Photo By Yan Kennon | JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Dec. 6, 2019) Capt. Karen Young (right) turns over command of...... read more read more
Operational Health Support Unit (OHSU) Jacksonville held its change of command ceremony at Naval Air Station Jacksonville’s pavilion on Dec. 6.
Capt. Alan Mintz, Nurse Corps, relieved Capt. Karen Young, Nurse Corps, as commanding officer. Rear Adm. Pamela Miller, reserve fleet surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command served as presiding officer and guest speaker of the ceremony.
“OHSU Jacksonville’s many successes wouldn’t have occurred without the dedication of each member of our team,” said Young. “And I rest easy with Captain Mintz taking the helm, knowing that you will continue to succeed in meeting the mission.”
Young went on to commend her command leadership team and staff for their ability to take on the most demanding responsibilities and provide quality care to patients.
OHSU Jacksonville plays a vital role in the Military Health System, including augmenting staff at Naval Hospital Jacksonville (its hospital and five branch health clinics across Florida and Georgia). OHSU’s health care professionals meet critical staffing needs that arise due to deployments, permanent change of station billet gaps, and patient volume.
Young led 684 sailors (across 18 detachments in a three-state region and Puerto Rico) in delivering 12,938 days of direct medical and dental support, providing $4.5 million in medical and dental support to 13 Navy Operational Support Centers, and achieving a medical and dental readiness rate of 93 percent for 11,000 Select Reservists in the Southeast Region.
Young ensured critical staffing needs were met during Operation Blue Halo for NH Pensacola in 2018 and NH Jacksonville in 2019, enabling the expeditionary medical facility platform at each hospital to earn Tier 1 deployment readiness certification.
By championing the formation of the command’s first mission leadership team, she enabled OHSU Jacksonville and Expeditionary Medical Facility Camp Pendleton to collaboratively staff the Ola de Esperanza Sanadora (“Healing Wave of Hope”) mission in Puerto Rico in May 2019.
She sustained the full integration of her leadership in NH Jacksonville’s Combined Executive Board. During her tenure, OHSU Jacksonville also achieved a 94 percent annual training completion rate and an overall training completion rate of 98 percent, one of the highest of all OHSUs in Navy Medicine East.
Young also earned the prestigious Admiral Arlene B. Duerk Excellence Award, for her significant contributions to the Navy.
Before the ceremony, Capt. Matthew Case, commander of Naval Hospital Jacksonville and commanding officer of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Jacksonville, observed, “Capt. Young’s leadership of the Reserve unit helped us keep our Navy and Marine Corps family healthy, ready, and on the job.”
“Capt. Young's leadership has significantly contributed to sustaining the medical readiness of supported reserve units,” said Rear Adm. Pamela Miller, reserve fleet surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and deputy commander, Navy Medicine East, Reserve Component. “She has also diligently ensured the medical readiness and the mobilization readiness of OHSU Jacksonville personnel, providing a highly capable and ready contingent of medical professionals to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts or combat operations, whenever and wherever called upon to do so."
Miller then welcomed Mintz as incoming commanding officer.
“I look forward to maintaining the momentum created by Capt. Young and continuing to move us forward,” said Mintz.
Young holds a master’s degree in nursing education and adult health, and was commissioned in the Navy Nurse Corps in 1994. She served overseas as clinical director for the Warrior Recovery Center in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Next, she transfers to OHSU Pensacola, where she will serve as a senior medical-surgical nurse leader.
Mintz holds a master’s degree in nursing and began his Navy Reserve career as a direct commission officer in 1997. He has served overseas at a NATO Role III military medical unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and as senior nurse executive for Joint Medical Group, Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Most recently, he held the position of executive officer, Expeditionary Medical Facility Great Lakes.
OHSU Jacksonville is comprised of 18 detachments, operating in 13 Navy Operational Reserve Centers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico. It’s responsible for training and managing Navy Medicine resources and medical / dental support for the Southeast region. The unit is also responsible for maintaining mobilization readiness, to prepare the associated reserve population for short- and long-term support to active forces and national defense requirements.
| Date Taken: | 12.06.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 12.10.2019 11:56 |
| Story ID: | 355019 |
| Location: | JACKSONVILLE, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 301 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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