Military Training Mission Providing No-Cost Local Healthcare Concludes

Photo By 1st Lt. Jonathan Padish | U.S. service members inventory medical supplies following the conclusion of the Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation Tri-State Innovative Readiness Training 2019 medical exercise at the Miner Baptist Church in Sikeston, Mo., June 22, 2019. DAEOC Tri-State IRT 2019 was a joint service medical exercise that provides training to service members and no-cost services to the local community. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Jonathan W. Padish)  

SIKESTON, MO, UNITED STATES

06.23.2019

Story by Lt. Col. Wayde Minami 

175th Wing, Maryland Air National Guard

Sikeston, Mo. (June 23, 2019)—The Department of Defense’s “DAEOC Tri-State IRT” training exercise wrapped up yesterday after nine days of providing no-cost healthcare to the public in the Missouri-Kentucky-Illinois tri-state area.

Military healthcare providers saw a total of 3.337 patients during the effort, which kicked off on June 14. Healthcare providers performed a total of 21,964 medical, dental, optometric and other healthcare procedures during the mission, with a total estimated value to the community of $1,359,920.

“We came here with the intention of accomplishing realistic training while providing top-notch healthcare to the public,” said Air National Guard Lt. Col. Andrew Adamich, the mission’s officer in charge. “I think we accomplished both goals. Our providers got a healthy dose of experience in working in a high-tempo deployed environment, and the public got world-class healthcare at no cost.”

The mission was part of the Defense Department’s Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) program. Members of the Air National Guard, Navy and Air Force Reserve and active duty Army, Navy and Air Force worked in cooperation with the Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation (DAEOC), to provide the services at locations in Sikeston, Mo.; Barlow, Ky.; and Cairo, Ill.

While the primary purpose of the mission was to conduct deployment and readiness training for military personnel, incidental to military readiness training, the DAEOC Tri-State IRT teams provided healthcare services to assist local authorities in addressing underserved and unmet community health needs.

DAEOC Tri-State 2019 builds on the long-standing tradition of U.S. armed forces acting as good neighbors at the local level while meeting the need for critical mission training in military-civilian contingency operations and health care delivery in the time of crisis, conflict, or disaster.

• Date Taken: 06.23.2019
• Date Posted: 06.23.2019 18:02
• Story ID: 328824
• Location: SIKESTON, MO, US