Enhancing Community Resilience During COVID-19 BY J E R E M Y R I C H , D P M , PAU L F R Y, PA - C , A N D R A N DA L L M I C H E L , M D
Dubbed the City of Arts and Flowers, Lompoc is a semi-rural community nestled in the Santa Rita Hills on the central coast of California. Outpatient healthcare is provided by Lompoc Health, two federally qualified health centers (FQHCs)—a Santa Barbara County clinic and Community Health Centers-Lompoc—and other clinics and private practices.
Jeremy Rich, DPM
Paul Fry, PA-C
All these organizations deliver primary and specialty care and refer to larger medical facilities in the area. There is no typical Lompoc patient; individuals represent various ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic levels. The region has had a shortage of primary care doctors for several years, leaving many individuals behind in their preventive care.
“The primary
concern was balancing access with resource protection. We had no intention of closing our doors.”
Lompoc Health is dedicated to developing and enhancing wellness throughout Lompoc Valley. So how does the organization envision productive operational changes in the era of COVID-19 and beyond? Jeremy Rich, DPM, Director of the HealthCare Partners Institute for Applied Research and Education, recently interviewed two Lompoc Health officials—Randall Michel, MD, Chief Medical Officer, and Paul Fry, PA-C, Director of Ambulatory Services—to get their thoughts on how they are eliciting and sustaining impactful care delivery refinements. COVID-19 aside, U.S. health delivery can be a landscape filled with anxiety and ignorance. How do you allay fears and promote access? We give individuals authentic reasons to access care locally by adhering to our “three pillars of care”: 1. Culture of respect. Staff and providers are expected to treat patients, family members, and each other with respect as fellow community members. 2. Patient access. To address the need for more urgent, primary, and specialty care services, we recruit highly qualified physicians and advanced practice providers who share our commitment to preventing delays in care access.
Randall Michel, MD
3. Provide value. Healthcare value is not always clear; a test may not get a patient closer to a meaningful encounter. In an era of operating margin challenges and focus on volume metrics, we want our providers to obtain a detailed history via active listening. This can help drive person-centered care that promotes greater health literacy.
34 l JOURNAL OF AMERICA’S PHYSICIAN GROUPS
Fall 2020
