173rd Medical Group Airmen discuss safety in a humorous, innovative way

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar
  • 173rd Fighter Wing

It happens every January—Team Kingsley stands down for a day to discuss safety and how as a team they can root out dangerous complacency both on-duty and off.

“The Wing Safety Day is our opportunity to re-focus after the long holiday season and reflect on issues that could create a mishap,” says Lt. Col. Kurt Duffy, 173rd Fighter Wing Chief of Safety.  “This is our opportunity to address the concerns Airmen have by collecting information and allowing leadership to reduce risk round the wing.”

Typically, this involves all the Airmen piling into the base theater for a safety-focused wing Commander’s Call and then returning to their respective shops for a discussion on shop specific items.  However, like many things, COVID required a change to the way Team Kingsley approached the down day. 

173rd Fighter Wing Commander, Col. Jeff Edwards, began the discussion by posting a video message to the Airmen encouraging them to review the previous year and look forward to the new year with safety in mind.

“Going forward into 2022 we know that we have many challenges and it is going to take each and every one of us to be vigilant so that we have safe procedures here to execute our mission,” he said.

After watching the video, individual work centers talked in small groups about how to keep Kingsley Airmen safe; some took a unique approach.

Capt. Kristi Raudy, 173rd Medical Group patient safety officer, decided the best approach for her group would be to have each section create a short video highlighting different aspects of safety. 

“We've all done death by PowerPoint... ugh,” says Raudy.  “I figured the collective experience of the whole could do a fantastic job of rehashing what is important to consider.”

While each section did a decent job of highlighting their safety topic, Raudy says the medical administration section went above and beyond to engage their audience with a humorous and informative video on safe winter driving.

“We have numerous members that commute, to include myself... and bringing awareness to safety issues we tend to forget about, might save a life,” adds Raudy.

The medical administrative team, led by Airman 1st Class Brooke Murphy, put together a two-minute video, using their cell phones in less than 20 minutes. The short public service announcement featured what items people should carry in their vehicle while winter driving, what to discuss with their families, a few slips and trips…as well as something called mountain money….

Raudy says she was impressed by their innovation and dedication.  “What a stunning off-the-cuff performance and prompt follow through. They could have done a basic presentation, but they took it to that next level and had fun with it…it really helped connect to their audience.”