We live and work in a world of data. But not all that can be measured is worthwhile, and sometimes the things that set us apart aren’t easily measured. You see the reports. They turn our care into measures….measures of satisfaction, quality, outcomes, events and more. They compare us to our peers….locally and nationally. They are important, and we have to pay attention to them. Our patients are paying attention, and so are our payers.
The metrics fail to define us in some very significant ways. Often, those differences are what set us apart from our peers. They are our unique competencies. They are important to us, to our patients, and our community.
Think about it. What are CHCW’s unique competencies?
We care for a population in our community that has both high needs and disease burden. That is a challenge that we manage well.
If your mind turns to our educational programs….good. So does mine. Our family medicine residency and other educational initiatives have defined us since our inception, and differentiate us from every other provider in our community.
If you thought of our integrated behavioral health services, you should. I am aware of no more robust service, practiced with such fidelity to the model, than ours.
I’m curious to know what else comes to mind for you. Please let me know.
But for me, here’s what comes to the top of the list: TRUST. CHCW enjoys a unique position of trust in our community.
How did I get to “trust”? Think about this: For practical purposes, there are four other primary care providers in Yakima – our two hospital systems, and two other community health clinics. How well do they work with one another? On the other hand, CHCW has longstanding and meaningful collaborations with all of them. We collaborate because it’s the best way to solve the problems we see. And they collaborate with us because they trust us to be good partners.
There are lots of tough problems to be solved in health care in our community, and we are going to all need to work together to get the job done. I am proud that CHCW is leading the way with collaboration and trust.