Every year, the hospital selects a set of goals to set the direction for the command’s new initiatives and process improvements, all of which support patient- and family-centered care, said Ann-Marie Regan, Bethesda’s organizational development practitioner.

To maintain its status as a world-class health care organization, the National Naval Medical Center must continue to push itself forward and strive for excellence, Regan said. She said this cannot be accomplished without a plan.

‘‘Bethesda’s primary mission is to provide quality patient care for service members and their families,” said National Naval Medical Center Commander Rear Adm. Richard Jeffries. ‘‘An annual plan helps everyone at every level in the command direct their focus on the most important objectives to meet this goal and fulfill the mission.”

The Annual Plan is comprised of three major goals. Several objectives with measures and targets are specified within each goal and later measured for progress, Regan said. As the underlying objectives are successfully met, significant progress is made toward reaching the goal.

Each goal has goal champions overseeing its progress. They monitor, coach, and support the teams working on each objective.

Chief of Clinical Staff Cmdr. Mark Kobelja and one of the Quality goal champions, said quality is a central theme in clinical decision-making and has been an Annual Plan goal since 2005.

‘‘We combined quality with delivery of care this year as they go hand-in-hand,” he said. ‘‘And we’ve made research a priority of the Quality goal as it is essential to graduate medical education and professional medical staff development. It’s the foundation for quality health care.”

‘‘In objective 1.2 [credentialing], we’ve taken steps to improve and streamline the staff renewal process,” he said. ‘‘With the full implementation this year of the [Centralized Credentials Quality Assurance System], we’ve eliminated the need for staff members to go to the Professional Affairs Office in person. They can now apply online. We are well on our way to achieving this objective.”

Capt. Caroline DeLizo, director for branch health clinics and a Readiness goal champion, said both targets in objective 2.1 have been met. The number of staff members whose readiness status was unknown or ‘‘indeterminate” delinquent has been reduced from 39 percent to 3.3 percent since October.

Co-assistant Director for Mental Health and a Readiness goal champion Cmdr. Rosemary Malone said they achieved this goal through improved team work and easing the way for individuals to get their annual exams and other necessities that deem them ready for deployment.

‘‘We streamlined the birth month review process, creating a one stop shop environment and gave military staff members more advanced notice,” she said.

Assistant Director for Dental Services Cmdr. S. Lena Hartzell and a Readiness goal champion said readiness encompasses the physical and mental aspects of Bethesda’s staff members and the objectives speak to that fact.

‘‘Since we are a patient- and family-centered team, our goal can not be complete without caring for our families especially those with deployed members,” she said.

‘‘The success of the readiness goal relies on each and every one of us and the results will be beneficial across the board,” Hartzell said.

‘‘The important thing now is sustaining the gains,” DeLizo said.

Deputy Commander for Integration, Army Col. Leon Moores, an Integration goal champion, said soon we will be seeing visible signs of integration with the start of construction and renovation projects. He said the overall goal for integration is making the transition as smooth as possible with no negative impact on patients.

‘‘Objective 3.1, selecting integrated clinical department chiefs, is on track. Of the 72 clinical areas identified for integration, 18 chiefs have been selected and 25 selections are underway,” he said. ‘‘The real point behind 3.1 is to use it as a positive tool for getting people to work together across the medical centers by choosing integrated leadership and melding clinical care providers within departments. By doing so, we demonstrate to patients and providers that we’re one team.”

Capt. Evan Applequist, assistant deputy commander for integration and key Annual Plan leader, said in addition to choosing the physician clinical leaders, nursing and administrative leadership has done a tremendous amount of work in the arena of integration.

‘‘While we haven’t yet formally integrated those areas and chosen a single leader, this work has been and will continue to be critical to forward progress,” he said.

Moores said an example of that progress can be seen in Objective 3.2.

‘‘Common Business rules provide the chiefs of the integrated departments a tool to move both institutions forward,” he said.

Regan said surveys designed to get input on what’s working well and what needs improvement in the command were distributed to staff members, during the June 2007 series of Admiral’s Calls. This gave everyone in the command the opportunity to provide input and be part of the process.

‘‘Everyone, from the hospitalman recruit to a senior Navy captain, sister service members and civilians at the National Naval Medical Center, has an important role in the success of the mission,” Jeffries said. ‘‘The day-to-day jobs, at every level, affect the actual success or failure of the Annual Goals and objectives. Personnel often find it surprising their job performance and efforts are as powerful as they are.”