Journal 052115

Vol. 27 No. 20 www.cnic.navy.mil/bethesda/ May 21, 2015

Photo by Andrew Damstedt

Rear Adm. Forrest Faison, U.S. Navy deputy surgeon general, administers the oath of office to Uniformed University of the Health Sciences’naval graduates. Each service had a surgeon general or deputy surgeon general administer the oath of office to the newly promoted graduates.

By Andrew DamstedtNSAB Public Affairs

staff writer

Uniformed Services Uni-versity of the Health Sciences(USUHS) graduated 346 healthcare providers at its commence-ment ceremony held Saturdayin Washington, D.C. at theDaughters of the AmericanRevolution Constitution Hall,capping off a busy week for theuniversity which started withits annual Research Days.“Those of us who have been

doing this for decades are count-ing on you to carry it far into thefuture and there will undoubt-edly be more wars because nogeneration in my lifetime – nogeneration in the history of this

country has been spared theburden of defending this na-tion’s freedom,” said commence-ment guest speaker Lt. Gen.(Dr.) Thomas W. Travis, U.S.Air Force surgeon general. “Youwon’t be spared that burden ei-ther. There will undoubtedly bemore wars and more emergen-cies around the globe and you’llbe the ones that respond.”The 346 graduates were

from the university’s F. Ed-ward Hébert School of Medi-cine, Daniel K. Inouye Gradu-ate School of Nursing and Post-graduate Dental College.Travis, a 1986 USUHS grad-

uate, said he knew the univer-sity prepared the graduatingstudents to not only advance intheir medical careers, but also

in their military careers. Someof Saturday’s graduates tookpart in a promotion ceremonywhere they also took their re-spective service’s oath of office.“As an officer, your team will

be watching you and looking toyou for leadership – especiallythe young Soldiers, Sailors, Air-men and Marines you’ll servewith – many of whom you out-rank and by that measure alone– your rank – you’ll be expectedto lead,” Travis said. “You mustbe very capable and effectivephysicians and develop into ca-pable and effective officers.”Rear Adm. Forrest Faison,

U.S. Navy deputy surgeongeneral, who administeredthe oath of office to the Navygraduates, counseled them to

be worthy of the trust placed inthem as physicians and alwaysbe worthy of the oath of officethey had just taken.“This is the culmination of

everything that I’ve workedfor and, more importantly, thecareer that I am looking for-ward to – taking care of all myservice members; so I’m reallyexcited, this is just the begin-ning,” said Navy Lt. Steve Lee,who graduated Saturday andis going to the Naval MedicalCenter in San Diego. “I’m justexcited to see what else my mil-itary career has to offer.”Another graduate, Army

Capt. Sam Burns, said he wasexcited, and “a little nervous”to go on to the next point inhis career, which will be at the

Madigan Army Medical Center,Wash.“It was a lot of hard work,

but looking back on it, it wentby pretty fast,” Burns said ofhis time at USUHS.Earlier in the week, the uni-

versity held Research Days, anannual two-day event wherefaculty and students sharedtheir research to the widercampus community throughlectures and poster displays.Navy Lt. Sean Simmons, who

graduated Saturday, was one ofseveral participants at the post-er viewing May 12, where therewere approximately 300 post-ers on display. Standing by hisposter, he explained his research

Commencement Concludes Busy Week at USUHS

See GRADUATE page 10

2 Thursday, May 21, 2015 The Journal

Published by offset every Thurs-day by Comprint Military Publi-cations, 9030 Comprint Court,Gaithersburg, Md. 20877, aprivate firm in no way con-nected with the U.S. Navy,under exclusive written con-tract with Naval Support ActivityBethesda, Md. This commercialenterprise newspaper is an autho-rized publication for members of themilitary services. Contents of The Journalare not necessarily the official views of, norendorsed by, the U.S. Government, the De-partment of Defense, or the Department ofthe Navy. The appearance of advertising inthis publication, including inserts or supple-ments, does not constitute endorsement bythe Department of Defense or Comprint,Inc., of the products or services advertised.Everything advertised in this publicationshall be made available for purchase, useor patronage without regard to race, color,

religion, sex, national origin,age, marital status, physicalhandicap, political affiliationor any other non-merit fac-tor of the purchaser, user,or patron. Editorial contentis edited, prepared and pro-vided by the Public AffairsOffice, Naval Support Activ-

ity Bethesda, Md. News copyshould be submitted to the Pub-

lic Affairs Office, Building 17, first floor,across from PSD, by noon one week pre-ceding the desired publication date. Newsitems are welcomed from all installationsources. Inquiries about news copy will beanswered by calling 301-295-1803. Com-mercial advertising should be placed withthe publisher by calling 301-921-2800.Publisher’s advertising offices are locatedat 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md.20877. Classified ads can be placed bycalling 301-670-1700.

