Patients rate Walter Reed providers high

Photo By Bernard Little | Dr. Joseph Rispoli, an optometrist at Walter Reed, says what he finds most rewarding about his job is "is being able to help [patients] with their concerns, from serious visual changes to those less challenging.” He was recently among the Military Health System’s (MHS) Joint Outpatient Experience Survey’s (JOES) Best of the Best in its 2023 second-quarter report (January to June) recently released by MHS officials. To enhance the patient experience, the MHS asks beneficiaries to rate their care and patient experience, and responses are reported quarterly and annually in the JOES’s Best of the Best Reports containing the top-performing clinics, providers, clerks, and receptionists, each broken out by primary care and specialty care.  

UNITED STATES

07.20.2023

Story by Bernard Little 

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

By Bernard S. Little
WRNMMC Command Communications
Five Walter Reed specialty care providers, the Family Practice Medicine Clinic, and the Radiation Therapy Clinic, are listed among the Military Health System’s (MHS) Joint Outpatient Experience Survey’s (JOES) Best of the Best in its 2023 second-quarter report (January to June) recently released by MHS officials.
To enhance the patient experience, the MHS asks beneficiaries to rate their care and patient experience, and responses are reported quarterly and annually in the JOES’s Best of the Best Reports containing the top-performing clinics, providers, clerks, and receptionists, each broken out by primary care and specialty care.
Deborah Jolissaint, Dr. Joseph Rispoli, Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Luke Bloomquist, Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) John Cody, and Dr. Jessica Hsu performed at the top tier in patient satisfaction in the JOES’s survey for January to June, with Jolissaint being the top performing provider in the MHS for the quarter.
“The 100 Percent Satisfaction reports are updated quarterly and list all the clinics, providers, and clerks and receptionists that received at least 10 responses and 100 percent satisfaction,” shared Kimberley Marshall-Aiyelawo, chief of the Patient Experience Measurement Analytics and Evaluation Division at the Defense Health Agency (DHA).
Marshall-Aiyelawo explained that Jolissaint, a nurse practitioner in the Urology Clinic at Walter Reed, led the top 20 specialty care providers in obtaining 100 percent positive responses. Some of the comments from patients about Jolissaint were: “She is a wonderful provider, professional, respectful, courteous and up to date on all aspects of prostatic health”; “Very professional and knows her specialties”; “Excellent rapport. She knows your history and relates very well to the patient (me)”; “I always enjoy an in-person, follow-up visit with Ms. Jolissaint. She is an excellent provider, and I credit her with saving my life because of her thoroughness.”
“I find the interaction with my patients the most important and enjoyable thing that I do,” Jolissaint said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve those who have served their country. I come from a family [whose members] have served, and this is just my way of serving.”
Jolissaint cites as one of her mentors the late Army Col. (Dr.) David McLeod, longtime chief of urology at Walter Reed, who founded the Center for Prostate Disease Research at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1992, serving as its director until he retired in 2016. She credits McLeod for her career at Walter Reed, explaining he spearheaded her hiring.
Rispoli, and optometrist, expressed similar sentiments as those of Jolissaint about why he enjoys seeing patients.
“What’s most rewarding for me is being able to help them with their concerns, from serious visual changes to those less challenging,” Rispoli said. “Being able to solve their concerns in caring and respectful manner is really what drives me.”
Rispoli was also in the top 20 specialty care provider who obtained 100 percent positive responses. Patients’ statements about him included: “Dr. Rispoli provided excellent service resulting in an efficiently accomplished visit and a new prescription for spectacles”; “Outstanding, professional, caring, considerate”; “He was very personable and responsive to all questions. Very professional and thorough.”
Beneficiaries stated about Hsu, who works in the Cardiology Clinic at Walter Reed: “Extremely knowledgeable and proficient”; “Dr. Hsu was professional, courteous, very approachable, and knowledgeably [and she] answered all my questions”; “She is a very good nurse practitioner.”
“It is very rewarding to be able to help patients receive the care they need, especially when they are unable to advocate for themselves or have challenges with navigating the health care system,” Hsu shared.
Bloomquist, a dermatologist, received the following responses from some of his patients: “[He] is simply the best. His bedside manner is exemplary, and his desire to meet the patient’s needs exceeds standards and expectations”; “An outstanding professional. Great people skills. I have complete confidence in what he tells me. A perfect role model for more junior doctors”; “One of the most impressive doctors I have seen in 30 years.”
“Being able to develop a relationship with my patients and help them with their challenges, especially those who may have been struggling with skin conditions for a time, is what I find most rewarding,” said Bloomquist. “We may be able to reach a breakthrough, figure out what’s going on, and treat them effectively.”
Cody, an orthopaedic surgeon, is also listed among the top 20 specialty care providers obtaining 100 percent positive responses. Some of his patients stated: “Lt. Col. Cody always expresses the utmost concern for my wellbeing and the best possible treatment plan that will provide long-term benefits”; “Lt. Cody is an excellent doctor. He is confident and makes you feel confident about the care he is going to provide. [He] is professional and courteous at all times. I feel blessed to have him as my doctor”; “Very thorough explanation of what was going on and how best to treat me. Very professional.”
In addition to the providers, Walter Reed’s Radiation Therapy Clinic received 100 percent in patient satisfaction in the category of clerks and receptionists, and the Family Practice Medicine Clinic, received a 98.1 percent in the category of satisfaction with clinic. Other local military medical treatment facilities (MTFs) clinics listed in the MHS JOES’s Best of the Best for the 2023 second quarter, are the Pediatric Subspeciality Clinic at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital (Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center), which received a 96.8 percent patient satisfaction score, and the Flight Medicine Clinic at Fort Belvoir, which earned a 96.3 percent patient satisfaction score.
What makes a patient experience satisfactory? MHS officials explain that a person could be the best doctor in the world, but the patient experience includes more. “The patient experience includes the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.” This entails: the patient’s access to care; if someone answers the phone when a patient calls for an appointment; the telephone etiquette of hospital staff members; if someone calls the patient back; how the patient is treated by security when coming on base; parking on base; how front-desk personnel interact with the patient; and the interaction between the patient and providers.
Health officials add that patients and their families want to feel like their caregivers are personally invested in their outcome. “If patients know [that], they trust you. Listening and giving them time are key,” they shared.

• Date Taken: 07.20.2023
• Date Posted: 07.20.2023 14:29
• Story ID: 449660
• Location: US