Vol. 27 No. 30 www.cnic.navy.mil/bethesda/ July 30, 2015

By AndrewDamstedt

NSAB Public Affairsstaff writer

Capt. Marvin L.Jones relieved Capt.David A. Bitonti ascommanding officer ofNaval Support ActivityBethesda (NSAB) dur-ing a change of com-mand ceremony on theinstallation July 22,which also doubled asBitonti’s retirementceremony.

“The eyes of the na-tion have been focusedon this installation asit has undergone BaseRealignment and Clo-sure and a major tran-sition to a state-of-the-art military medicalcomplex,” said Jones toBitonti during his re-marks as NSAB’s newcommanding officer.“Through your leader-ship and strategic vi-sion this installationfosters an environmentthat enables patientsto heal, employees tothrive and guests tofeel at home. I’m mostfortunate to follow inyour footsteps as itsnext commanding of-ficer and assure youthat the Command willcontinue to build on thelegacy and foundationsthat you’ve laid.”

Bitonti retired dur-ing the ceremony aftera 30-year career in theNavy. He assumed com-mand of NSAB in Sep-tember 2013.

Guest speaker ViceAdm. Matthew L. Na-than, 37th SurgeonGeneral of the Navy,Chief of the Navy’s Bu-reau of Medicine andSurgery and senior of-

ficer present duringthe ceremony, said Bi-tonti’s congenial andapproachable manner,and attention to detailhave helped him servethe Navy well in beingan ambassador for this“heroic institution.”

“What I’ve been mostimpressed with [Biton-ti] is the way he main-tains his attention todetail,” Nathan said.“He understands every-thing going on and he

maintains situationalawareness and yet heunderstands the im-portance of the humantouch.”

Nathan highlighteda few of Bitonti’s ac-complishments duringhis time as NSAB’scommanding officer, in-cluding Bitonti’s back-ing of a pet animaltherapy program on thebase and advocating forWounded Warriors.

“He’s always been

very responsive to theWounded Warrior is-sues to the logistical is-sues that come with abase that supports theflagship medical centerof the United States,”Nathan said.

Bitonti said he origi-nally joined the Navy30 years ago, think-ing it would be for justthree years.

“I hope in some mea-sure, I have been ableto give back to the

Navy what the Navyhas given to me and myfamily,” Bitonti said. “Ithas been a great ridefull of wonderful andfond memories and Iappreciate it.”

The ceremony washeld in Walter Reed Na-tional Military MedicalCenter’s Memorial Au-ditorium aboard NSABwhere Bitonti was alsoawarded the Legion ofMerit. Rear Adm. Yan-cy B. Lindsey, the 89th

Commandant of NavalDistrict Washington,was the hosting officer.

Jones, a native ofChicago, is a MedicalService Corps officerand reports from a touras commanding officerof Naval Health ClinicCharleston, S.C. Joneshas also served as exec-utive officer for NavalHealth Clinic Quan-tico, Va., UniformedServices University ofthe Health Sciences as-sistant commandant ofthe School of Medicine,and was the officer incharge at the NavalBranch Health Clinic inKey West, Fla., amongother positions. In2008, he was deployedto Expeditionary Medi-cal Facility Kuwait asdirector for administra-tion for a 374-memberforward deployed LevelIII medical treatmentfacility in support ofOperation Iraqi Free-dom/Operation Endur-ing Freedom.

Jones said he wantsto continue the reputa-tion of excellence thatNSAB has established.

“As I ’ve beenthroughout the cam-pus, I’ve been over-whelmed by the praiseand compliments andpositive feedback I’vereceived on your ac-complishments,” Jonessaid. “As we step to thenext chapter together, Ilook forward to leadingyou and continuing toprovide you customer-focused managementand base operationssupport to our tenantsin their pursuit of ex-cellence, partneringwith them in healing,wellness, research andeducation.”

NSAB Holds Change of Command Ceremony

Photo by MC3 Hank Gettys

Capt. Marvin L. Jones (left) relieves Capt. David A. Bitonti as Naval Support ActivityBethesda (NSAB) commanding officer during a change-of-command ceremony in WalterReed National Military Medical Center’s Memorial Auditorium aboard NSAB.