Naval Support Activity (NSA) BethesdaCommanding Officer: Capt. David A. BitontiPublic Affairs Officer: Ronald D. InmanPublic Affairs Office: 301-295-1803

Journal StaffManaging Editor MC3 Hank GettysWRNMMC Editor Bernard Little

Staff Writers MC1 Christopher KruckeAndrew DamstedtSarah MarshallSharon Renee TaylorJoseph Nieves

NSABethesdaFleet And Family Support Center 301-319-4087

Walter Reed National Military Medical CenterOffice of Media Relations 301-295-5727

NSAB Emergency Information Line 301-295-6246NSAB OmbudsmanMichelle Herrera 240-370-5421

NSAB Chaplain’s Office 301-319-4443/4706

Sexual Assault ResponseCoordinator Hotline 301-442-2053

Visit us on Facebook:Naval Support Activity Bethesda page:https://www.facebook.com/NSABethesda

Walter Reed National Medical Center page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walter-Reed-National-Military-Medical-Center/295857217111107

Uniformed Services University of the HealthSciences page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Uniformed-Services-University-of-the-Health-Sciences/96338890888?fref=ts

Birth Month TrainingBirth month training for Army,

Navy and civilian personnel atWalter Reed Bethesda is held everysecond and fourth Thursday of eachmonth in Clark Auditorium begin-ning at 8 a.m. Training sessionsinclude personal finance and stressmanagement; sexual harassment;suicide awareness and prevention;customer service; threat awarenessand counterintelligence; and drugand alcohol prevention education.

Employer Network EventAn Employer Network Event is

held monthly on the last Thursdayfrom 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Bldg. 11(lower level), Room 16. Attendeeswill be able to meet with indus-try representatives, develop pro-fessional connections and exploreemployment opportunities at theevent, open to all active duty, fam-ily members, veterans, reservists,non-medical attendees, contrac-tors and civilians. No registrationis required. For more information,contact Fleet and Family SupportCenter at 301-319-4087 or [email protected].

TeamSTEPPS EssentialCourseThe next TeamSTEPPS (Team

Strategies and Tools to EnhancePerformance and Patient Safety)Essentials Course is June 2 from 8to 9 a.m. and from 1 to 2 p.m. Thecourse is for Walter Reed Bethesdastaff members who do not engagein the direct delivery of patientcare but who wish to contribute es-sential information with an impacton the ongoing delivery of safe care.For registration, contact HospitalEducation and Training at [email protected], or call301-319-5209.

Bethesda NotebookMemorial Day occurs on the

last Monday in May and marksthe official beginning of the sum-mer vacation season and the 101Critical Days of Summer. In myprevious Commander’s Column inApril, I provided information andlinks to a variety of topics relatedhaving a safe summer and vaca-tion season. Please remember totravel safely, heed all requiredsafety precautions when doingyour leisure activities, and have awonderful and enjoyable summerwith your family and friends.As the weekend approaches, I ask you to pause

and reflect on Memorial Day. Ask yourself, whatis it, why do we observe it each year, and whatdoes that mean to me? The U.S. Department ofVeterans Affairs (VA) website features an infor-mative history of Memorial Day, and I would liketo share some of that information with you.“Three years after the Civil War ended, on May

5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union vet-erans, known as the Grand Army of the Republic(GAR), established Decoration Day as a time forthe nation to decorate the graves of the war deadwith flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declaredthat Decoration Day should be observed on May30. It is believed that date was chosen becauseflowers would be in bloom all over the country.The first large observance was held that year atArlington National Cemetery, across the PotomacRiver from Washington, D.C.The ceremonies centered on the mourning-

draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, oncethe home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Wash-ington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. UlyssesS. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. Afterspeeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’Orphan Home and members of the GAR madetheir way through the cemetery, strewing flowerson both Union and Confederate graves, recitingprayers and singing hymns.By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day

ceremonies were being held on May 30 through-out the nation. State legislatures passed procla-mations designating the day, and the Army andNavy adopted regulations for proper observanceat their facilities. It was not until after World

