Photo By Maj. Charles An | Spc. Fredrick Gaston, dental hygienist from Detachment 1, 810th Medical Company out of...... read more read more
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WINNSBORO, La. – People from around the community started collecting at the front doors of the Horace G. White Learning Center Monday morning, a place normally opened for students. This was a sight that was not normal for the principal, Kenneth Blackson.
A sight that was even more different was the uniformed personnel walking around Blackson’s campus, but it was one that he was very pleased to see and welcomed.
About 125 U.S. service members from the Navy, Army and Army Reserve are using the school to setup clinics to provide medical, dental and optometry care, to include a pair of prescription glasses, at no cost to anyone who shows up from July 7-17 for an exercise named Northern Louisiana Care 2014.
“I was excited about the idea when I heard that you guys [the military] were coming here because I knew it was an opportunity for those who needed medical attention,” expressed Blackson.
Northern Louisiana Care 2014 is part of a Department of Defense initiative known as the innovative readiness training, which allows U.S. service members, particularly those in the Reserves, to meet training requirements and allows them to serve American communities across the land.
“This is an amazing training opportunity for our soldiers, for the members of the 865th Combat Support Hospital,” said Capt. George E. Milevich, a pharmacist from the 865th Combat Support Hospital out of Utica, New York. “Very often we go on annual training where we train to serve the people in real world exercise where we learn how to set up a hospital, and actually get the skills that are needed.”
Sgt. Katherine Kurek, a pharmacy specialist who is also from 865th Combat Support Hospital, said that, “We are down here in Louisiana providing care at no cost to the local [community] to gain training for ourselves and to help the community.”
Just on the first day alone, the military has seen 29 patients in medical, 11 in behavioral health, 81 in dental and 80 in optometry, totaling 201 patients seen. This also includes 36 prescriptions filled and 30 glasses fabricated in the same day. Blackson himself decided to go through the line himself and was seen.
The U.S. military came to Winnsboro after an application process submitted to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense by the Delta Regional Authority and local community members.
Patients are still welcomed from now until July 17 as the clinics will run from 8 a.m. to around 1:30 p.m. Due to the volume of patients being seen already the clinics will see anyone who will make it to the school by closing time, but will continue to provide service up until 5 p.m. Times are subject to change based on the volume of patients who arrive.
A media day will be hosted at the Horace G. White Learning Center at Saturday 9 a.m. by the public affairs officer for the exercise, Capt. Charles An.
Check out and “like” the Facebook page by searching Northern Louisiana Care 2014, where times will be posted.
For more information on the Innovative Readiness Training, please go to irt.defense.gov.
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2014 23:31 |
| Story ID: | 135585 |
| Location: | WINNSBORO, LA, US |
| Hometown: | CARY, NC, US |
| Hometown: | MONROE, LA, US |
| Hometown: | NIAGARA FALLS, NY, US |
| Hometown: | UTICA, NY, US |
| Hometown: | WEST MONROE, LA, US |
| Hometown: | WINNSBORO, LA, US |
| Web Views: | 551 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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