Thursday, August 07, 2008

DeWitt commander reflects on time at hospital

Col. Kenneth G. Canestrini, DeWitt Health Care Network commander, talks about the impact the hospital has had on Fort Belvoir and Northern Virginia over the last half century, during the hospital’s 50th Anniversary celebration Aug. 23, 2007. (Photo by Marny Malin)

When Col. Kenneth G. Canestrini took command of the DeWitt Health Care Network in July 2006, it was business as usual around in the hospital and clinics and planning for the new hospital was underway, just days away from receiving its preferred site.

Although he knew running the aging facility while planning for the new would be challenging, little did he know what was in store.
 
“Action-oriented would be an understatement,“ said Canestrini about his past 25 months of command. “Not only here at Fort Belvoir but throughout the entire Army, particularly the Medical Command.“

He said when he stepped in as the new commander, DeWitt was hard-at-work, taking care of patients, continually managing the demand of providing health care providers and Soldiers to the deployed force and reshuffling the deck to be sure no declination of care occurred. 

“Our primary mission was taking care of our 86K-plus beneficiary population, while supporting an Army at war,“ said Canestrini.  “Running the healthcare system, taking care of the force and planning for the new hospital were our priorities.“

Building the new hospital
When BRAC Law 2005 announced there would be a new community hospital at Fort Belvoir that would be part of an integrated healthcare delivery system in the National Capital Region, planning for the new hospital began immediately but was thrown a couple of curve balls along the way.

“When I came in, there was still mumblings about whether or not the hospital would really be built, just how big it would be and the location still had not been determined,“ Canestrini said.

Then, according to Canestrini, BRAC took a new direction, with the DoD establishing the Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical Command, which was a change of direction and leadership for the area. The build was put on an accelerated timeline to be completed by August 2010, followed by a projected six month-transitional period to be fully operational by spring 2011. 

“These people have been working very hard. This, indeed, is a world-class facility and reflective of joint effort,“ said Canestrini. “I’ve been impressed with the level of dedication from the staff at DeWitt, Walter Reed and Bethesda to the planning groups, working group, committees and subcommittees.“ 
The end state is about providing the DoD beneficiary access to the best heath care, closer to where they live and reducing the need to make the trip north, Canestrini said.

Warrior Transition Unit
Just seven short months after taking command, it was discovered there was a serious issue at Walter Reed Army Medical Center with the handling of wounded and ill Soldiers and the Army took action to remedy the situation.

DeWitt, like the other Army military treatment facilities around the globe, was charged with standing up a unit specifically for wounded and ill Soldiers. 

“We were fortunate with our Warrior Transition Unit, in that we were able to stand it up and grow with it in the shadow of Walter Reed and we weren’t over-burdened with too many Soldiers,“ said Canestrini.  “We were able to put the right assets in place to support the number of Soldiers and have grown from zero to over 60.“

Canestrini said DeWitt, in concert with the Garrison, have been working to make the procedural and structural changes to make transition easier for wounded Soldiers and family members assigned to DeWitt’s WTU. 

“We’ve adjusted rapidly as we learned how to do this WTU correctly,“ said Canestrini, “WTUs stood up to ensure we provide the best platform to care for our ill or injured Soldiers, so they get the best healthcare possible in timely manner.“

The Legacy
Despite the new challenges, Canestrini remained focused on customer service, increasing access to care and reducing friction points around the treatment areas, which lead to DeWitt being crowned as the best large military treatment facility in the Army and receiving the “Excellence in Patient Care and Adding Value to the Healthcare experience” from the Army’s surgeon general. 

In addition to earning those accolades, Canestrini has worked on reducing the hold time on the appointment line, enabling more appointments on TRICARE online and instituted the “book or refer” for all urgent care.

“The patient experience is more than just the time they spend with the provider,“ said Canestrini. “It starts from the time they pull in the parking lot to the time they pull out.“

He said the entire staff plays a vital role in taking care of the beneficiaries.

“I reminded our team we exist to provide healthcare to the America’s finest, the DoD beneficiary, as they are us and we are them,“ said Canestrini. “All of them, whether active, retired or a family member, have dedicated their lives to selfless service to this nation and we owe them the very best health care possible, delivered with utmost respect and dignity.“

Canestrini said it was at DeWitt’s 50th Anniversary, in August 2007, when he realized the impact the hospital has had on Fort Belvoir and the surrounding area.

“We’ve delivered over 60,000 babies in the last half century, which touches a lot of lives,“ Canestrini said.  “It has been an honor and privilege to be part of this team that continues to move forward and operates in high band of excellence.“

Canestrini will be moving to the Office of the Surgeon General as the new chief of the TRICARE policy division.