Photo By Regena Kowitz | 180614-N-UJ980-066 CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (June 14, 2018) Rear Adm. Paul Pearigen,...... read more read more
Tennessee native, Rear Adm. Paul Pearigen, commander, Navy Medicine West, and chief of the Navy Medical Corps, spent time with community and health care leaders during Navy Week Chattanooga, June 11-14.
“It was an honor to be in Chattanooga for Navy Week and have the opportunity to share the great things the Navy and Navy Medicine are doing for our nation, at home and far from our shores,” said Pearigen.
During the visit, Pearigen met with staff from the Erlanger Health System, a multi-hospital system based in Chattanooga with the region’s only level I trauma center and academic teaching center, to share information about emergency medicine and trauma care.
“Readiness is a key tenet of Navy Medicine,” said Pearigen. “We not only need to have a medically ready force, we also need to have a ready medical force, ensuring our physicians, nurses, and corpsmen are prepared to deploy in support of operational forces anytime, anywhere.”
One way to do this, said Pearigen, is by leveraging partnerships with civilian counterparts to share expertise and explore opportunities to enhance training and skills development in critical areas like trauma care and emergency medicine.
Pearigen, an emergency medicine physician, toured Erlanger’s emergency department, emergency operations center, the rooftop air base that supports regional medical transportation, the regional stroke center, and a hand and plastic surgery center that specializes in treating traumatic upper extremity injuries.
“Erlanger Health System has an impressive collection of expertise and well-established programs that serve a multi-state region,” said Pearigen. “This was a great opportunity to gain insight regarding their best practices and how they conduct business. Navy Medicine professionals are highly skilled and experienced and we’re committed to continuously improving our ability to provide the best care we possibly can. One way we do this is through partnerships with hospitals and medical professionals in the civilian sector that strengthen our own capabilities and skills. There is a lot that can be learned by sharing in both directions.”
Pearigen also met with Chattanooga-area community and business leaders during the week and shared information about the Navy the nation needs and its mission to protect and defend America and its interests worldwide with the Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga and the Rotary Club of Chattanooga.
During the week, Pearigen also took the opportunity to visit Sailors involved in activities throughout the community and thank them for all their hard work during Navy Week. Pearigen made stops at an area Boys and Girls Club where USS Constitution Sailors were sharing Navy history and heritage with local children, the Chattanooga Area Food Bank where USS Tennessee (SSBN 734) Sailors were helping sort food, and the Tennessee Aquarium where Navy divers from Mobile Diving Salvage Unit TWO highlighted the importance of science, technology, education, and math in their daily jobs.
“Navy Week provided a great opportunity to share with the members of the community what our nation’s Navy, what the Sailors they met this week, do to promote national security and protect our way of life,” said Pearigen. “It also gave us a chance to thank the good people of Chattanooga for their support of our armed forces.”
Of the Navy’s more than 424,000 active duty and reserve Sailors, more than 6,600 active duty and 1,100 Sailors hail from Tennessee. There are also more than 12,000 retired Navy veterans live in the state.
The Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) connects Americans with their Navy through several community outreach programs, including the Navy Week program. Each year, Navy Week brings Sailors to 15 cities across America that don’t have a large U.S. Navy presence with the goal of sharing information about the Navy with communities throughout the nation.
Navy Medicine West leads (NMW) Navy Medicine’s Western Pacific health care system and global research and development enterprise. Throughout the region, NMW provides medical care to nearly 700,000 beneficiaries across 10 naval hospitals, two dental battalions, and 51 branch clinics located throughout the West Coast of the U.S., Asia, and the Pacific. Globally, NMW also has oversight of eight research laboratories across the U.S. and overseas that deliver high-value, high-impact research products to support and protect the health and readiness of service members.
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2018 20:53 |
| Story ID: | 281430 |
| Location: | CHATTANOOGA, TN, US |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Navy Medicine West Comes Home to Tennessee for Navy Week Chattanooga, by Regena Kowitz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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