Photo By Christina Clarke | Captain Steven Blivin (left) salutes Captain Richard Knittig during a change of...... read more read more
U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Naples, Italy held its change of command ceremony at the Naval Support Activity Naples chapel on July 16, 2018. Captain Richard Knittig assumed command of USNH Naples, relieving Captain Steven Blivin.
Rear Admiral Anne M. Swap, commander, Navy Medicine East, praised Blivin for his leadership and impact during his tenure.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Captain Blivin for five years,” says Swap. “Being a commanding officer is the ultimate vote of confidence and you have displayed incomparable leadership. Under your charge, U.S. Naval Hospital Naples has achieved 98.5 percent individual medical readiness, the highest among all eighteen military treatment facilities in the region. You have certainly left a positive mark on the command.”
During the ceremony, Blivin gave credit for his successes to the USNH Naples team.
“Our community has been blessed with the best of the best in Navy medicine,” says Blivin. “Beyond beneficiaries in Naples, our command has had the distinct honor of providing care to submarine forces, detachments in Poland and Romania, Sixth Fleet ships, and Landstuhl. We are alongside rendering assistance to keep warfighters in the fight. It has been a privilege to lead a team that has the utmost competence, confidence, and caring.”
During Blivin’s tenure as commanding officer, USNH Naples received multiple awards and accolades. A key achievement was being named the only Navy Medicine recipient of the 2017 Community Service Health, Safety, and Fitness Flagship Award as a result of its annual Teddy Bear Health Clinic. UNSH Naples was one of only four Navy hospitals to earn the Secretary of the Navy’s “Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star Site” which signifies commitment to safety of patients and staff, in addition to having the highest recorded Culture of Patient Safety scores on record. For four consecutive years, the hospital earned the Surgeon General “Blue H Award” for Excellence in Health Promotion and Wellness. For the past three consecutive years, the hospital attained the Annual Retention Excellence Award. Further, Blivin spearheaded the creation of the first embedded Army Medical Home Port which boosted Soldier readiness from 83 to 93 percent and consolidated care under one provider serving as Battalion Surgeon.
Beyond the numerous awards, during Blivin’s two year tour, the command supported 138,935 medical and 30,000 dental visits, performed 1,044 surgeries, admitted 698 patients, filled 91,805 prescriptions, conducted 191,700 laboratory tests, and delivered 246 babies.
Blivin will embark on his new assignment as Deputy Medical Officer of the Marine Corps at Headquarters Marine Corps (Health Services), in Washington D.C.
Knittig, whose return to Naples marks his third tour in Italy, brings a wealth of experience to the command. He was commissioned in the Naval Reserve through the Health Professions Scholarship Program in 1990 and attended medical school at the University of Missouri, where he graduated summa cum laude.
His career includes a tour at Naval Medical Center San Diego for obstetrics and gynecology; residency in aerospace medicine; and a deployment with Carrier Strike Group Eight in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, to name just a few. Most recently, Knittig served as the Executive Officer of U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan.
Knittig expressed his hopes about his upcoming time in Naples. “Navy Medicine has experienced many innovations since I was commissioned in 1990,” says Knittig. “I have the utmost confidence that our corpsmen and staff will continue that progress while delivering the best patient-centered care possible. From me, you will have my all; our sense of mission will remain focused on compassion and care.”
USNH Naples is the largest naval hospital in Europe. It is comprised of the main hospital in Gricignano, Branch Health Clinic Capodichino, and a detachment at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany. The 500-plus staff members provide high quality, patient-centered care and support to approximately 9,800 beneficiaries across Sixth Fleet.
To see photos from the change of command ceremony, follow U.S. Naval Hospital Naples on Facebook.
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2018 03:56 |
| Story ID: | 285059 |
| Location: | NAPLES, IT |
| Web Views: | 609 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, U.S. Naval Hospital Naples Welcomes New Commanding Officer, by Christina Clarke, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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