Winn Army Community Hospital commanders, division chiefs and their civilian counterparts met for a two-day strategic planning session this week at the Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith Army Education Center.

“The goal of the meeting is to develop a new mission and vision statement, establish goals and values for the organization and prepare for the future,” Winn spokesperson Michelle Gordon explained.

Lt. Col. Jose Bonilla said Winn holds a strategic planning session every two to three years to plan ahead three to five years out. Hospital executives and department chiefs are brought together because the department heads “are in touch with the staff.”

“They know what they need,” Bonilla said. “We want to make it simple so everyone on the team has a connection to the mission to succeed.”

WACH Commander Col. Ronald Place said a key component of the hospital’s mission is building trust — trust between Winn leaders, staffers and patients. As a new commander, Place said he first must earn the trust of his personnel. To do so, he must get out in his organization and “see what they’re experiencing.”

Place took command of Winn in mid-July. The colonel came to Fort Stewart after a two-year command at Ireland Army Community Hospital at Fort Knox, Ky. Place is board-certified in general and colorectal surgery.

The colonel said he and his hospital managers will review what they are doing well and consider how they can improve health-care services.

Place said one of the Army Medical Command’s new initiatives is the Patient Centered Medical Home model. Much like a family-practice clinic, these medical homes deliver consistent care to soldiers and their dependents, Gordon said.

“The patient will know our staff and the staff will know our patient,” Bonilla added.

“The (medical home) physicians know the patient’s medical history,” Gordon said. “They don’t have to review it every time. It’s a more personal experience.”

Place said there are three such clinics based on the medical-home model within the hospital — the red, white and blue clinics. A community-based primary-care clinic was opened in March in Richmond Hill using the same model. The Richmond Hill Medical Home is in the Ways Station shopping center on Highway 17.

The colonel said Winn’s pediatric clinic and its internal-medicine clinic soon will transition to a similar model of care.

He also touched on physical changes in store for Winn. The emergency room and behavioral-health clinic will be expanded and the pharmacy will be renovated. Gordon said a groundbreaking tentatively is scheduled for November.