War I; however, that the day wasexpanded to honor those who havedied in all American wars. In 1971,Memorial Day was declared a na-tional holiday by an act of Con-gress, though it is still often calledDecoration Day.” At that time, itwas then also decided that the hol-iday would occur on the last Mon-day in May.To ensure the sacrifices of Amer-

ica’s fallen heroes are never forgot-ten, in December 2000, the U.S.Congress passed and the presidentsigned into law “The National Mo-

ment of Remembrance Act,” P.L. 106-579, creat-ing the White House Commission on the Nation-al Moment of Remembrance. The commission’scharter is to “encourage the people of the UnitedStates to give something back to their country,which provides them so much freedom and oppor-tunity”. Through their efforts, the country wouldsee and experience commemorations of MemorialDay and the National Moment of Remembrance.The National Moment of Remembrance encour-

ages all Americans to pause wherever they are at3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minuteof silence to remember and honor those who havedied in service to the nation. To quote Moment ofRemembrance founder Carmella LaSpada, “It’s away we can all help put the memorial back in Me-morial Day” (Source: U.S. Department of VeteransAffairs website). Please take the time to pausethis year, and in the future, at 3 p.m. (1500) onMemorial Day, and observe a moment of silenceto honor those who have made the ultimate sacri-fice, in service to our nation, so that we may enjoythe freedoms and lifestyle we have today. At theleast, we owe our thanks to those who have givenall, on our behalf, and we also must remembertheir families. They too have sacrificed, and de-serve our respect and support.Please have a wonderful, fun, enjoyable, and

safe holiday weekend, and keep in mind and hon-or all those who have made it possible for you tocelebrate this holiday.

All Ahead Flank,David A. Bitonti, Capt., DC, USNCommanding OfficerNaval Support Activity Bethesda

Commander’s Column

The Journal Thursday, May 21, 2015 3

By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Public

Affairs staff writer

“One only has to imag-ine medical care or hos-pitals without nurses torealize how vital our rolewithin medical care is,”said Navy Capt. SarahL. Martin, a nurse andWalter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Center(WRNMMC) chief of staff.“We’re in the hospital set-ting; we’re in the ambula-tory setting. In the civiliansector, we’re within the in-ner city, in rural, metropol-itan communities, [and] inhomes. We’re on militaryposts [and] overseas.“Wherever the need ex-

ists, nurses are workingdiligently to serve and toprotect the health of ourpeople. It is not an easytask.”Martin was guest

speaker during the NavyNurse Corps’ 107th birth-day celebration May 13 atWRNMMC.“Nurses work all hours;

nurses work long hours,”Martin continued. Sheadded they face many ad-verse conditions, includingdeployments, separationfrom families and more.“Most nurses didn’t

choose their careers be-cause of the great hours orthe working conditions,”Martin explained. “As triteas it may sound, most ofus entered the profession

of caring to help people intheir toughest times.“There are days when

the workload is huge.There are occasions whenwe can’t take all of ourpatients’ nor their fami-lies’ pain away. There aredays when we go homewith achy feet, when wego home with achy hearts.But those are the dayswhen we need to be re-minded of what we do andwhy we do what we do,”said Martin. “We need toreignite our passion fornursing every day.”One way for nurses to

do this is for them to recalltheir stories, said Mar-tin, who began her Navymilitary nursing careerin 1987 after earning herbachelor’s degree in nurs-ing from Gustavus Adol-phus College, in St. Peter,Minn.“Telling the stories

helps you to rememberwhy you went into the pro-fession, and it also helpsyou reignite why you wantto stay in this profession,”Martin continued. She ex-plained these stories couldbe from a memorable de-ployment, experiences asa nursing student or anew ensign on the floor,witnessing a nurse rolemodel, a nurse providingcompassionate care to afamily member, or watch-ing a medical televisionshow.“Reminisce on these

moments, remember them,write them down, [or]share them verbally. It’simportant. It will keep youcentered as you continuedown your road,” Martinsaid.No medical staff person

spends more time with theindividual patient thannurses do in the hospitalsetting, according to Mar-tin.

