Photo By Amabilia Payen | Maj. Tenesha Middleton, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) at WBAMC...... read more read more
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The Defense Health Agency’s Operating Room Executive Steering Committee, or ORESC, is a group working to improve and standardize surgical care at military hospitals and clinics. This group establishes unified, high-quality standards for perioperative services across all hospitals and clinics within the Military Health System. By creating the same rules and processes for all operating rooms, the DHA ORESC helps the MHS deliver safe and high-quality care to beneficiaries.
What Is the DHA ORESC?
The DHA ORESC is a team of surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists from all nine defense health networks. Their job is to equip ORs with the resourcing and guidance to meet the needs of patients.
“As a nurse nominee, being part of the ORESC ensures that the voices of the nursing staff are heard in key decisions,” said Natalee Day, chief nurse of William Beaumont Army Medical Center - Fort Bliss. “I have the opportunity to advocate for processes that directly impact our team and patient care.”
How the DHA ORESC Works
The DHA ORESC acts as a central decision-making body to standardize processes across the MHS. Members from every DHN share ideas and challenges from their military hospitals and clinics. This teamwork helps create standards that work for most military hospitals and clinics and advance the larger goals of the MHS.
The DHA ORESC also focuses on accountability. U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Robert McGill, orthopaedic arthroplasty surgeon and DHA’s Surgical Clinical Management Team chief serving as the acting DHA ORESC chair said the committee:
• Hears concerns
• Shares successes
• Leads policy decision making
Every DHN receives one vote for decision making. These decisions improve patient safety and quality of care while also enhancing military medical readiness and resource use.
“By centralizing decision making and standardizing processes, the DHA ORESC ensures that every facility within the MHS knows the steps to operate at the highest level of efficiency and safety,” McGill explained.
Why the DHA ORESC is Important
The DHA ORESC’s work has big benefits:
• Safer surgeries: By creating perioperative best practices, the DHA ORESC makes sure all patients get safe, high-quality care.
• Faster decisions: The group’s clear structure helps solve problems quickly while keeping everyone accountable.
• Better use of resources: Consistent processes and good planning help military hospitals and clinics meet patient needs and keep service members ready.
“The ORESC’s initiatives not only improve surgical care, but also strengthen the overall readiness of our military health care system,” said Dr. Adrienne Cummings, deputy chair of the department of anesthesia at Brooke Army Medical Center. “It’s a win for patients, providers, and the mission.”
The DHA ORESC Impact
The DHA ORESC’s work supports the DHA’s goal of quality care to patients and service member readiness. By improving how military hospitals and clinics run, the DHA ORESC helps keep the military health care system strong and dependable.
“The ORESC has been an invaluable platform for sharing challenges and solutions across networks,” said U.S. Navy Capt. James Solomon, pediatric anesthesiologist, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, “We all face similar obstacles and are at different stages in developing our network-level OR committees. By collaborating, we ensure that all networks move in the same direction toward optimizing OR operations.”
What’s Next
The DHA ORESC is committed to making surgeries safer, more efficient, and better for everyone. As the team keeps working together, its goal is for surgical care to be top-notch for both patients and providers.
For more information about the DHA ORESC’s work, contact the DHA ORESC Mailbox at dha.ncr.healthcare-ops.mbx.dha-oresc@health.mil.
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.20.2025 08:28 |
| Story ID: | 501035 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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