2 Thursday, July 30, 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. Marvin L. JonesPublic 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 301-295-6246

NSAB 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

Pain Care Training DeadlineJuly 31

Deadline is July 31 to register for the5th Annual Pain Care Skill Trainingtaking place Sept. 15-17 at Walter ReedNational Military Medical Center. Formore information and registration, con-tact Ron Madison at ronald.d.madison.mil@mail.mil, or Adrienne Carlisle atadrienne.c.carlisle.ctr@mail.mil.

“Cancer 101” ProgramThe cancer support group’s quar-

terly guest speaker program will beAug. 6 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Dr. StephenLewis, radiation oncologist at WalterReed National Military Medical Cen-ter (WRNMMC), will discuss “Cancer101: Understanding Emerging Thera-pies in 2015.” The presentation will beat WRNMMC in the America Building,second floor, Room 2525. It will also beshown at Fort Belvoir Community Hos-pital via video teleconference (in theOaks Pavilion, first floor, Room 332).Military ID required for base access toWalter Reed. For those without a mili-tary ID, call Prostate Center at 301-319-2900 at least four business daysprior to event for base access. For moreinformation, contact retired Col. JaneHudak at 301-319-2918.

Café 8901, EggsDespite a nationwide egg shortage

because of the avian flu virus, Café8901, the hospital’s main dining facilityat Walter Reed National Military Medi-cal Center (WRNMMC), will continue toserve its customers without any disrup-tions in regular service, if possible. Forinformation about eggs and the virus,visit www.usda.gov, and click on the link“Avian Influenza” on the homepage un-der “Popular Topics.” For Café 8901 cus-tomer comments, contact Capt. MichaelNoyes at 301-319-8135.

BethesdaNotebook

Many may think that crimeprevention or “community po-licing” got started in 1981 withthe development of the Nation-al Association of Town Watch(NATW). In actuality, you cantrace the concept back to theImperial period of the RomanEmpire and the establishmentof the Praetorian Guard, whichwas comprised largely of Ro-man legionnaires, used to pro-tect the Emperor. The Emperorwould see fit to appoint a Prae-fectus Urbi, loosely translatedas “urban prefect”; the prefecthad the duty of publishing thelaws promulgated by the Em-peror, and as such acquireda legal jurisdiction. This ex-tended to legal cases betweenslaves and their masters, pa-trons and their freedmen, andover sons who had violated thepietas (in Roman religion, per-sonification of a respectful andfaithful attachment to gods,country, and relatives, espe-cially parents). Even thoughthe idea then was abstract, ref-erencing crime prevention, theconceptual foundation remainsrelevant today.

In 1984, the first NationalNight Out was celebrated. Itspurpose was to bond neighborsand communities together,starting a dialogue, while cre-ating resources that shapehow we protect our children’sneighborhoods and keep ourfamilies safe.

August 4, Naval SupportActivity Bethesda (NSAB) willjoin with local police, fire andemergency services and theUSO to host NSAB’s inaugu-

ral National Night Out event.The event will be held at theUSO from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.,and there will be games, dem-onstrations and free food fromlocal Bethesda restaurants.Everyone with base access iswelcome.

National Night Out en-hances the relationship be-tween neighborhoods and lawenforcement, while bringingback a true sense of commu-nity and provides a great op-portunity to bring police andneighbors together underpositive circumstances. Thesepositive circumstances aresorely needed given the recenthandful of negative situationsspread throughout the nation.National Night Out is an an-nual event held on the firstTuesday in August; Neighborscelebrate in more than 16,000communities from all fiftystates, U.S. territories, Cana-dian cities and military basesworldwide.

For the past 16 years, I havebeen fortunate enough to serveas a military reservist, a fire-fighter, a medic and law en-forcement officer. Each line ofwork is equally important, andall fall under the umbrella ofpublic safety. I enjoy servingthe community, which is at theheart of being in emergencyservices. For me, NationalNight Out sets the standardfor ALL public safety, not justlaw enforcement, working to-gether to reach our local com-munities to educate, to get in-volved, and to serve.

