Embedded Mental Health Resiliency Center Now Available on the Waterfront in Rota, Spain

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Eduardo T Otero | 191216-N-KH151-0036 NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (Dec. 16, 2019) The Destroyer Squadron 60 embedded mental health team and leadership pose for a photo during the opening of the new Destroyer Squadron 60 embedded mental health facility on Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain’s, pier. Naval Station Rota sustains the fleet, enables the fighter and supports the family by conducting air operations, port operations, ensuring security and safety, assuring quality of life and providing the core services of power, water, fuel and information technology. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eduardo Otero)  

ROTA, SPAIN

02.27.2020

Courtesy Story

Naval Station Rota, Spain

The Embedded Mental Health Program (eMHP) Sailor Resiliency Center had its grand opening ceremony on the piers of Naval Station Rota, December 16, 2019. The Sailor Resiliency Center is partnered with eMHP which is the new mental health care delivery model that was started at Destroyer Squadron Sixty (DESRON 60) in 2019. The overarching goal of eMHP is to give Sailors and personnel attached to DESRON 60 ships expeditious access to mental health care in an effective manner that addresses the unique concerns related to each case, with the expectation of returning patients to “full duty.”

The significance of having this program on the waterfront with easy accessibility to Sailors on the piers, is that it directly supports readiness by increasing access to trained mental health specialists. Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Miranda, senior medical officer and founder of the program, stated, “With over 1,300 Sailors having ready access to mental health care, this enables us to be on the proactive side of the spectrum versus being in a reactive state.”

Thus care is provided as soon as symptoms arise giving us an enhanced opportunity to return Sailor back to full duty and maintain the readiness of the fighting force.

The program was establish from the ground up this past year and has been up and running since July 2019. There is an established weekly resiliency class that gives Sailors the tools needed to cope with the daily stressors of serving onboard a ship.

“We also spend a lot of time onboard the ships both in port and underway, developing trust with the crew and the command, so they see us as consistent and readily available resource,” said Miranda.

The providers of eMHP, such as Miranda, are organic to the operational unit to which they are assigned. The providers ride on ships and visit the waterfront to assess if there are any mental health concerns arising from any members of the crews. Because of this, the eMHP provider is able to take more of a preventative approach through early identification and early treatment. In addition, they perform briefings to commands and crews on topics such as improving resiliency, education on self-care, and coping with stress, with the intent of optimizing Sailors’ performance to the maximal extent possible. This is a major difference from the Military Treatment Facility (MTF) mental health clinic, where providers only work in the clinic, never being able to go the waterfront to perform these functions.

The positive impact of the Sailor Resiliency Center is that the Sailor can be seen on the waterfront rather than having to travel long distances to be seen by mental health at a MTF. The eMHP provider team manages most, if not all, mental health care directly at the waterfront clinic. The military eMHP concept has been around for almost 20 years. The results are overwhelming showing that eMHP has had a huge impact in “saving Sailor’s careers” because eMHP providers can quickly get Sailors the help they need in a convenient manner and because Sailors know and expect they will return to duty. The military eMHP model started out in aircraft carriers in the late 1990s. They saw a decrease in Medical Evacuations (MEDEVACs) by 85%.

“I can testify how the eMHP is working right here on the waterfront,” said Capt. Joseph Gagliano, commodore of DESRON 60. “This program directly supports the more than 1,300 Sailors who are stationed onboard these ships in Rota, Spain. For the very first time since we’ve been operating these Destroyers from Rota, we just finished our first two patrols without zero medical MEDEVAC’s.”

The forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF-E) destroyers have seen a decrease in MEDEVACs by 90% in just six months.

While Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti was visiting Rota, Spain last month in support of the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) Component Commanders Conference (Triple C), she visited the eMHP Resiliency Center on the pier.

“If nothing else matters, I would consider this one of the greatest achievements of my tour," she stated. "At a time when mental health has become a growing epidemic in the military, resolutions and programs such as this help Sailors seek the help they need and deserve.”

The eMHP Resiliency Center is located on the Naval Station Rota piers behind the Port Operations Building.

CTF 65 and DESRON 60, headquartered in Rota, Spain, oversee the forward-deployed forces of U.S. 6th Fleet’s area of operation in support of regional allies and partners as well as U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa.

• Date Taken: 02.27.2020
• Date Posted: 02.27.2020 08:13
• Story ID: 363998
• Location: ROTA, ES