MESSAGE FROM THE COMMANDING OFFICER: Shipmates and FB Friends: Its time to chronicle another full and fulfilling week at NHCL. Midweek saw 72 new staff at our Command Indoctrination Program, the largest group of new employees we’ve seen since last summer’s PCS season. CDR Matt Case (DFA) and LCDR Lorrie Meyer (Staff Education) and her crew have reengineered the indoc program and shortened it to two days in order to make it more interactive and useful, instead of 3 days of “death by PowerPoint.” Most of the feedback from new staff has been very favorable, but we’ll continue to tweak the program to make it as good as it needs to be. We only have one opportunity to make a good first impression with new staff. We held a monthly Awards Quarters on Thursday, and presented military awards, civilian awards, and recognized our employees of the quarter. Ms. Mary Harris, a technician from the lab, received Civilian of the Quarter (Category I), Mr. Keith Boehm, from the pharmacy, was selected for Category II, and the Radiology Department’s Ms. Tammy McTaggart earned Contractor of the Quarter recognition. Blue Jacket of the Quarter honors went to HN Phillip Morris from Camp Johnson, and the ED’s HM2 Courtney Osborne was selected as our Junior Sailor of the Quarter. Pharmacy Technician HM1 Haroldson Lorenzo was chosen as Sailor of the Quarter and LT Richard Greenfield, a physical therapist, is our Officer of the Quarter. BZ to all of our People of the Quarter! Next we held a Meritorious Mast in honor of LCDR Leticia King, recognizing her many contributions to our Patient Safety and Culture of Safety programs. Like many of us, LCDR King is passionate about patient safety, and she’s made using TeamSTEPPS and Failure Mode Effects Analysis commonplace in the ICU and on MSW. We awarded several Sailors with medals for work they did outside their normal duties. For example, HM1 Oather Walker earned the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for hundreds of off-duty hours devoted to helping in the community with the Harvest on Wheels food drive and the Adopt-A-Highway program. Members of our intrepid honor guard, Petty Officers Eric Veloni, Vandell Augustine, and Christopher Koenen received Navy Achievement Medals for all the hard work and practice they put in performing at >35 funerals and >25 military ceremonies in the past year, as well as leading our junior Sailors on the team. Similarly, HM2 David Skinner and HM2 Jeremiah Helms received Navy Achievement Medals (NAMs) for ensuring our security and continuity of operations during the two winter “snowmageddons.” Meanwhile, HM3 Marcus Carter earned a second NAM for his leadership in the Intrepid Spirit Concussion Recovery Center, accounting for increased readiness and advancement opportunities in that busy, state-of-the-art multidisciplinary clinic. Two commanders earned Navy Commendation Medals, CDR Sabina Chun, our pediatric dentist, and CDR Elizabeth Grazmuck, laboratory department head. CDR Yun, who will be transferring soon to Sigonella, initiated a dental examination program in the Peds Clinic. CDR Grazmuck engineered numerous projects in the lab that decreased turnaround times and costs. Last but not least, Mr. Frank Aversa (Rads Safety Officer) and Mr. Mark Buttler (Asst Rads Safety Officer) were each awarded a Meritorious Civilian Service Medal for expertly managing an accidental release of radioactive isotope, ensuring no one was harmed by the release. We’re fortunate to have such excellent subject matter experts on our team! Shortly after I returned from the Awards Quarters, I learned the Secretary of the Navy had released the long-awaited FY15 Active Duty O-5 Staff Corps promotion selections, better known as the promotion list. From the Medical Corps, we had LCDR Steve Holley (ENT DH) selected for promotion to CDR, along with his colleagues LCDR Sonovia Johnson (sports medicine), Elizabeth Leonard (FM), LCDR Damon McClain (derm) , and LCDR Staneck (urology). Physician Assistant LCDR Ed Owens, MSC, was also selected for advancement to O-5. Well done to all the selectees for achieving this major career milestone. The workweek ended on a very high note, the 10th graduation ceremony for the Camp Lejeune Family Medicine Residency. We tried a new venue for graduation this year, the Wounded Warrior Battalion pavilion. The pavilion is located ~200 yards through the woods from our hospital, making it much easier for our staff to attend than when do events at Marston Pavillion, and the like. CAPT(Ret)Rob Ringler, the program’s first director, was the keynote speaker, sending our graduating fellows, residents, and interns out with a reflection on what our program has grown into. Graduating interns included LT Scott Allen, LT Nathan Kerestes, LT Ted Rogers, LT Kisa Seawright, LT Spencr Shirk, LT Angela Szatkowski, and LT Ann Wheelan. Our graduating co-chief residents were LCDRs Michelle Lynch and Merrilyn Nelson. Other graduating residents included LCDR Tom Mackey, LT Cliff Madsen, and LT Audrey Voss. LCDR Wendy Taylor was our lone graduating FM obstetrical fellow. We’re proud all year of all our fellows, residents, interns and students. Theyll be fanning out across the Fleet and Marine Corps over the next several weeks, showing the world how great a readiness training platform we have in NHCL. I closed out my busy week with breakfast on Saturday at the Ball Center with the Regiment of Retired Marines, along with CMC Ed Moreno, CAPT Joe Duane, LT Nathan Magare, and MC2 Albert Jones. We were able to tell them about a few of the myriad good things going on around NHCL, such as increased enrollment opportunities for retirees, use of pharmacy home delivery, the new and improved nurse advice line, and Relay Health. The information was well received, in part, because few appreciate what NHCL does for them more than the Regiment of Retired Marines. Oorah! Two weeks until our much anticipated but still unannounced Joint Commission Survey. I’m confident we’ll be ready! Very Respectfully, CAPT David A. Lane, MC, USN Commanding Officer
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 02:51:48 +0000
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