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AFSO21 for your health

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MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  AFSO21 is all about doing more for less money, but one AFSO21 project currently under way in the 6th Medical Group is primarily focused on improving health, and that's something you can't put a price on, said Capt. Karen Chisholm, 6th MDG clinic lab flight commander.

The clinic identified a problem of female Airmen skipping the annual mammogram requirement. The mammograms are important to insure the health of Airmen, as well as their readiness level, said Chisholm. Something had to be done, and AFSO21 was seen as a way to provide a solution.

Using lean principles, the root causes of the problem are being identified, and thus far fear and ambivalence have come to the surface as issues the clinic faces, but lack of awareness of the requirement also factors in.

Currently, a plan is being adopted to make Airmen aware of the annual requirement, as well as put them at ease about the process, said Chisholm. In this case, such an education campaign will cost the clinic time and money, but in the end, AFSO21 goals will be achieved by helping ensure a more ready force and healthier Airmen, benefiting the 6th Air Mobility Wing and ultimately the Air Force overall, she said. Besides, in cases of the health and wellbeing of Airmen, money takes something of a back seat.

"Saving lives is more important than saving (money)," said Chisholm.
In the 6th MDG, AFSO21 has resulted in the drive-through pharmacy, cutting wait times for prescriptions significantly, said Chisholm. Another AFSO21 project in the works aims to reduce patient wait time for blood tests at the clinic.

Like many of the AFSO21 endeavors, discovering and solving the root of the problem often reveals ancillary problems that must be dealt with to provide a "total solution."

"Once you fix the root problem, other problems often pop up," said Chisholm. "That's why it is always good to look at it (an applied solution) for at least three months" to identify consequential problems.

Chisholm said she likes using lean principles to solve problems in her unit, and said "brainstorming ideas" with those principles in mind produces better solutions.