“In addition to yourtechnical skills, you bringa generous dose of com-passion in dealing withpatients who are severelyill and not only in needof direct patient care, butalso in need of emotionalsupport and encourage-ment,” Martin said.Martin encouraged

nurses to continuallystudy to remain abreast ofdevelopments.“Time constantly

changes,” she said. “Ourjob is not stagnant andtherefore we must not be-come stagnant.”“I salute you as you cul-

minate National NursesWeek, and to the Navynurses, a special Happy107th Birthday,” she con-cluded.Navy Lt. Koa Thomas,

also a WRNMMC nurse,said, “From their historicbeginnings, Navy NurseCorps officers have in-creased to approximately4,200 men and womenwho currently serve inactive and reserve compo-

nents. We truly stand onthe shoulders of giants.”Assistant Director of

Nursing at WRNMMC,Navy Capt. Carolyn Mc-Gee agreed, explainingthat in 1908 when Con-gress established theNavy Nurse Corps, 20women were selected asthe corps’ inaugural mem-bers and assigned to theNaval Medical School inWashington, D.C. “Thesenurses eventually becameknown as ‘The SacredTwenty.’”One of The Sacred

Twenty, Lenah Sutcliffe

Higbee, became the secondsuperintendent of the U.S.Navy Nurse Corps, a posi-tion she held duringWorldWar I. She also became thefirst female recipient ofthe Navy Cross. The USSHigbee (DD-806), commis-sioned in 1945, was namedafter her, and it was thefirst U.S. Navy combatwarship to bear the nameof a female member of theU.S. Navy.“[Her] story is only one

of many of service, accom-plishment and devotion toduty,” McGee said. “Today,as we celebrate the proud

legacy of all military nurs-es, we also celebrate thosewho serve now, and thosewho will bring the NurseCorps into the future serv-ing in times of war as wellas peace.”“We can all agree the

Navy needs innovativeand bold men and womento lead, think critically,challenge assumptionsand take well-calculatedrisks. Our nurse corpscontinues to follow suitand takes pride in sustain-ing leaders that reflect ourvery best,” Thomas con-cluded.

WRNMMC Celebrates Navy Nurse Corps’ Birthday

By Sarah MarshallWRNMMC Public

Affairs writer

A new department atWalter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Center(WRNMMC) will allowspecialized nurses to fo-cus more strategically onensuring quality patientcare and ethical practices.The Inpatient Clinical

Education Departmentwas announced May 15by Col. Ray Antoine, di-rector of Nursing, duringan All Nurses Call. Thenew department bringstogether the expertise ofseveral Clinical NurseSpecialists (CNS), whoare licensed registered

nurses with advanced de-grees (master’s or doctor-ate), also specializing invarious skill sets, such asdirect patient care, ethi-cal decision making, andperformance improve-ment, he said.

Previously, these clinicalnurse experts were alignedwith separate units or de-partments throughout themedical center, Antoinesaid, but bringing them to-gether capitalizes on theirtalents.“We can use them to

help get where we needto go as it relates to qual-ity and ethical practice,”he said.The department will

research evidence-based

practices and ensure thebest practices are trans-lated at the bedside, ex-plained Army Lt. Col.Cheryl Creamer, chief ofthe new department. Sheadded that they’ll lookat evidence to see what’sappropriate, and ensurestandardization of thesepractices throughout thehospital.“They will divide and

conquer to help us moveforward,” said Creamer.“They will improve qual-ity. We will look acrossthe scope of what we’redoing to make sure we’redoing the right thing ev-ery single time.”

New Department Seeks to Continue Enhancing Patient Experience

Photo by Sarah Marshall

The new Inpatient Clinical Education Department, with Director ofNursing Army Col. Ray Antoine (rear right) will focus on ensuringquality patient care and ethical practices.See PATIENT page 5

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Christopher Krucke

Military’s Top Nurses Salute Nurses WeekLeaders and nurses ceremoniously cut a cake during the open-ing event for National Nurses Week at Walter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Center on May 6.


MC3 Hank GettysNSAB Public Affairs

staff writer

Representatives from Naval SupportActivity Bethesda’s (NSAB)Fleet andFamily Support Center (FFSC) helpedcelebrate Military Spouse AppreciationDay May 15.

“Military Spouse Appreciation Dayoriginated in the U.S. in 1984, createdby President Ronald Reagan,” said De-dra Anderson, FFSC employment spe-cialist and coordinator of the effort. “Hewanted to raise awareness of how spou-sal commitment can help military per-sonnel get through their worst times.”

To show their appreciation, the FFSCprovided military spouses with some to-kens of gratitude.

“We set up a table at the NEX andwe gave away cupcakes, candy and bub-ble gum to military spouses,” Andersonsaid. “Just some sweet treats for oursweet spouses.”

