Photo By Kevin Larson | Winn hosted 23 local ABA experts and Humana TRICARE East March 31 to make it easier...... read more read more
Leaders from Winn Army Community Hospital, behavioral therapists and Humana TRICARE representatives joined forces March 31 to improve access to care for military families coping with autism.
The 23 Applied Behavior Analysis professionals who attended were from network mental health care providers across coastal Georgia. Gathered with them in Winn’s Patriot Auditorium were the hospital’s primary care, pediatric, mental health and Exceptional Family Member Program leads.
ABA improves social, communication and learning skills with positive reinforcement. Often used for autism, it seeks to increase positive behaviors while reducing harmful behaviors through personalized therapy. The high stakes for why that care matters were stressed by 3rd Infantry Division senior enlisted advisor Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Durgin.
A surprise guest speaker at the event, he took the opportunity during his brief stateside trip from the division’s deployment to Poland to say family members’ care has a direct impact on the readiness of the 3rd ID’s Soldiers.
Coordinated by Humana TRICARE, the collaboration was fruitful, allowing for both networking and sharing insights into how to better serve military children with autism. The interconnection and exchange of lessons learned were the primary goals, said Ronald Mason, health system manager for Humana TRICARE East.
“We hope to accomplish … better communication, better understanding, better perspective and a way ahead on how we can collaborate and cooperate better in the future to ensure that we get our TRICARE beneficiaries the right care, at the right time and in the right amounts that they need,” Mason said.
Dr. Shauna Joye, of Joye Psychology and Wellness, was most excited by the opportunity to meet other ABA providers and receive updates on the TRICARE process. Her Savannah-based practice sees several hundred families and has 20 providers. Half of those conduct autism assessments, completing four to eight per week.
“It’s nice to come meet everybody and collaborate,” Joye said. “I feel like I have met so many people through email, but it’s nice to put faces to names and kind of build that sense of community.”
Dr. Stephanie Soriano-Daughtrey, chief of Winn’s children and family mental health clinic, said the gathering allowed an exchange of ideas on how to encourage the system to work most efficiently. The need to stay in touch was also reinforced.
“We need constant communication,” Soriano-Daughtrey said. “We need constant collaboration for services for all of these kids. Things change often—what expectations are. It’s really helpful to hash those out because everyone has different things that, when they’re putting in services, they’re struggling with.”
While uniting a group toward a shared cause is powerful, Soriano-Daughtrey noted that a significant capacity gap remains in the local area, where the need outweighs the number of providers.
“We have a lot of great people who care and a lot of providers, but there’s still not enough for the work,” she said. “It’s always just a lot of need and not enough people.”
Future collaborations are planned between the ABA providers and Winn to continue addressing these challenges.
Learn more at https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwinn.tricare.mil%2FPatient-Resources%2FExceptional-Family-Member-Program%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExckoxWU56cGF3RG1wTHEwVHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5ZlloanNbK-Ea1-8W1_W3-tiJ08HUR13Ld5RuAmrjrAtgYKfglgwLD7mzH7A_aem_mVyHW55KTMeKPIcRXJFLHg&h=AT6bXmLKt6pQR02VmvmHdrzapbi1mWweYg8rRziiyxcPE6CsChM9tgKvyknKRjvRgl9G3xzMw3aIiDOmPbyUr3CHMab2zmZiUH218xw3TO-lcbDxTYTU65e5G48sqkYyO4TWAEY8Lha6sfh48-g&__tn__=K
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2026 10:19 |
| Story ID: | 562228 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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