So what can we here at

NSAB do to help? Staying in-volved is the best way to help,being vigilant throughout theinstallation and reporting sus-picious or questionable activ-ity. Don’t be afraid to say some-thing, it could make all the dif-ference in the world. Don’t waituntil there’s an emergency tobecome acquainted with the in-stallation emergency responseteams. Go to the fire and policestations, visit and have a con-versation with the personnel.Learn, know, and follow all theinstallation and tenant com-mand emergency proceduresfor active shooter, emergencyweather conditions, and emer-gency alarm activations.

If we all stay vigilant onNSAB during our daily rou-tines, speak up if we see some-thing suspicious, get to knowour installation emergencyresponse teams and what wecan do to help, and learn andfollow emergency proceduresfor various situations, we canensure that we maintain a safeenvironment for everyone.

I’ll see you all at NationalNight Out on Aug. 4 at theUSO from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.!

NSAB Police Chief’s Column

D.C. Stanton Jr.NSAB Police Chief

National Night Out – A Community Effort

The Journal Thursday, July 30, 2015 3

By Sharon ReneeTaylor

WRNMMC PublicAffairs Staff Writer

Walter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Center(WRNMMC) recognizedthe men and women whoserve on the front lines ofthe nation’s public healthby celebrating the birth-day of the CommissionedCorps of the U.S. PublicHealth Service (USPHS).The country’s flagship

military treatment facil-ity held a special forma-tion at morning colors infront of The Tower, Build-ing 1, July 16—exactly126 years after an act ofCongress established andformalized the Commis-sioned Corps as the uni-formed services compo-nent of the Marine Hospi-tal Service.The history of the

USPHS spans more thana century before the act ofCongress that formalizedthe corps. On July 16,1798, the fifth Congresspassed an act, signed byPresident John Adams, toestablish an organizationto “provide temporaryrelief and maintenanceof sick and disabled sea-men.”Over the next 200

years, the organizationhelped establish the firstmarine hospitals, accept-ed the task of controlling

epidemic disease such assmallpox and yellow fe-ver in 1878, and played amajor role in fulfilling thecommitment to preventdisease from entering theU.S. in 1902. The USPHSinvestigated diseasessuch as tuberculosis,hookworm, malaria andleprosy, and establishedwhat would later becomethe Centers for DiseaseControl and Preventionin 1936.The Public Health Ser-

vice released a landmarkreport that linked lungcancer and chronic bron-chitis to cigarette smokein 1964. USPHS SurgeonGeneral Dr. C. EverettKoop became the chieffederal spokesperson onAIDS, and in 1986 wrotethe book “UnderstandingAIDS.” The free publica-tion was sent to all 107million households in theU.S.“I believe that our Pub-

lic Health Service hasprevented more diseaseand injury than Army,Navy, [and] Air ForceMedicine have treated,combined,” said WalterReed National MilitaryMedical Center DirectorArmy Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Jef-frey Clark, at the birth-day celebration.Fifteen USPHS Com-

missioned officers serveat WRNMMC in positionssuch as social workers,therapists, and nurses.

More than 6,500 healthprofessionals serve in theUSPHS, with the mis-sion to protect, promote,and advance the healthand safety of the na-tion. The CommissionedCorps work at more than20 federal departmentsor agencies, and deploynationally in support ofpublic health responsesto man-made and natu-ral disasters like Hurri-canes Katrina, Rita andSandy, along with trag-edies such as the SandyHook Elementary shoot-ing, and a surge in teen-age suicides in the NativeAmerican Community inand around Fort Thom-son, S.D.One of those who de-

ployed to both Katrinaand the teenage sui-cides in South Dakotais USPHS Capt. StaceyWilliams, Ph.D., a pe-diatric psychologist atWRNMMC. She was at-tending a departmentChristmas party on Dec.14, 2012 when she wasnotified that her teamwould deploy in responseto the school shooting atSandy Hook. She arrivedin Connecticut at 9 thatevening and spent thenext two weeks helpingthe effort there.Prior to her commis-

sion in the USPHS, Wil-liams served in the Army11 years, achieving therank of major. Her hus-

band, also an Army offi-cer, deployed to Afghani-stan and Iraq at the startof the war.“There was really going

to be nobody home, so Idecided I wanted to servemy country, but I neededto stabilize our family,”Williams explained. Shesaid she decided to trans-fer her commission to theUSPHS to continue herwork with military de-pendents.Rear Adm. Peter Dela-

