JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
As the U.S. Army continually changes and evolves, members of the U.S. Army Medical Department work hard to keep up with that growth to provide medical care to U.S. Army Soldiers quickly and effectively, improving the readiness of service members across installations.
For the staff at McDonald Army Health Center’s Troop Medical Services at Joint Base Langley-Eustis and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, this is accomplished by dividing active duty Soldiers into three separate demographics.
By splitting the demographics into different clinics, medical personnel can pay closer attention to Soldier care, focusing on readiness, length of duty-limiting profiles, military exams, immunizations and periodic health assessments.
“Troop Medical Services is a comprehensive healthcare program which provides the medical readiness, health maintenance care coordination and direct patient care for those specific populations of Soldiers,” said Dr. Paul Duch, MCAHC TMS director. “As Army leadership stresses the importance of readiness of its’ Soldiers, our Troop Medical Centers allow us to focus on that priority and get the Soldiers medically prepared for duty.”
Troop Medical Center 1 primarily cares for NCO Academy, Advanced Individual Training and U.S. Air Force students assigned to the 128th Aviation Brigade. Troop Medical Center 2 sees active duty permanent party personnel, such as those from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), while TMC-3 sees the 7th Trans. Bde. (Ex.) Soldiers assigned to the 11th Battalion at JEB Little Creek-Fort Story. The Family Health Clinic focuses primarily on retirees, dependents and high ranking leaders on the installation.
“We see a lot of the same issues and we stress the importance of continuity so Soldiers see the same primary care managers each time,” said Maj. Jennifer Feltwell, TMC officer in charge. “By scheduling Soldiers with the same providers each time, we’re better equipped to catch red flags, such as someone being on a profile for an extended amount of time or having several appointments for the same issues, which leads us to coordinate alternate care options for that individual and get them back to full-duty as soon as possible.”
To further assist medical professionals with continuity of care, Soldiers are encouraged to utilize TRICARE Online to schedule appointments, review medical history, andview prescriptions, labs and x-rays.
Feltwell also recommends that Soldiers use the Nurse Advice Line and Relay Health, a website service for minor issues which allows Soldiers to send messages to providers for minor care recommendations.
All information sent through TRICARE Online and Relay Health is added in the individual’s medical records, providing medical personnel with as much information as possible when patients are seen in the TMCs.
For more information or to speak with a medical professional, visit www.tricareonline.com or www.relayhealth.com.