erald Union H Vol. XXIII, No. 23
Wiesbaden: Our home in Germany
www.herald-union.com
USO fun not a stretch
Aug. 18, 2016
Housing branch office opening in Aukamm By Amy L. Bugala U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Public Affairs
An extension of the U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden’s main Housing Services Office is scheduled to open soon right in the heart of the Aukamm Community. The new branch office will be dedicated to serving the housing needs of families assigned to one of approximately 490 dwelling units located in Aukamm. “We are bringing the housing services into the community to improve customer service and just make things easier for customers,” said Heike Trail, chief, Customer Service Branch. It’s no secret PCSing is a challenge. Housing is one of five required services during in and out processing, so the housing division understands See ‘Housing’ on page 4
APLSS to JOES
Photo by Jacob Corbin
Children’s TV clay animation-hero Gumby races against AFN Wiesbaden’s Eagle at the USO Wiesbaden’s Sun and Fun Day event Aug. 6 in Hainerberg housing. For more photos of the event, and to learn who won the mascot face-off, see page 6.
By Emily Jennings U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Public Affairs
Have you ever wanted to change the world? Well, now is your chance to do just that — or at least your corner of the world. Army Community Service is accepting community issues and concerns for the upcoming Army Family Action Plan conference, here, Oct. 13 and 14.
Inside Summer reading program
Everyone’s a winner when they read, see page 5.
AFAP is a grassroots program that was created more than 30 years ago by Army spouses with the intent of bringing qualityof-life issues to leadership for action. If you think that your ideas won’t be heard; think again. Every issue brought forth is addressed, said ACS’s Mary Cheney, who is in charge of the conference here. No submissions are discarded, she said. “When issues are submitted, there has to be some kind of resolution.” Resolution can be achieved in a variety of ways. It may mean
By Capt. Joshua Pounders Wiesbaden Army Health Clinic
forwarding an issue to the appropri appropriate place, if it does not fall under the AFAP process, or it can be addressed on the spot. “Those issues that we can resolve immediately, we send through the ICE system if it can be a quick fix,” Cheney said. At the installation level, delegates are chosen to participate in the conference and represent a cross-section of demographics from the installation to include Soldiers, spouses and civilians, Cheney said. At the conference the delegates
Patients at Wiesbaden Army Health Clinic will now share feedback about their appointments using a new DoD survey. The Joint Outpatient Experience Survey, or JOES, will combine and standardize previous surveys used by the Army, Navy, Air Force and Defense Health Agency to learn about beneficiary healthcare experiences. “The JOES will replace the Army ProviderLevel Satisfaction Survey, known as APLSS and pronounced apples,” said Reggie Underwood, a WAHC patient advocate. “Many of our patients have become accustomed to the APLSS, so it’s important that they know the survey method has changed.” “Patient participation in JOES is very important to us and will help our team continue to improve the patient experience and satisfaction with their care,” said WAHC Commander Lt. Col. Nelson So. Approximately 72 hours after an appointment, a patient will receive the JOES survey by e-mail and should respond within a month.
See ‘AFAP’ on page 2
See ‘JOES’ on page 2
Let your voice be heard with AFAP ACS accepting submissions for local conference
DoD switching to new patient survey system
AES welcomes new principal Meet Aukamm’s new principal, see page 12.
CYSS Football
Learn about the program on pages 16 and 17.