Navy Surgeon General visits Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point

UNITED STATES

06.22.2018

Story by BUMED PAO 

U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

U.S. Navy surgeon general and chief, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Vice Adm. Forrest Faison, visited Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point (NHCCP) onboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, June 21.

This was Faison’s first visit to NHCCP and included a meeting with the NHCCP’s commanding officer Capt. Jay Woelkers, a visit with 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing commanding general Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy, a tour of the clinic, lunch with junior Sailors and an admiral’s call for all-hands with a question and answer session.

Faison began the admiral’s call by thanking the staff.

“If you don’t remember anything else I say, please remember this … thank you for the difference you make every day in the lives of the men and women who serve. Perhaps now more than ever, they depend on us and need our help,” Faison said.

Faison went on to talk about the importance of readiness, pointing out that the last sea battle the United States fought was at Guadalcanal and that the next conflict could very well be at sea, increasing the importance of the job hospital corpsmen perform.

“Combat survival in the next conflict depends on the medical capability, training and experience of the medical personnel in a unit or on a platform. The most important person on these medical teams for combat survival … as it has always been, is the hospital corpsmen.” Faison said.

Faison also spoke about patient care. He asked all hands to take out their cell phones, open up their photos, pick out a photo of someone special then, tell the person sitting next to them why the person in the photo was important to them.

“Here’s what I want you to remember,” Faison said. “Every person you will ever care for, every person who will ever enter into your life, every person who will ever come into your clinic or your aid station, is a picture on someone else’s cell phone.”

Before taking questions from Sailors, Faison expressed his expectations of all medical personnel. Be worthy of the trust that is placed in your hands, be worthy of the uniform you wear, and be worthy of the privilege of leadership.

"If you can do these three things, I don't have any worries about the care our patients will receive,” Faison said.

At the conclusion of the admiral’s call, Faison recognized two NHCCP staff members by presenting them with coins for their outstanding service.

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Named after Medal of Honor recipient, Pharmacist Mate Second Class William D. Halyburton, the Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point provides high-quality patient care to more than 30,000 active duty members and DOD beneficiaries. In addition to out-patient surgical services, NHCCP offers Medical Home Port (including family care and pediatrics), Dermatology, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Physical Therapy, Mental Health, Pharmacy services, Preventive Medicine, Aviation Medicine and Radiology to include MRIs.
Navy Medicine is a global health care network of 63,000 personnel that provide health care support to the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, their families and veterans in high operational tempo environments, at expeditionary medical facilities, medical treatment facilities, hospitals, clinics, hospital ships and research units around the world.

• Date Taken: 06.22.2018
• Date Posted: 06.22.2018 14:29
• Story ID: 281979
• Location: US