Tell me about your team – who’s on it, what do you do?

I am the chair of the Redwood Health Center Primary Care Clinic team. Our team consists of two mentors: nurse manager Harlin Mitchell and nursing supervisor Patty Raygoza, along with nurses Mikayla Miller and Vanessa Cuenca, and medical assistant coordinators Adam Pulsipher, Amanda Eames, Ismael Molina, and Jordan Duford, who serve as our specialized team leads. Nobly dubbed "Knights of the Redwood Table,” we help bring Problems, Ideas, Needs, and Suggestions (PINS) within our area to light.

Tell me about how shared governance works within your team – do you have a board, do you huddle, how’s it going?

Virtual Team Board: We have a virtual board on Canva, which allows our team convenient access across all devices and locations to help improve accessibility and efficiency.

How We Huddle: We meet in the conference room every other Thursday. This allows enough time for our team to work on current projects and gather feedback on new PINS. We pull up our board and engage in discussion around:

1. New Concerns
2. Sorting PINS
3. Current Projects Status
4. Completed Project Enjoyment

While we are unable to include each team member in our huddle, we have created a culture of safety and transparency which has allowed staff to feel a sense of empowerment. They’re encouraged to speak up more and share ideas, and we make sure to provide regular project status updates and follow through on staff-directed change.

Can you give an example of any exchanges around problems, ideas or needs that people had to decide as a group or collective whether or not to work on it?

We have worked on a variety of projects such as flexing fairness, missing oxygen tanks, late patient arrivals, message management workflow, and procedure preparation, but one of the more notable projects was vaccine retraining for staff. We identified the need a as a Level 3 PIN and collaborated with our educators to coordinate training. This initiative improved staff satisfaction and overall patient safety.

What impact (if any) has shared governance made on the team?

Through shared governance, we have encouraged an environment where every voice is heard, valued, and respected. By including all team leads in decision-making processes, we have enhanced transparency and cultivated a culture of continuous improvement.

Our team members’ commitment to embrace shared governance has resulted in benefits for both staff and patients at Redwood Primary Care. We have seen increased staff satisfaction, improved patient outcomes, and more efficient care delivery.

I want to express my gratitude to each member of the Redwood Health Center Primary Care team for their dedication to our shared governance program. Their hard work and commitment to excellence are truly admirable!