ny, director of the Centerfor Behavioral HealthStatistics and Quality,began his career with theUSPHS. He served askeynote speaker during

the special morning for-mation. Delaney said itwas an honor to be a partof the seven uniformedservices. He indicatedthat although USPHSand the military medi-cal services have done alot to support both the illand those in recovery, themomentum can’t be lost.“We can’t let up,” said

the licensed clinical so-cial worker whose careerwith the USPHS spans 30years.Delaney explained the

symbiotic relationshipbetween the USPHS andthe military medical ser-vices.“Throughout history

we worked pretty seam-lessly, especially in war.People probably don’tknow that we had prob-ably 150 officers tourthrough Afghanistanand Iraq, and throughother missions across theworld, so we’re not justa [Continental UnitedStates] service, we do alot of work [outside of theUnited States] .“I think that the broth-

erhood and the sisterhoodof the services are criti-cal for the way we haveto operate in the UnitedStates. We couldn’t func-tion without them,” Del-aney said.

USPHS Celebrates 126 Years

Photo by Sharon Renee Taylor

U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Capt. Stacey Williams, Ph.D.,and Capt. Dwayne Buckingham, Ph.D., salute amidst a sea of Sail-ors, Soldiers, Airmen, Civilians and other USPHS officers in a spe-cial early morning formation on July 16, the birthday of the Com-missioned Corps of USPHS.

By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Public

Affairs staff writer

Walter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Cen-ter (WRNMMC) DirectorMaj. Gen. (Dr.) JeffreyB. Clark and UniformedServices University ofthe Health Sciences(USU) Dean of the Schoolof Medicine Dr. ArthurL. Kellermann signed amemorandum July 23 atWRNMMC integratingtheir respective depart-ments of surgery, estab-lishing the USU WalterReed Surgery Depart-ment.“This new alignment

provides a unique oppor-tunity for advancing the

National Capital Regionas an Academic HealthSystem…[The USU Wal-ter Reed Surgery De-partment] will harnessthe immense resourcesavailable at WRNMMCand USU to accomplishthe mission of outstand-ing clinical care, excel-lence in education andexceptional research,” thememorandum states.“I think this is very

exciting [and] where weneed to go,” Clark said.He explained the integra-tion as part of a unity ofeffort initiative with thegoal of having USU andWRNMMC “function asone as opposed to sev-eral entities. USU“Wehave made huge stridesin a variety of areas,”

the general added. Hepointed out the align-ment the John P. MurthaCancer Center (MCC) atWRNMMC has with USUand the National Insti-tutes of Health’s NationalCancer Institute.Air Force Col. (Dr.)

Jef frey A. Bai ley,WRNMMC’s director ofsurgery, added that unityof effort also exists be-tween WRNMMC andUSU in research, cancer,pathology, brain injury, li-brary science simulation,leadership and readinessinitiatives. There arealso integrated pathol-ogy efforts between USU,WRNMMC and the JointPathology Center.“I would submit the

destiny of the military

health system depends onhow well we work togeth-er, and what we accom-plish together,” Keller-mann said. “The creationof this joint department[and] the unity that itrepresents is not an idlepact; it’s fundamentalto the future of militaryhealth, military surgery… and our ability to dowhat we need to do goingforward in a very uncer-tain and volatile world.”Kellermann called the

USU Walter Reed Sur-gery Department “thepoint of the spear” forintegration between thetwo organizations. “Werecognize the power inthis combination, [and]

USU, Walter Reed Integrate Departments of Surgery

Photo by Bernard S. Little

Dean of the School of Medicine at the Uni-formed Services University (USU) Dr. ArthurL. Kellermann and Walter Reed National Mil-itary Medical Center (WRNMMC) DirectorMaj. Gen. (Dr.) Jeffrey B. Clark sign a memo-randum July 23 atWRNMMC integrating theirrespective departments of surgery. See SURGERY page 6

By CynthiaHilsinger

NMPDC PublicAffairs

It began on a routinecommercial airline flightfrom Sacramento to Mi-ami and ended with Hos-pital Corpsman SecondClass Matthew Blakesaving a life and earninga Navy Marine and CorpsAchievement Medal.

