The Department of Family and Community Medicine has won several awards in 2021 for provider and clinical excellence. We are proud to honor the outstanding work of our teams across our clinics. 

The Hoover UAB Family and Community Medicine Clinic was recognized by UAB Medicine’s patient experience team for providing an exceptional patient experience in their Level 5 clinics.

Patient experience is a critical part of patient care. The most important components of patient experience include ease of scheduling appointments and check-in, excellent communication, and quick access to information from health care providers and staff.

Hoover FCM staff enjoyed snack baskets, Steel City Pops and a Chick-Fil-A lunch to celebrate their hard work, and received a “Recognized for Excellence in Patient Experience” sign to display in the clinic waiting room.

The Hoover Family and Community Medicine Clinic excels in many factors of patient experience, including the teamwork required to help patients and provide seamless care. The clinic’s certified clinical medical assistants, Lovie Robinson, Clara Layow, and Jaqueline Rodriquez, work closely with each doctor to provide care as a pair.

“When you see Dr. Davuluri, you're going to be talking to Lovie, and you know that when you're talking to Lovie, you're going to be seeing Dr. Davuluri, because they're a team. That gives a lot of ownership to the CCMA’s,” said Annie Shedlarski, R.N., MSN, CNL, and manager of the Hoover Family Medicine Clinic and Hoover Primary Care.

The CCMAs let patients know that they'll do everything they can to accommodate them during the visit, and give them information after a visit or for their next appointment.

“We take care of you… that closed loop communication and that whole customer service philosophy is what gives us very high scores.” Shedlarski said.

Access and communication with patients are the top priorities for the faculty and staff.

To gather feedback from patients, the clinic uses a survey service called Medallia. Medallia automatically sends patients a few short questions about their experience at the clinic. It tracks several metrics related to the patient experience, including satisfaction with clinic staff, satisfaction with the care received and ease of check-in.

The UAB patient experience team uses five level tiers. Level 5, which Hoover FCM achieved, is the highest level. Shedlarski said the clinic reached this level because of an incredible team that delivers 100%.

“When you come to your doctor, you don't want to feel like you're one in a million. You want to feel like someone actually wants to listen to you, the doctors want you to know they care and they want to do what's right for you,” she said, “You want to feel like they're welcoming you.”

“We provide the speed and respect and we care for the patients just like we would care for ourselves or our team members or family members and I think that's patients see that and recognize that experience,” said Sameera Davuluri, M.D., assistant professor and medical director of the Hoover FCM clinic.

Individual Family Medicine Providers Also Recognized for Exceptional Patient Experience

UAB Medicine recognized two UAB FCM care providers for Excellence in Patient Experience, including Erin W. DeLaney, M.D., assistant professor, vice chair for clinical affairs and quality, ambulatory medical quality officer and medical director of Family and Community Medicine – Highlands, and Kimberly M. Fagan, M.D., associate professor and sports medicine division chief.

Kim Fagan, M.D., left, and Erin DeLaney, M.D.

Irfan Asif, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine and associate dean for primary care and rural health, said that the clinic and individual awards reflect the department’s commitment to providing excellent care in every patient interaction.

“High-quality family medicine provides a patient-centered approach with highly accessible, integrated care, by interprofessional teams,” Asif said. “Our team focuses on delivering the best possible experience for patients, communities, and populations. We are honored to receive awards for our patient experience and will continually strive to deliver the best services possible within our patient-centered medical home.”

Story by Kenia Hernandez