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SAN DIEGO - Naval Medical Center San Diego is home to the Face to Face program, a service that connects family members with their hospitalized loved ones while in the care of NMCSD.
Face to Face is available for a broad spectrum of patient needs, from pregnant women with a deployed significant other to service members who are facing medical emergencies.
Face to Face utilizes a video teleconference system called Defense Connect Online that permits the use of streaming video and audio from a secure feed.
“This program helps families by uniting them at a stressful time,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Charles M. Powers, hospital corpsman, Face to Face program coordinator. He went on to explain how technology allows a visual and audio connection that was previously unavailable.
For one couple, the program has given a deployed service member the chance to meet his newborn son for the first time.
“It was amazing,” said Tiffany A. Schneider, the wife of deployed Marine Corps Sgt. Jesse A. Schneider. “I think about it, and it brings tears to my eyes. Although he wasn’t here in person, it made our family complete.”
Although deployed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Sgt. Schneider virtually sat in the delivery room with his family while Caiden A. Schneider was welcomed into the world.
“He loved it,” said Tiffany of her husband Sgt. Schneider. “He wants to help as much as possible, and being in Afghanistan he feels it’s really hard to do. He was able to be supportive and get to see his son before the rest of the world did.”
The program was established in 2007, with only 26 participants to date. NMCSD Patient Relations hopes to raise awareness so more beneficiaries will utilize this service.
“If we did one Face to Face a year, gave one service member and their family the opportunity to either welcome a baby while deployed, or even to say goodbye one last time, this program would be a success,” said Powers. “That would give the service member a peace of mind and help allow them to concentrate on the task at hand.”
Patients using the program can use the teleconference system in the privacy of their own room, for up to an hour. Face to Face is typically conducted during normal business hours, but special cases may be granted after working hours. The program works on a first come first served basis, but is available for multiple patients in a single day.
For more information on NMCSD or the Face to Face program, visit www.navy.mil/local/sd or contact Patient Relations Department at 619-532-6418.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.28.2010 12:58 |
| Story ID: | 57131 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 31 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
This work, NMCSD’s Face to Face Program Brings Families Together Virtually, by PO2 Chelsea Blom, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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