Photo By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Iinuma | Senior Airman Jarvis Edwards, 59th Dental Squadron dental technician, prepares the...... read more read more
The 59th Dental Group has expanded services to Airmen who work at Joint Base San Antonio’s Fort Sam Houston, potentially saving the San Antonio Military Healthcare System thousands of mission hours annually.
Working with the Army Dental Command, the 59th DG is sending three rotating teams to provide annual dental exams and cleanings for up to 12 Airmen from the 559th Medical Group each week. Airmen from the 559th MDG work alongside their Army counterparts to provide health care services to beneficiaries at the San Antonio Military Medical Center.
According to Maj. Steven Bennett, 59th Dental Squadron dental services flight commander, the new initiative could save up to 2,000 annual mission hours – lost hours that could be better spent tending to patients.
The initiative alleviates the burden of having Airmen drive between SAMMC and JBSA-Lackland for annual checkups and related services.
“For the nearly 1,500 Airmen at SAMMC, that could mean having to miss a half-day of work,” Bennett said, “and those missed hours add up quickly.”
“As we procure more instruments and stabilize personnel after the summer, we are aiming to double the dental patient load – up to 24 appointments per week,” he said.
For Air Force medical providers and technicians, the convenience of receiving dental services at SAMMC benefits them and their patients.
“The services received were absolutely outstanding. There was no time wasted during this appointment (such as) looking for parking or dealing with traffic,” said Maj. Traci Carter-Richardson, 959th Medical Operations Squadron clinical nurse. “I didn’t have to cancel patients’ (appointments) in my clinic or find staff to cover me for hours so I could get to an appointment across town.”
The program will continue throughout 2016. The Air Force and Army dentistry services will then decide on whether to extend it. For more information about this initiative, call Maj. Steven Bennett at (210) 292-7775.
| Date Taken: | 04.21.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 05.02.2016 15:00 |
| Story ID: | 197072 |
| Location: | JBSA-LACKLAND, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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