Though military spouses haven’tsworn an oath like their significant oth-ers, that doesn’t mean they aren’t sacri-ficing and helping to serve our country,according to Anderson.

“I think it would impossible to putinto words how much we and the mili-tary cherish and respect our militaryspouses,” said Anderson. “They didn’t

raise their right hands and swear toprotect and defend our Constitution,but they are still serving and enthusi-astic, and their contributions are veryvalued.”

For military members, staying bal-anced and well-organized is a must, andmilitary spouses can help bring thatstability home.

“For me, the spouse keeps the homebalanced, the family finances, theycoach t-ball, they help with homework,and sometimes they hold a full-time jobas well,” said Anderson. “To me, theyare professional jugglers and they standbehind the service members and theyprove on a daily basis that you do notneed to put on a uniform to serve.

“I thank and support their loyaltyand commitment and that’s why we cel-ebrate them; thank you to all militaryspouses.”

Anderson felt the event was a suc-cess, and hopes to continue putting anemphasis on this celebration.

“I think it went really, really well,”she said. “We were set up there from 10-2, and we brought 120 cupcakes, and wegave away all but four. I think the fairwent well, and I hope next year we areable to hold a bigger event.”

According to Anderson, the FFSCsupports military members, spousesand their families in all the differentphases and challenges of military life.

Some of their programs include:•Command Training Support•Clinical Counseling•Crisis Response•Deployment/IA Support•Exceptional Family Member Pro-

gram (EFMP)•Family Employment Readiness Pro-

gram (FERP)•Family Advocacy Program•Financial--Personal Financial Plan-

ning (PFM)•Information and Referral•Life Skills Education•Navy Gold Star Program

•New Parent Support (NPSP)•Ombudsman Training and Support•Outreach Services•Relocation Assistance Program

(RAP)•School Liaison Officer (SLO)•Sexual Assault Prevention and Re-

sponse (SAPR)•Transition and Employment ServicesThe office, located on Bldg. 11’s first

floor, operates from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.Monday through Friday, and can bereached by phone at 301-319-4087 or byemail at [email protected].

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

Photo by MC3 Hank Gettys

Representatives from Naval Support Activity Bethesda’s (NSAB)Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) helped celebrate MilitarySpouse Appreciation Day by giving out cupcakes and candy to mili-tary spouses at the NEX on NSAB May 15.

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Regardless of theirspecific talents, their skillsets can be used acrossthe organization, accord-ing to Creamer. They’llbe able to provide expertguidance and coaching,consultation, research,collaboration, leadership,and assist with ethi-cal decision making, shesaid.Additionally, these

clinical experts havethree main spheres of in-fluence: (1) patient andfamily, (2) nursing per-sonnel, and (3) the orga-nization, explained NavyCapt. Carolyn McGee,deputy director of nurs-ing.“They’re researchers,

collaborators, educatorsand communicators, andwill work to continuous-ly improve quality andthe patient experience,”McGee said. “We’re veryexcited to pull them to-gether as a group, so wecan capitalize on theircollective talents.”She added that the

new department is thefirst within the Defense

Health Agency to imple-ment this model.“I’m very excited to see

we’re setting a new stan-dard for military healthcare,” she said. “I’m ex-cited to see what they’regoing to do … I knowthey’re going to do greatthings.”The new Inpatient

Clinical Education de-partment includes spe-cialized nurses with vari-ous backgrounds, severalof whom have worked inthe Emergency Depart-ment, Intensive CareUnit, Oncology and withwound care and geriat-rics.As the department’s

members were intro-duced during the recentAll Nurses Call, each ex-pressed that they lookforward to assisting theircolleagues. Among those,Lt. Cmdr. Frank Jones, anadult gerontologist CNS,noted, “I’m happy the com-mand leadership is sup-portive of this model.”Antoine concluded the

All Nurses Call, express-ing his appreciation forall nurses at WRNMMC:“I’m proud of what you doeach and every day. I’mproud of the way you rep-resent.”

