More than 70 health leaders from medical centers, hospitals, clinics and public health facilities across six countries -- Eastern U.S, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cuba and Bahrain -- gathered for the Navy Medicine East (NME) Commander's Annual Meeting in Portsmouth, Feb. 24-26.

Navy Medicine East Commander Rear Adm. Kenneth Iverson kicked off the leadership gathering.

"Our vision is to become the preferred choice for our patients to receive care, and the preferred choice for our staff to work," he said.

During the three-day strategic planning meeting, leadership engaged in interactive lectures and working groups focused on three core questions: Why do we - Navy healthcare givers - exist? How can we use robust process and performance improvement to support our journey to high reliability to ensure the best patient outcomes? What can we do right now to enhance the patient and staff experience?

Dr. Bridget Duffy, The Cleveland Clinic's former chief experience officer and current chief medical officer (CMO) of Vocera Communications, Inc., emphasized the need to "humanize the health are experience."

Duffy was one of the four leading CMOs who shared proven approaches to achieving high quality care and the best possible patient experience. Dr. Marc Katz, Bon Secours Heart & Vascular institute CMO, took participants on his journey to patient-centered care. His daily goal: to be 100 percent correct, with 100 percent of patients, 100 percent of the time.

On day two, leaders focused on foundational organizational tools, from leadership and team-building, to performance improvement. Speakers included former force master chief and client partner with FranklinCovey, Jackie DiRosa; David Graff, senior consultant for Franklin Covey; Lt. Cmdr. John Gardner, director of performance improvement for Bureau of Medicine and Surgery as well as leaders from NME's process improvement team.

Special panels featuring NME commanding officers and command master chiefs who are in the last year of their current leadership assignments focused on lessons from the field and "if I knew then, what I know now."

The planning meeting culminated with Iverson challenging the military health care leaders within NME to return within 30 days with their number one initiatives that that will move their health facilities to be the preferred choice for both patients and staff. By doing so, Navy Medicine's overarching goals of readiness, value and jointness will be successfully realized.

NME is one of two regional commands that manage Navy Medicine's global health care network. It oversees the effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery of medical, dental and other health care services to approximately one million patients across almost 100 facilities, including the Tidewater Enhanced Multi-Service Market, which brings together U.S. Air Force Hospital Langley and McDonald Army Hospital; Lovell Federal Health Care Center, the Department of Defense's only integrated Navy/VA facility; a joint initiative between NMCP and the 633rd Medical Group at Joint Base Langley-Eustis; and a Navy, Army and Defense Health Agency collaboration of staff assigned to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. Plus, its public health extends globally.

For more information: www.med.navy.mil/sites/nme and www.twitter.com/NavMedEast.

For more news from Navy Medicine East, visit www.navy.mil/.