Decision-Making at the Speed of a Virus: U.S. Navy Surgeon General visits Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center Oct. 22

Photo By Jessica Dowell | Tina Luse an Epidemiologist with the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC) (Right) and other members of the NMCPHC Health Analysis department and Epidemiology Data Center, listen to remarks from U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham, the surgeon general of the Navy, during his visit, Oct. 22. Luse is one of the many subject matter experts who helped develop policy to assist Navy leader's decision-making during COVID. Some policies, which may extend deployments to quarantine crews, are successfully keeping Sailors and their families virus-free. However, Luse and her colleagues also track issues such as suicide, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol abuse, adjustment disorder, and Traumatic Bain Injury (TBI) and provide regular reports to both Navy and Marine Corps leadership. Because of their efforts Gillingham has deployed mental health professionals to the Fleet to support the well-being of Sailors and Marines. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Jessica Dowell/Released)  

PORTSMOUTH, VA, UNITED STATES

10.22.2020

Courtesy Story

Navy and Marine Corps Force Health Protection Command

The onset of a world-wide pandemic changed everything. Typically, the expectation for military decision-making is to exceed the speed of war, but what does that look like when fighting a virus?

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham, the surgeon general of the Navy, learned that answer during his visit with the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC), Oct. 22.

When meeting with staff, Gillingham shared his gratitude for the work they accomplished throughout COVID-19. He relayed the Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations share these sentiments. “The one term Navy leadership has used most frequently when expressing their opinion of your response is ‘impressive,’” he said.

“The work this team has done, to help the Navy navigate this pandemic, and remain operational has been fundamental to our success.”

Gillingham also emphasized the future of Navy Medicine through his four priorities, people, platforms, performance and power. He summarized these through the idea that Navy Medicine provides well-trained medical experts, which operate as high performance teams, to project medical power, in support of naval superiority.

The mission of NMCPHC is to “maximize readiness through force health protection strategies and solutions for current and potential public health threats.” According to Capt. Robert Hawkins, NMCPHC’s Commander, the onset of COVID-19 drove home the importance of the need for the command to continue to affect policy but also be operational.

“We have to deliver, products, services, and expertise, in a rapidly changing environment,” he said.

“The ability to translate policy into practice is vital to our longevity. The significance is it maintains, and creates those cutting edge skills and abilities, the admiral talks about, while it improves policy over time, and dictates that we are constantly innovating.”

During the pandemic one of NMCPHC’s capabilities that was enhanced was the use of modeling - a tool that uses information to attempt to prevent or reduce a particular illness or social problem, in a population, by identifying risk indicators. Many times information is based on past and current events, pulled from various sources such as medical records or data bases. But for a contagious, and unknown virus like COVID-19, a concept known as predictive modeling became key to support the medical readiness of the warfighter.

“When you look at our mission, [to ‘exceed the speed of a virus’] we need various sources of information that help us to understand the past, respond in the present, and navigate the future,” said Hawkins.

“Force Health Protection is probably the single most important national security product we have. Although, COVID-19 is a present day virus, it isn’t the first time our nation and military was challenged because of a public health issue,” he explained.

“In World War 1, more American Soldiers and Sailors were killed by influenza and pneumonia than by enemy weapons, and that is just one of many examples.”

Hawkins added, for their role in Navy medicine, the success of the NMCPHC will be measured, not just in keeping Sailors medically ready, but in preventing the possible range of futures that exist.

“Leaders must be looking forward,” he said. “In an ever changing, global environment, with economic conditions linked to the rise of three main powers, all with the capability of chemical and biological warfare, we cannot afford to have an operational unit down because of a health-related issue.”



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The Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC) develops and shapes public health for the U.S. Navy and Marines Corps through health surveillance, epidemiology and analysis, disease and injury prevention, and public health consultation. NMCPHC focuses on Environmental Health, Population Health, Preventive Medicine, and Lab Services. With a global presence, NMCPHC also includes nine field activities: Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Units (NEPMUs), Navy Drug Screening Laboratories (NDSLs), Navy Entomology Center of Excellence (NECE), Navy Bloodborne Infection Management Center (NBIMC), and the Naval Dosimetry Center (NDC). Learn more by going to www.nmcphc.med.navy.mil

• Date Taken: 10.22.2020
• Date Posted: 10.22.2020 13:05
• Story ID: 381534
• Location: PORTSMOUTH, VA, US