Photo By Christopher Perrine | U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Star Cabrera (left) speaks with U.S. Army Col. Jeremy Edwards during RELATIONS® for Healthcare Transformation Training March 24, 2026, at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Cabrera is a Master Trainer Candidate from Naval Health Clinic Hawaii, and Edwards is a palliative medicine physician and the Defense Health Agency’s Lead Master Trainer. The course will eventually be given to all 130,000 members of the Defense Health Agency and is designed to improve healthcare and strengthen trust, teamwork and well-being. see less
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Transforming military health culture in the Indo-Pacific region
Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific began to transform its healthcare culture March 24 at Tripler Army Medical Center as it kicked off training designed to improve healthcare and strengthen trust, teamwork and well-being.
Thirty-five members of DHN-IP are participating in the RELATIONS® for Healthcare Transformation Training through March 31, and at the conclusion of the course six will be certified as Master Trainers while 29 will be certified as Facilitators. The physicians, nurses and staff came from DHN-IP’s Military Treatment Facilities in Hawaii, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and those who complete the course will go on to give the training to the first 150 staff members from DHN-IP MTFs on April 1. Eventually, the entire health network of 15,000 staff members will be trained.
According to U.S. Army Col. Jeremy Edwards, a palliative medicine physician and the Defense Health Agency’s Lead Master Trainer, the course is designed to provide communication skills to all of DHA’s 130,000 healthcare professionals globally across nine networks.
“Communication is at the heart of what we do,” said Edwards, who is also a program manager for the Global Master Trainer Institute, which is a multi-year collaboration between DHA and the Institute for Healthcare Excellence.
“We need to make sure that we are able to communicate effectively with our patients, with our other staff, with any ancillary healthcare member,” said Edwards. “And by doing that, we are able to make sure that our patient experience is better, our staff has less burnout and has better resilience.” Edwards added that the training has improved his communication with colleagues and even family members.
The training is an evidence-based program developed by clinicians for clinicians. There are four core tenets: trust, integrity, respect, and individual and team performance. It includes the six key skills of mindfulness and presence, reflective listening, powerful questions, building a collaborative plan, connecting with others (RELATIONS®), and showing appreciation. The sessions are conducted in large groups with smaller group practice.
U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Star Cabrera, a Master Trainer Candidate from Naval Health Clinic Hawaii, spoke to the group about a health care experience she had in the past. “I wish my healthcare team had this training,” said Cabrera, as she told the trainees that her healthcare providers did not explain to her what was going on with her body and did not understand her needs or her family situation. Open communication would have increased her understanding of her medical needs and would have helped her providers understand her childcare needs, for instance.
Brig. Gen. Deydre Teyhen, director of DHN-IP, says these patient struggles are common. “We need to transform conversations to be more effective between staff and with patients,” Teyhen told the trainees.
The stakes are very high, according to Teyhen, explaining that The Joint Commission estimates that 80% of serious medical errors involve miscommunication between care providers during their transfer of patients. “Communication is at the heart of quality and safety,” she said. “There is no room for errors in medicine.”
As DHN-IP incorporates the training across the Indo-Pacific region, it will be adapted according to needs. Teyhen pointed out that the approach in Japan may be different than in Hawaii, based on culture and circumstances. She also encouraged the master trainer candidates, explaining that one of her personal goals is to bring the joy and soul back to medicine.
“Have fun!” said Teyhen. “Really embrace it. Happiness comes from being in the moment. Athletes call it being in the zone. I bet the times you were happiest in the last year were not when you were checking your phone, they were when you were with the people to your left and right. This week try to be in the moment.”
As DHN-IP incorporates the RELATIONS® training across the network, Teyhen said all the pillars of the training are important but emphasized building trust and patient safety. “We will relentlessly focus on improving patient care and outcomes for those we have the honor to serve.”
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