PATIENTContinued from pg. 3

By Don RochonNaval Facilities

EngineeringCommand

Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS)- Naval Facilities Engi-neering Command (NAV-FAC) public works profes-sionals began celebratingNational Public WorksWeek May 17.Na t i ona l Pub l i c

Works Week, which runsthrough May 23 this year,started in 1960 as part ofa public education cam-paign by the AmericanPublic Works Association(APWA). The week-longevent seeks to raise thepublic’s awareness aboutpublic works issues andemployees who are dedi-cated to improving thequality of life for pres-ent and future genera-tions. This year’s themeis “Community BeginsHere.”“Our public works

teams represent our in-stallation communities,and characterize the com-mitment and support thatNAVFAC provides to allNavy and Marine Corpsbases,” said NAVFACCommander Rear Adm.Kate Gregory. “Theseteams of Civil EngineerCorps officers, NAVFACcivilians, and contractorpartners work tirelesslyin support of the installa-tions they serve.”NAVFAC Washing-

ton Commanding Offi-cer Capt. Tony Edmondsexpressed his thanks inan email to the NAVFACTeam Washington fortheir work maintainingthe installations in NavalDistrict Washington.“Our Nation’s military

infrastructure and readi-ness depends on you, andthe expertise and dedi-cated service of our entireteam of facilities and pub-lic work professionals,”Edmonds wrote in hisemail. “Whether it’s our

grounds, roads or run-ways; our water, steamor electrical distributionlines; or our multitude ofbuildings and facilities,you have a critical rolein keeping them readyand able to support themilitary missions on ourinstallations.”NAVFAC has provided

management and leader-ship of Navy public worksfor more than 170 years.As the Navy’s public

works officers, Civil En-gineer Corps officers leadNavy and Marine Corpspublic works depart-ments (PWD) around theglobe in providing com-prehensive shore installa-tion facility engineering,acquisition, environmen-tal, and transportationservices.A lot of this essential

work goes unnoticed,

NAVFAC Celebrates Public Works Week

SeeWORKS page 10

Courtesy Photo

(Left to right)Keith Edwards,Eng i nee r i ngTechnician forNaval SupportActivity Bethes-da’s (NSAB)Public Works

Department (PWD) Bethesda, Lt. j.g. Daniel Syzdek,NSAB’s PWD Bethesda construction manager andMike Kfoury, AlliedWell Drilling stand by building 11while a rig drills a 500-foot well for a ground sourceheat pump consisting of 63 geothermal wells.

1050453

By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Public

Affairs staff writer

Walter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Cen-ter (WRNMMC) hostedthe Annual HealthcareEthics Symposium May13-14.

The two-day event fo-cused on “Ethical Chal-lenges in Medicine,”and touched on sensi-tive and controversialissues, such as “Physi-cian Aid in Dying,” “TheMetaphysics of Deathand Dying,” “CulturalIssues in End-of-LifeClinical Decisions,”“Clinical Ethics Impli-cations of Ebola VirusDisease,” and “ResearchEthics and InfectiousDiseases.”

The symposium buildson a long-standing tradi-tion of ethical reflectionand instruction startedat Walter Reed ArmyMedical Center and theNational Naval Medical

Center, the predecessorsof WRNMMC, explainedevent organizers, ArmyMaj. (Dr.) Robert J. Wal-ter and Army Chaplain(Maj.) Stephen Pratel,Sr.

Walter chairs theWRNMMC Ethics Com-mittee and is directorof the National CapitalArea Regional Health-care Ethics Consortium.Pratel is a bioethicist atWRNMMC in the De-partment of PastoralCare.

“This is a significantevent, as our ethics ed-ucation efforts here atWRNMMC account forover half of ethics edu-cation events in the De-partment of Defense,”stated Pratel, project of-ficer for the event.

According to Walterand Pratel, the sympo-sium “targets ideas andraises awareness onleading and enduringethical challenges andis designed to increase

competence when ad-dressing the myriad ofunique ethical issuesmilitary medical profes-sionals and providersencounter.”

In discussing “Phy-sician Aid in Dying: ASurvey of the NationalLandscape,” Dr. SaraGoldkind, a researchand clinical bioethicsconsultant who is cur-rently an adjunct as-sistant professor in theSchool of Medicine atGeorge Washington Uni-versity and a memberof the WRNMMC Clini-cal Ethics Committee,concluded that this is acontroversial topic witha number of “competingforces.” She mentionedright-to-life forces ver-sus right-to-liberty forc-es (self-determinationand right to privacy).

“Regardless of the le-gality of physician aid-in-dying, our call is tocontinue caring for ourpatients during their

end-of-life challenges,”Goldkind stated.

Navy Cmdr. TheoStokes, associate pro-gram director for theNational Capital Con-sortium Neonatal-Peri-natal Medicine Fel-lowship, shared simi-lar sentiments whendiscussing “Caring forFamilies when theirBaby is Dying.”