Blake was asleep in hisseat when he was awak-ened by the commotionin the seat behind him.Turning his attention, hesaw a man in the throesof a seizure. Blake hadexperience and trainingin managing seizures as acorpsman with more than

6-years’ experience, hav-ing just completed 3-yearswith the 2nd Marine Di-vision as a Field MedicalTechnician before comingto Navy Medicine Pro-fessional DevelopmentCenter (NMPDC) as thecoordinator for the ClinicManagement Course.

“Take your hand out ofhis mouth,” said Blake tothe seizing man’s partner.“I knew right away, hewas making that commonmistake, in which firstresponders place theirhand or [an] object in apatient’s mouth in an at-tempt to stop them frombiting or swallowing theirtongue; this is a commonmisconception,” he ex-plained. “I recognized an

apparent “postictal state”[following a seizure] withan altered mental status,so I informed a respond-ing flight attendant thatthis was an emergency,”said Blake.

The airline’s flight at-tendants made an an-nouncement to the cabinasking for doctors, nurses,and emergency medicaltechnicians (EMTs) onthe flight to please assist.A doctor and a nurse onthe flight came forward.I gave them my assess-ment. “The doctor askedme to take the man’s vi-tals,” said Blake. After-wards the doctor deemedit necessary to administerintravenous fluids (IV)with certain IV and oral

medications.“[The airline] has a

‘crash cart’ with [an] au-tomatic external defibril-lator on board, so we hadmany instruments anditems at our disposal,”said Blake. “I then start-ed the IV fluids. The pilotasked about the patient’scondition while the doctorconferred with the flightcrew, who then orderedthe plane down. The pilotthen diverted the plane toEl Paso, Texas.

“We wrapped him upand we escorted him andhis partner off the plane,”said Blake. “The doctordid an official turn-overto the El Paso paramedic

4 Thursday, July 30, 2015 The Journal

By AndrewDamstedt

NSAB Public Affairsstaff writer

“No one will believeyou.”

“It’s all your fault.”Audience members

were asked to portraythose reasons why sexu-al assault victims don’tcome forward as part ofinterACT’s sexual assaultawareness training per-formance at Naval Sup-port Activity Bethesda(NSAB) in Walter ReedNational Military Medi-cal Center’s (WRNMMC)Memorial Auditorium.

Audience membersjoined actors on stage aspart of the performanceaimed at teaching how topositively communicatewith someone who’s beensexually assaulted. Afterportraying those nega-tive voices, the audiencewas asked how one couldbetter communicate withsomeone who has been avictim of sexual assault.

The per formancetroupe, based out of Cali-fornia State University,Long Beach, has beentraveling to militarybases since 2014, andbrought their act to NSABJuly 24. During the twoperformances, they actedout semi-scripted sceneson sexual assault, afterwhich the audience was

asked to evaluate whateach actor could’ve donebetter in each scenario.Then, some audiencemembers got the chanceto act out those bettercommunication methodson stage.

“We’ve been on an ar-duous campaign to reallyeducate our staff, our mil-itary and civilian person-

nel about sexual assaultand how we respond toit,” NSAB CommandingOfficer Capt. Marvin L.Jones said. “If we don’taddress it, if we don’t payattention to it, if we shyaway from it – it destroysour mission. It under-mines us.”

The Department of De-fense’s (DOD) Sexual As-

sault Prevention and Re-sponse (SAPR) 2014 an-nual report, found onlineat www.sapr.mil, showedsome progress had beenmade within the militaryon getting victims to re-port sexual assault, butthere was more work todo to eliminate the crimeof sexual assault withinthe Armed Forces.

Service members canreport a sexual assault aseither unrestricted or re-stricted. An unrestrictedreport notifies the com-mand and law enforce-ment as well as triggershealth care and advocacyservices for the victim. Arestricted report remainsconfidential and lets aperson access health care

and advocacy serviceswithout notifying thecommand or law enforce-ment.

The Navy had 991 un-restricted reports of sex-ual assault and received400 restricted reports; ofthe 400 restricted reports,106 were converted to un-restricted, according tothe 2014 SAPR report.

On NSAB, resourcesfor sexual assault victimsinclude 40 trained victimadvocates who are avail-able to help connect avictim with resources to“start the process of heal-ing,” said Kim Agnew,NSAB Sexual AssaultResponse Coordinator(SARC). The installation’sSAPR office provides con-tinuous training through-out the year, she said.

