XLer of the week: Maj. (Dr.) Phong Ngo

Photo By Staff Sgt. Marco Gomez | Maj. (Dr.) Phong Ngo, 47th Medical Operations Squadron physician, was chosen by wing leadership to be the “XLer” of the week, for the week of Sept. 10, 2018, at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. The “XLer” award, presented by Col. Charlie Velino, 47th Flying Training Wing commander, is given to those who consistently make outstanding contributions to their unit and the Laughlin mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Marco A. Gomez)  

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, TX, UNITED STATES

09.20.2018

Story by Airman Marco Gomez 

47th Flying Training Wing

Maj. (Dr.) Phong Ngo, 47th Medical Operations Squadron family medicine physician, was chosen by wing leadership to be the “XLer” of the week, for the week of Sept. 10, 2018, at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.

The “XLer” award, presented by Col. Charlie Velino, 47th Flying Training Wing commander, is given to those who consistently make outstanding contributions to their unit and the Laughlin mission.

With many moving parts in the family health clinic, Ngo, a native of Orange County, California, is the dedicated clinician to mentor primary care manager support staff and ensure each member’s training is up-to-date.

“Maintaining the updated Aeromedical Services Information Management System (ASIMS) and Individual Medical Readiness (IMR) provides us, or the total Air Force, with a value or a number that shows that this particular base has this equipped manpower that is ready to go, ready to deploy or ready over all,” Ngo said.

In addition to ensuring unit readiness, Ngo also led a two-manned primary care manager team who took more than 100 appointments and completed 15 physical health assessments which ensured access to care with 50 percent personnel available.

“[Having a two primary care managers] is very challenging because even though it’s a small base, there are a lot of people here who need care, including dependents and retirees,” Ngo said. “The challenging aspect is finding the amount of time and being efficient enough to handle everything, because we’re such a small base, we have to learn to coordinate with outside providers and specialists to get the patients the care they need.”

Ngo was able to identify an imaging error in a patient’s medical scan and coordinated with a Val Verde Regional Medical Center radiologist to correct the error, through which he earned the 47th Medical Group “Good Catch” award.

“When it comes down to it we are individuals,” Ngo said. “But we’re individuals in a bigger team who play a role that helps this machine move forward and move more efficiently while the manpower of the military always comes down to every single person doing their job to help each other.”

Getting ahead of the curve by ensuring staff training is up-to-date, guaranteeing access to care is readily available to everyone, and his relentless dedication to the well-being of others earned Ngo this week’s “XLer” of the week award.

• Date Taken: 09.20.2018
• Date Posted: 10.09.2018 18:08
• Story ID: 294919
• Location: LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, TX, US
• Hometown: ORANGE COUNTY, CA, US