foster dialogue between the citizens of Fort Fairfield, TAMC leadership, and health care professionals at the health center. It is believed that this dialogue is leading to better health care services and improved quality of care for Fort Fairfield.
The employees at the health center have shown enthusiasm about being a part of a health care transformation that will put patients at the core of health care delivery.
“We are putting the patient at the center of our work,” said Kerry Spooner, FFHC manager. “We are already seeing examples of how this change is allowing doctors, nurses and care coordinators to work with patients as a team to improve health and quality of life in our patients.”
Maine Quality Counts specialists will continue to work with the staff in the coming weeks and months in order to continue toward the goal of implementing the PCMH model of health care.
Current providers at the FFHC are Dr. Daniel Fowler and family nurse practitioners Mary Coffin and Nadine Lamoreau. In addition to primary care services, the health center offers integrated care management services, as well as mental health services. Outpatient mental health services are offered weekly on site by Janelle Underwood-Charette, who provides individual counseling sessions. TAMC also recently relocated its diabetes educator to Fort Fairfield to work collaboratively with Coffin, who is a diabetes expert.
