Haven Women of Philanthropy voted on Monday to use their contributions to fund medical scribes at Haven, a decision that will help remove the burden of heavy documentation off of physicians and nurse practitioners.

The philanthropic group, comprised of 27 women, began meeting in October 2018 to serve the community with a purpose. The Haven Women of Philanthropy annual contributions are pooled together and used to support programs or projects that would otherwise not be possible. At the funding presentation and voting meeting on November 4, held at The Village of Gainesville, the women were presented with five philanthropic projects on which to vote, ultimately choosing to fund medical scribes at Haven.

“The evolving regulatory environment mandates extensive documentation during the course of patient care,” said Haven Chief Medical Officer Carmelle Elie, M.D. “The employment of scribes as part of our care delivery model allows for increased efficiency, but most importantly, the continued focus of our efforts on what’s most important – the care of patients and their loved ones.”

The primary role of Haven’s physicians and nurse practitioners is to visit with patients and provide comfort care. Medical scribes—physician assistant or MD students— will follow providers during patient visits and take detailed notes about what the provider did during each visit, taking the burden of documentation requirements off Haven’s physicians or nurse practitioners.

“The Haven Women of Philanthropy are dedicated and are motivated by the mission of Haven,” said Haven Vice President of Development Sharon Jones. “They were inspired by great presentations about the five projects, all of which are needed and necessary. Because all of the projects deserve funding, the women will be focused on increasing their membership so that they can fund more projects next year.”

Haven Women of Philanthropy members Sally Goforth and Kay Ayers count votes to determine which project the group will support financially.