AFMS Senior Leadership Workshop focuses on Trusted Care, Anywhere Published Nov. 30, 2015 By Kevin M. Hymel Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- Air Force leaders from across the Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) gathered at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Va., for the annual Senior Leadership Workshop, the week of Nov. 16, 2015. Under the theme: “Trusted Care, Anywhere: Strategy to Action,” more than 300 officers and noncommissioned officers attended both plenary and interactive sessions focusing on four strategic priorities: Full Spectrum Readiness; Integrated Operations Support; Air Force Medical Home; and Trusted Care Anywhere, the implantation of Trusted Care. Lt. Gen. Mark Ediger, Air Force Surgeon General, and Chief Master Sgt. Jason Pace welcomed leaders from across the Air Force, including the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. Ediger reminded attendees about the important contributions the AFMS had made over the last year. “With Ebola raging through Africa, the AFMS played a huge role in the U.S. response,” adding that the AFMS “saw a significant change as the United States took on ISIS.” Looking to the future, Ediger explained that the Air Force was in “evolution,” and said the AFMS needs to “adapt our capability to the future, using a team-based approach to care.” Chief Pace told the audience, “Everything we do has to lead back to our strategy.” The plenary sessions covered topics such as the Trusted Care transformation, clinical currency and readiness, Base Operations Medical Cell implementation, and suicide, as well as a review of AFMS’s efforts to combat the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The breakout sessions focused on enhancing leaders’ understanding of and ability to implement Trusted Care; AFMS’ new Just Culture philosophy—which stresses responses to unsafe acts; and improving performance management. To gage the workshop’s success, the AFMS Trusted Care Transformation Task Force conducted both pre and post assessment, which showed an increase in both the awareness and desire to change as a result of the Senior Leadership Workshop overall. “Leaders also identified potential issues that may cause resistance to the change,” explained Beth Kohsin, the director of AFMOA/CCO Transformation, who saw the information on resistance as a positive. “This information is useful in building communications and actions to overcome resistance and increase AFMS’ personnel adoption of the change.” USAF. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez) Photo Details / Download Hi-Res USAF. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez)