The White Falcon - 26.10.1990, Qupperneq 2

Family members vent concerns
By JQ2 Jay Gaona
Family members expressed several con-
cerns and offered suggestions regarding qual-
ity of life issues during spouse’s call last
Wednesday. Naval Air Station Commanding
Officer Capt. James I. Munsterman, heading
his first spouse’s call since assuming com-
mand June 29, fielded the queries and com-
ments, assisted by representatives from vari-
ous NAS departments and major tenant com-
mands.
Attention focused on a variety of quality of
life issues. The Navy Resale Activity (NRA),
Child Development Center (CDC), Navy
Broadcasting Service (NBS) and U. S. Naval
Hospital were among the targets of discus-
sion.
Navy Resale Activity
Grievances against NRA centered on short-
ages of items at the Commissary Store and the
lack of reasonably priced children’s items at
the Navy Exchange. One man said he couldn’t
get a pair of children’s shoes for less than $40.
Lt. Cmdr. Lynn Schindel guaranteed the au-
dience that inexpensive shoes are on the way.
“I have been assured by our buyer in Norfolk
that we are getting enough shoes to outfit
every kid on base for $10 a pair.”
Child Development Center
The CDC came under fire because of the
new policy eliminating reduced fees when
registered children do not attend the day care
centers for prolonged periods.
“The new fee scale is mandated by Con-
gress through the Child Care Act of 1989,”
CDC Director Rebekah Whitacre said. “We
can no longer have discounts for children on
vacation or at home due to illness.”
Whitacre also responded to a question con-
cerning activities available for pre-kindergar-
ten children. “The Youth Center offers kid’s
night out once a month for pre-kindergarten
students, there are ballet classes, gymnastics,
water baby courses at the pool and bowling.”
Capt. Munsterman reinforced her comments,
adding, “There are more activities than you
can imagine for kids.” He reiterated that child
care and activities for children remain a high
priority, but he does not foresee drastic changes
in the near future.
Navy Broadcasting Service
NBS was questioned by one parent who
wanted to see more children’s programming.
She also inquired about the viewer survey
which was due out at the end of August and the
possibility of publishing the Sky One sched-
ule.
Addressing the readership survey, Chief
Warrant Officer Thomas E. Jones, NBS offi-
cer-in-charge said, “The problem we had with
the survey was that we had no money to have
it printed. But, it will be inserted in the White
Falcon within the next few weeks.”
As for increasing children’s programming,
Jones said the station is limited in the amount
of programming it receives from AFRTS
headquarters in Los Angeles. “They (AFRTS)
cut back programming by 10 hours because of
budget constraints leaving us with 72 hours
worth of shows,” he said, citing the number of
programs they receive as the reason many
shows are repeated.
Viewers may have noticed that older mov-
ies are becoming more predominant on NBS.
Jones explained that many movies are free be-
cause they are regarded as public domain.
NBS doesn’t receive the schedule for Sky
One, however, it is available in the Sunday
edition of Stars and Stripes and the Thursday
edition of the Icelandic* daily newspaper
DagbladidJVisir(DV) .which can be purchased
after 2:30 p.m. at the Taxi Stand.
Jones added that there are plans to have ad-
ditional channels on base, including one simi-
lar to Sky One and the Discovery Channel.
“You’re going to see us maintain our current
level of programming and maybe drop a little
because we have no money,” he summarized.
U.S. Naval Hospital
While the U.S. Naval Hospital did not have
a representative present, Capt. Michael Feris,
hospital commanding officer, responded to
the unanswered questions by memo to the
White Falcon.
Explaining how the Family Practitioner
program worked, he said, “The procedure for
making an appointment is to call the central
at spouse’s call
appointment desk at 3301 or 3302 and request
the specific physician you would like to see"
Lt. Cmdr. Knauer, Lt. Cmdr. Pare or Lt. An-
derson. Follow-up appointments are sched-
uled as as needed.”
One spouse complained that she always
received a busy signal when trying to make an
appointment and questioned the feasibility of
installing more phone lines.
Capt. Feris responded: “Due to the limited
number of phone lines available on the base, it
is not now possible to increase the number of
lines to the central appointment desk. That is
not the end of it, however. I have noticed that
the phones are busiest during the early morn-
ing hours. Calls are seldom received between
10 a.m. and noon and 2 to 4 p.m. I encourage
scheduling non-acute appointments during
those times.
“Frustration with the ‘busy signal’ is some-
thing we all feel. In the very near future, I hope
to acquire a ‘call stacker’ similar to the one
you get when you call a busy commercial
office. It will tell you that your call has been
received and will be answered by the clerk in
turn and then will play ‘elevator music’ or
recorded informative messages until the
schedular comes on line to take your call.
“A second improvement, one not requiring
additional equipment, will start in Novembei
A ‘one call’ system will eliminate the need fc*
patients to call several times in order to get one
appointment. With this system, when you call
the central appointment desk and find that a
time is not available, your name will be re-
corded and placed on a waiting list and when
an appointment becomes available, we will
call you. This ought to reduce the annoyance
factor significantly,” he said.
One patient was dismayed with the Acute
Care Clinic and said she was given the impres-
sion that she was an “inconvenience.”
“I hope that your feeling is not shared by
others because that impression is certainly not
the one which the hospital staff wishes to
convey under any circumstances,” Capt. Feris
replied. “We have quite an effective mecha-
nism in place to deal with patient concerns,
complaints and compliments.
“Pictures of patient contact representatives
CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
The White Falcon is an authorized, government-funded weekly publi- Commander, Iceland Defense Force...RADM Thomas F. Hall
cation of the Iceland Defense Force Public Affairs Office for members Public Affairs Officer................LCDR Scott E. Wilson
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color, religion, sex, age, marital status, physical handicap, or any other Editor...........................JOl (AW) JodelleBlankenship
non-merit factor. TheWhite Falcon is located in building 936, tel. ext. Reporter.............................J02JayGaona
4612 or4552 and printed by the NAS Keflavlk Print Plant. Deadline for Reporter.............................J02Terry Wingate
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