Saturday, February 10, 2001

By Anthony Burgos
Sigonella bureau

NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Sicily — U.S. Naval Hospital Sigonella, Sicily, prides itself for providing quality health care to more than 6,500 residents of Naval Air Station Sigonella.

And though the hospital received two first place awards from Tricare, one for customer service and the other for access to care, the staff is not taking all of the credit.

"We couldn’t have done it without the help from other hospitals in Rota, Spain; Landstuhl, Germany; and Naples," said commanding officer Capt. P.J. Barnett after receiving the recognition.

The recognition was nice, and so was the cash.

Tricare awarded Sigonella’s hospital two $25,000 checks for each award.

The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery matched those funds, bringing Sigonella’s award total to $100,000.

Part of Sigonella’s recent success centered around its ability to find pinch hitters to serve patients.

"We have specialists from other bases who are more than willing to come to Sicily," Barnett said. "The doctors even bring their own technicians who are familiar with the equipment and techniques."

Barnett said by funding trips for doctors to come, the base avoids more than 30 medical evacuations [sending patients to other hospitals] a year.

"We are able to keep a sailor in Sigonella with their family, in their work center," he said. "They are not traveling to Germany and possibly missing a flight that would keep them away from their duty station."

According to Barnett, the visiting specialists don’t mind taking a trip to Sicily.

"Some of them bring their families. They are more than willing to come here. And we are happy to have them."

Quick scheduling was the reason the hospital won the access-to-care award. One of the hospital’s medical appointment clerks, Elizabeth Gallo, said compassion and sensitivity are part of the formula that makes patients feel more comfortable from the moment they call for an appointment.

"I try to put myself in their shoes and add a personal touch when they call," she said.

Gallo said the hospital’s eight phone lines are all flashing the moment the doors open at 7:30 am each morning.

"It can be stressful," she said. "But I think we go above and beyond the call and fulfill about 90 percent of patients requests for a convenient appointment time."

One way Sigonella sets itself apart from other hospitals in the Tricare system is by providing a driver and an interpreter to patients obtaining care from host nation providers.

"We keep them informed and never leave them alone on the visits," said Rita Arico, the Tricare division officer and health benefits adviser at the hospital. "I don’t know of many places that do that."

Sigonella’s hospital won the customer service award as a result of a Tricare survey.

"We receive very positive feedback from patients," Arico said. During her nine years at the hospital, she’s seen the strides Sigonella has made in customer satisfaction.

"We are way ahead of the curve for care."

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