Photo By Chief Petty Officer Gary Johnson | 160701-N-DJ347-029 Portsmouth, Va. (July 1, 2016) The Naval Medical Center Portsmouth...... read more read more
Capt. Christopher M. Culp became the 77th commanding officer of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth during a change of command ceremony, July 1. Culp relieved Capt. Darin K. Via, who had commanded the medical center since Oct. 30, 2014.
Culp had previously served at Naval Hospital Bremerton as commanding officer and medical inspector general prior to most recently serving as Pacific Fleet surgeon.
Vice Adm. Forrest Faison, Navy surgeon general, and chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, was the guest speaker for the ceremony, and spoke about the importance of Navy Medicine's mission to maintain the readiness and health within the fleet and at home.
"Navy Medicine is entrusted to provide the best possible care our nation can offer to our fleet and Marine forces, their families and all those who have volunteered and sacrificed to defend our freedom," Faison said. "Under the command of Capt. Via, you honor that sacred trust. I could not be more proud of the team here at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth."
Prior to reading his orders and officially relinquishing command, Via thanked everyone for attending and spoke about when he took command of NMCP. “I stand before you today, as I did 20 months ago, honored and humbled to conclude my command tour at the best hospital in the world,” Via said.
Via was the first captain to take command of the hospital in 24 years, a command position previously held by a flag officer. “It has been a privilege to lead this transition, and one I hold dearly,” he said.
He also praised the board of directors and staff for everything they did during his command.
“You have accomplished so much and I stand in awe of your accomplishments. We saw decreased staffing, deployment of more than 1,300 personnel in support of Continuing Promise 2015, IA Missions around the world, you still provided outstanding quality health care,” Via stated.
Since October 2014, NMCP provided health care to 3.2 million outpatients, delivered 4,500 babies, performed 20,000 surgeries, and filled more than 3.6 million prescriptions.
As he finished his remarks, Via turned to Culp and said, “As I did at Pacific Fleet, I am proud to be relieved by such a fine officer,” Via said. “Congratulations, my friend, in assuming command.”
After the reading of orders and exchanging salutes with Via, Culp delivered his remarks.
Culp thanked those in attendance, his family and friends, and stated his message to the NMCP staff. “You and I will get to know each other quickly as we work to advance the mission of this command,” Culp said. “We must earn and keep the trust our patients place in us. The trust seen when a patient extends his arm to a young corpsman for an injection; the trust a mom places in the tech she hands her new infant to for care; and the trust a patient places in the team who escorts them to the operating room.”
“If we ever cease to be far more than a civilian hospital, then we have lost our way and reasoning for existing. We, as a Navy, must continue to advance the goals of safety and high reliability,” Culp said.
Culp concluded his comments by thanking Via for his grace and hospitality during the two times that he had relieved Via, at NMCP and previously as the Pacific Fleet surgeon.
“On behalf of your now former command, I want to thank you for the sweat, angst, toil and time you have put into Portsmouth.”
Culp has previously served as deputy commander for Clinical Services for Tripler Army Medical Center and the Pacific Regional Medical Command in Hawaii. Most recently, Culp served as Pacific Fleet surgeon where he directed and oversaw all force health protection, warfighter mission medical readiness, and strategic medical efforts in the Pacific and served as the direct adviser to Commander, Pacific Fleet, for all medical matters.
Via will become the U.S. Central Command surgeon based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
Nicknamed the "First and Finest," Naval Medical Center Portsmouth has the distinction of being the nation's first naval hospital. It has proudly served the health care and medical needs of the nation's military continuously since 1830.
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.05.2016 15:04 |
| Story ID: | 203135 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VA, US |
| Hometown: | CHATTANOOGA, TN, US |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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