LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Caring for Service members and their families means more than consulting each other and following the wingman or battle-buddy mentality.
It means giving quality medical treatment to those in need.
With the opening of a new U.S. Air Force Hospital Langley annex at Langley Air Force Base, Va., that care became more readily available and more dynamic.
The new annex, located across the street from the Bateman library, contains the mental health and physical therapy departments. For physical therapy, the move has provided more than just a new location.
"Before the move, we were tight on space," said Tech. Sgt. Starr Williams, 633rd Medical Group physical therapy flight noncommissioned officer-in-charge. "We had to share space with the Health and Wellness Center, so sometimes exercises would even require using the hallways."
At the new location; however, space is not an issue.
"The new annex gives us a lot more freedom than before," said Williams. "We can expand our treatments to include more agility exercises and give our clients a more quality session."
Agility exercises consist of drills to help improve coordination, speed and power, and these types of activities require space. With the physical therapy staff having a greater opportunity to practice "sports medicine" rehabilitation, personnel can offer more dynamic treatments to get patients back on their feet.
In addition to agility exercises, personnel have more tools and equipment at their disposal. The rebounder, for example, can be used for patients with balance problems. Before the move to the annex, the rebounder was stored due to space constraints.
The additional space affords patients more privacy access as well. Patients can now be seen in large, private cells for treatment, and also two large beds in the main room give personnel and patients even more space for stretches and similar treatment.
Williams and her staff anticipate, at full manning, a 25 percent increase and productivity. That means more patients can be treated by more efficient means in a day than before at the HAWC.
Though this constitutes a definite enhancement for the clinic, Williams said this may not be a permanent home for the clinic. U.S. Air Force Hospital Langley has proposed plans for a potential centralization of all their facilities at the hospital proper, so the clinic may move again in about five to seven years.
Regardless of the future or the past of the physical therapy clinic, one thing is certain, said WIlliams: quality care for Service members and their families will remain timeless in the eyes of the physical therapy clinic.
For more information about the physical therapy clinic, or to make an appointment, call 866-645-4584. The clinic caters to Service members of all branches, to include our Fort Eustis Soldiers; however, due to manning, the clinic is currently limited to treating active duty and post-operative patients with an appointed referral.