“Respect autonomyand use your expertiseand power to providecare that is beneficent,non-maleficent, andjust,” he concluded.

Dr. Jennifer Walter,who has worked at theintersection of clinicalpractice and bioeth-ics and is currently re-searching facilitatingand improving commu-nication between thehealth care team andfamilies of children withchronic and terminal ill-ness, discussed “Cultur-al issues in End-of-LifeClinical Decisions.” Theassistant professor ofPediatrics and MedicalEthics at the Universityof Pennsylvania Schoolof Medicine Children’sHospital of Philadelphia,Walter explained howdifferent groups handleend-of-life issues.

“End-of-life issues arewhere both religion andculture have some oftheir greatest impact,”Walter stated. “As aconsequence, sensitivityand attention to boththe patient’s/family’sreligious and culturaltraditions and to thoseof the clinical team arecrucial for adequateend-of-life care.”

Dr. James J. Walter,also a bioethicist, closedout the first day of thesymposium discussing asimilar topic, “Religious

Sensitivity in End-of-Life Issues.”

Dr. Alexander A. Kon,chief of pediatric criti-cal care medicine andmedical director of thePediatric Intensive CareUnit at the Naval Medi-cal Center San Diegoand a clinical professorof pediatrics at the Uni-versity of California SanDiego School of Medi-cine, began the secondday of the symposiumaddressing the “ClinicalEthics Implications ofEbola Virus Disease.”

He discussed thehistory of contagionoutbreaks, going backto the Black Death be-tween 1347 and 1351when one-third of Eu-rope’s population diedand some doctors caredfor patients while manyfled. In 1918 during theinfluenza pandemic,millions died worldwidewhile physicians, nursesand medical studentswere very involved inthe care of the diseasedvictims. During the1980s, “many doctorsrefused to care for AIDSpatients citing personalrisk,” Kon explained.

He added that there’slongstanding precedentto limit or even withholdinterventions if provid-ing treatment places theproviders at too greatrisk, but there’s also“longstanding traditionof doctors, nurses, andothers taking signifi-cant personal risk forthe benefit of their pa-tients, which may beeven more apparent inmilitary medicine.”

He cited militarypatients treated withretained, unexplodedordnances, as well ascontaminated patients(chemical and/or bio-

logical) treated afterdecontamination. In ad-dition, the U.S. militarydoes not support with-holding treatment onthe basis of risk to pro-viders/staff.

Like with HIV/AIDS,these are similar issuesof the current Ebola de-bate, Kon stated.

Army Col . Pe -ter J. Weina, Ph.D.,WRNMMC chief of re-search programs, ad-dressed “Research Eth-ics and Infectious Dis-eases.”

“Some of our great-est mistakes and great-est advances in humansubjects’ protection havecome from the ethical is-sues surrounding infec-tious disease research,”Weina stated. An exam-ple would be the Tuske-gee syphilis experi-ment, conducted for 40years between 1932 and1972 by the U.S. PublicHealth Service to studythe natural progressionof untreated syphilis inrural African-Americanmen in Alabama, he said.

Weina explained thatthe field of ethics cameinto its own within thelast four to five decadeswhen advances in tech-nology forced moral di-lemmas. For example,“Development of elabo-rate life sustainingtechnologies made thequestion of euthanasiamore urgent, [and the]birth of bioethics alsoclosely related to theCivil Rights Movementof the 1960s [impactingthe Tuskegee experi-ment].

““How will what wedo today be judgedin retrospect?”Weinaasked.

The Fall MedicalEthics Short Course atWRNMMC is scheduledfor Oct. 19-22. Some ofthe topics scheduled tobe addressed includeethical issues in pediat-ric medicine, spiritual-ity in health care, eth-ics in gender/sexualityissues, and determiningdecision making capac-ity. For more informa-tion, visit http://www.wrnmmc.capmed.mil/Conferences /MedicalEthics/Ethics.aspx.


WRNMMC Hosts Annual Ethics Symposium

Courtesy Photo

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It’s just really an honor having ahand in supporting and better-ing the quality of life for our sol-diers and their families and alsoto be part of group that’s com-mitted to that overall mission.

- Christopher Moore,program analyst

It means being a problem solv-er, thinking forward about de-sign, construction and mainte-nance of our base facility andinfrastructure, which supportour military community.