“We go into commandsfor a more intimate train-ing, where we go and sitdown in a group settingand talk – have a conver-sation,” Agnew said.

For more informa-tion on SAPR on base,the 24/7 Victim AdvocateHotline can be reachedat 301-442-8225. TheSARC duty phone is 301-442-2053. The DOD SafeHelpline is 1-877-995-5247. The WRNMMCSAPR Intranet is atwww.wrnmmc.intranet.capmed.mil/Programs/SAPR/default.aspx.

interACT Sexual Assault Awareness Training Brings Audience on Stage

Photo by Andrew Damstedt

Actors from performance troupe interACT engage with Kim Agnew, Naval Support Activ-ity Bethesda sexual assault response coordinator, during a sexual assault awareness train-ing session July 24.

Photo by Cynthia Hilsinger

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class MatthewBlake, attached to the Navy Medicine Pro-fessional Development Center, speaks in hisrole as the course coordinator for the ClinicManagement Course.

Off-Duty Hero: NMPDC Corpsman Utilizes Training to Save Life

See HERO page 6

By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Public

Affairs staff writer

While Walter Reed Na-tional Military MedicalCenter (WRNMMC) staffmembers have been work-ing “extremely hard” pro-viding “extraordinary” pa-tient care, Rear Adm. (Dr.)Raquel C. Bono asked themto do even more to improveaccess and increase enroll-ment of beneficiaries in theMilitary Health System(MHS).The director of the De-

fense Health Agency’sNational Capital RegionMedical Directorate (NCR-MD), Bono hosted herquarterly town hall meet-ing at WRNMMC July 21in Memorial Auditorium.WRNMMC falls under theNCR-MD, headquarteredon Naval Support ActivityBethesda (NSAB).“You have been working

extremely, extremely hard,and it’s not lost on me…orthe people who matter themost [theWRNMMC bene-ficiaries],” Bono said. In ad-dition to notingWRNMMCstaff ’s accomplishmentsand positive patient sat-isfaction survey data, shealso “pointed out areas [inwhich] we can make thiseven better for our patients.“One of the first things

I wanted to be able to doin this market was to im-prove the patient experi-ence through quality ofcare [as defined by ourpatients],” Bono said. Sheadded WRNMMC and theNCR-MD are doing “verywell” in a number of MHSPerformance Dashboardareas, including inpatientsatisfaction; mental healthfollow-up; prevention qual-ity; private sector care costper prime enrollee; andper member per month(PMPM), or the cost to takecare of patients.“We’re not only deliver-

ing quality care, but we’redoing it cost effectively,”Bono said.Other areas that the

NCR-MD and WRNMMCare doing well in are cancerscreening, diabetes care,childbirths, total purchasedcare cost, total enrollmentand pharmacy percent re-tail spending, according tothe NCR-MD director.

The admiral said thatwhile the region andWRNMMC are improvingin satisfaction of beneficia-ries with getting care whenneeded, she wants morefocus on this area, as wellas improvement in the areaof beneficiaries’ overall sat-isfaction with outpatienthealth care.Following her briefing,

Bono opened the floor toquestions, most of whichconcerned case volume andresources.

Bono explained while itmay be challenging to im-prove access and increaseenrollment while main-taining the quality careWRNMMC is noted for, itcan be done and is neces-sary for continued fund-ing and continuance of theMHS.The admiral said

WRNMMC and NCR-MDstaff members should en-courage beneficiaries toenroll in Secure Messaging(SM), also known as Re-layHealth, which providespatients a portal for per-sonal health information.SM is a web-based servicedirectly linking beneficia-ries to their Medical HomeTeams.The secure, efficientelectronic communicationservice is a Health Insur-ance Portability and Ac-countability Act (HIPAA)-compliant communicationsystem that can be ac-cessed anywhere, anytime,allowing patients to re-

quest appointments, refer-rals, medication renewals,lab and test results, con-sult with their health careteam, or schedule a virtualweb “visit,” saving a trip foran appointment.Beneficiaries interested

in using SM should contacttheir primary care or spe-cialty care clinic, or sign upat www.relayhealth.com.

