Newman Family Clinic: Improving Workflows for Staff and Patients

The National Rural Health Resource Center (The Center) and Stratis Health traveled to Newman Family Clinic (NFC) on July 15, 2026, for a Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) on-site technical assistance (TA) visit. NFC is an independent, rural health clinic located in Oakdale, LA offering primary care, mental health, and rehab (physical and occupational therapy) services from pediatrics to geriatrics. NFC serves an 8-zipcode region with approximately 22,000 residents and shares its service area with two critical access hospitals.

Stratis Health met with the Brandy Robles, clinic owner, and her team to better understand the organization’s current quality improvement practices, identify operational strengths and challenges, and develop a targeted technical assistance plan. The visit included staff introductions and a site tour, discussion of the organization’s quality improvement approach, staff engagement and workflow challenges, and activities focused on identifying opportunities for improvement. 

The afternoon session concentrated on a Stratis Health-led process mapping and force field analysis session to better understand the current workflows and identify barriers and opportunities for improvement. The team identified the ADD/ADHD patient workflow as an initial quality improvement opportunity. Mapping this process will allow the clinic to identify unnecessary steps, clarify staff responsibilities, establish consistent screening and scheduling, and reduce opportunities for patients to bypass established processes. Stratis Health recommended several strategies including regular morning huddles to review priorities, recognizing successes, clarifying responsibilities; development of standardized scripts and expectations for staff answering phones, additional staff training; and clearer policies and procedures related to patient scheduling, and screening-controlled substances. Additional opportunities for continued development included strengthening consistency, communication, accountability, and standardization of processes. Specific opportunities for next steps included:

• Developing standardized procedures for patient scheduling and screening.
• Completing the process mapping to clarify roles and responsibilities, uncover gaps and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Explore strategies to strengthen staff communication and engagement.
• Identify additional staff training needs related to workflows, policies and procedures, technology and consistent application established processes.
   

Key Takeaways
The site visit created space for staff and leadership to step back from the demands of day-to-day operations, reflect on their current state, identify opportunities to strengthen their organization, and highlight the importance of building on what Newman Family Clinic already does well.  As Brandy and her team prepare for the transition to value-based care, they have a strong commitment to their patients and a solid patient-centered foundation on which to build.  This foundation provides an opportunity to maintain their momentum and strengthen their readiness for a value-based care environment.