- Lt. Michelle Caponigro,supervisory construction

manager

It means that I get an opportu-nity to use my unique skill setto help the tenants of the basemeet their mission and to meetchallenges on a daily basis thatwhen solved better allow thebase to meet its mission.

- Lt. j.g. Dylan Burns,construction manager

I absolutely enjoy working forthe NAVFAC Public Works De-partment because I know thatthe work I execute on a daily ba-sis directly impacts the qualityof life for our country’s wound-ed warriors, service members,[Department of Defense] civil-ians and their family members.

- Michelle Kilosky,facility operations specialist

NSA Bethesda: From the DeckplatesWhat does being a public works professional mean to you?

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2014 Mercedes-Benz ML 350 Sport Utility


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looked at whether it would be benefi-cial to integrate medical students intoWounded Warrior programs, such as theart therapy or adaptive sports programs.

Already, some themes are emergingfrom the research, such as the medicalstudents gaining an increased perspec-tive and a greater sense of responsibil-ity, as well having more confidence toapproach Wounded Warriors, he said.

“It can be a daunting thing if you’re afull, able-body person who doesn’t have awhole lot of military experience to sudden-ly go up to someone that’s been woundedin battle and has experiences you can’t re-ally relate to that easily,” Simmons said.“So you have a lot of people overcome thatinitial feeling of discomfort.”

Ultimately, Simmons said he’d like tosee this program be added the univer-sity’s curriculum.

Lt. Lisa Herrington, who graduatedSaturday, had a research poster aboutpediatric dyslipidemia screening inchildren. Herrington and her fellow re-searchers were looking to find out whyscreening of children was low even withthe rise of overweight and obese children.

“We know now that physician screen-ing of kids is extremely low,” she said.“No matter what risk factors they have,all kids (ages) 9 to 11 should get onelipid screening test and only 4 percent

are right now. Hopefully that numbercan increase so we can identify thosekids who need treatment for their highcholesterol.”

Dr. Francis Collins, National Insti-tutes of Health (NIH) director, gave thekeynote speech at Research Days wherehe outlined some research opportuni-ties in biomedical research.

“The opportunities to ask and answerquestions that we really didn’t quiteeven know how to pose a decade agoare now in front of us,” Collins said. “Wehave the chance to take apart myster-ies about how life works and how dis-ease occurs at a phenomenal pace that Iwould not have really imagined possiblein my own career 10 years ago.”

Some of those opportunities includedeveloping biochips to determine a drug’seffectiveness that could eliminate the an-imal testing phase, he said, and findingways to repurpose drugs that had failedin human clinical trials to cure one dis-ease, but might be helpful in fighting aseparate disease. One such example wasa drug originally designed to treat can-cer, which failed in clinical trials, but isnow being looked at as a possible treat-ment for Alzheimer’s disease, he said.

“No drug company can know what allof their drugs in the freezer might do,but if we put all the companies togetherand all of the bright brains on the plan-et to think about those repurposing op-portunities, we may have more opportu-nities like the one I just told you aboutfor Alzheimer’s disease,” Collins said.

GRADUATEContinued from pg. 1

but the behind-the-scenes effort per-formed in providing vital public worksservices such as electricity, water, andwastewater management is a centralenabler for a lot of what happens onNavy and Marine Corps bases world-wide.

In fact, last year, NAVFAC PWDshelped keep naval facilities and in-frastructure around the world well-maintained and managed, as morethan 461,000 service calls and 54,000emergency calls were recorded andcompleted in 2014.

NAVFAC’s public works profession-als are also at the forefront of execut-ing cutting-edge energy projects forthe Navy to help meet the Secretaryof the Navy’s energy goals. Advanced

metering, renewable energy, and resi-dential energy conservation projectsare helping to reduce the demand forenergy, on and off base.

“Every day our Sailors and Marinesexperience first-hand the delivery ofour public works services,” said Da-vid Curfman, NAVFAC Public Worksdirector. “Whether we’re inspecting asubmarine pier, constructing a newrunway, fixing a hangar roof leak,or cleaning up an oil spill, NAVFACPublic Works Departments are there.We’re really blessed to have such a re-nowned team.”

“However, many times we’re behindthe scenes planning for future mis-sions,” Curfman added. “We’re makingsure the buildings are heated in thewinter, designing new Child Develop-ment Centers, providing preventivemaintenance, protecting endangeredspecies, and operating our solar arraysto provide long-term, environmentallyfriendly, renewable power.”

WORKSContinued from pg. 5

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