In addition to SecureMessaging, Bono said staffshould also make benefi-ciaries aware of the advan-tages of using the NurseAdvice Line, which is avail-able 24 hours a day, sevendays a week, for free medi-cal information and advicefor TRICARE beneficiaries.The NAL can be reachedat 1-800-874-2273 (TRI-CARE), Option 1. Callerswill be connected to a teamof registered nurses whocan answer a variety of ur-gent health care questionsor help beneficiaries decideif they should see a healthcare provider.“I really believe we’re

the ones who give our pa-tients the best care,” Bonosaid. “It’s not only thatwe’re really well trained,but we really know whatour patients need. There’sa bond we have with ourpatients. Who understandsour patients better thanus? Who understands bet-ter what it’s like to be amilitary person, or to havea family in themilitary, butus?”

The Journal Thursday, July 30, 2015 5

U.S. Navy official photo

Rear Adm. Raquel C. Bono

NCR-MD Director Commends WRNMMC,Calls for Increased Access, Enrollment

1051506

6 Thursday, July 30, 2015 The Journal

what we do is going todefine the future of mili-tary health and militarysurgery in our readinessfor future conflict, ourcapacity to innovate, thecaliber of the educationwe provide, and most im-portant of all, the care wegive to patients everydayinside these walls whichis projected throughoutthe country and through-out the world.”

Navy Capt. (Dr.) EricElster, professor andchair of the Departmentof Surgery at USU andWRNMMC, said the goalof the USU Walter Reed

Surgery Department is to“engender patient loyaltywith trusted and acces-sible care. If we don’t getthat right, we won’t suc-ceed.”

“[It will be incumbent]on us to provide access topatients who are in theNational Capital Region,and potentially fromaround the world, whocome here to get the qual-ity care they deserve,”Bailey added. “It startswith us interfacing withour system, understand-ing the referrals and howto bring [beneficiaries]into our facilities.”

SURGERYContinued from pg. 3

By NSABPublic Affairs

Naval Support ActivityBethesda (NSAB) lead-ership wants patients,staff and visitors to knowabout an upcoming con-struction project whichwill create more parkingspaces on the installation.

The construction of a650-space parking ga-rage on the current H Lotparking area (betweenthe Child DevelopmentCenter (CDC) and the

Navy Lodge, on StokesRoad) will begin in Au-gust and is scheduledto be completed by latespring of 2016.

Base officials saidthere will be minimalimpact to traffic duringthe project. “This workwon’t stop daily opera-tions or traffic,” said En-sign Quintrell Mazant,NAVFAC Washington’sconstruction manager forthe project. “This includesthe CDC, the Navy Lodge,and the Bowling Center.Traffic may slow down abit, but they will still beable to get out of the HLot. Also, the presence offences doesn’t mean thatdrivers can’t use the road,

and signs will be postedto direct them around thejob site.”

According to NSABTransportation ManagerRyan Emery, constructionof the parking garage willalso involve an increasein commercial trucks de-livering building materi-als for the project to theinstallation during non-rush hours. He adviseddrivers and pedestriansto remain alert and awareof this increase in trafficduring their daily rou-tine.

For more informationor questions about the HLot garage project, pleasecontact Ryan Emery at301-319-3818.

NSAB Announces Construction of New Parking Garage

using the notes I wroteand I assisted with ElPaso EMTs with trans-porting the patient to thehospital,”

“As corpsmen, we aretaught very early on in ourcareer to assist wheneverand wherever necessary,”said Blake. “I’d also liketo add, I was simply doingwhat any other corpsmanwould have done in my sit-uation. I’ve been very luckyto have highly-motivateddoctors, Physician Assis-tants and IndependentDuty Corpsman teach meover the years.”

NMPDC provides vi-sion, oversight, and ex-ecution for Navy Medi-cine’s continuum oflearning, preparing per-sonnel for increased re-sponsibilities as militaryand professional leaders,and provides oversightfor Navy Medicine staffeducation and train-ing program functions.Its courses focus on thepractice and business ofmilitary medicine. Formore information aboutNMPDC, visit: http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmpdc/Pages/index.aspx

HEROContinued from pg. 4

Courtesy graphic

Computer rendering of a 650-space parking garage on the currentH Lot parking area, construction for which will begin in Augustand is scheduled to be completed by late spring of 2016.

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The Journal Thursday, July 30, 2015 7

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