By Bernard S. Little WRNMMC Journal staff writer Army Col. Kevin Hicks could barely contain his ex- citement seeing members of his favorite Major League Baseball team, the New York Mets, walk into the Military Advanced Training Center at Walter Reed National Mil- itary Medical Center (WRN- MMC) on June 6. "It was awesome [seeing them]; a dream come true," said Hicks, injured recently while in Afghanistan and now recovering at Walter Reed Bethesda. "I made it back for a great season, and for these guys to show up here means a lot," said the Long Island, N.Y. native. "For a guy like me away from home, being able to see someone from home is great," Hicks added. The Mets stopped by WRNMMC during their three-game series against the Washington Nationals last week. The team brought players, coaches, trainers, managers and even the team's mascot, Mr. Met, to Walter Reed Bethes- da to show their apprecia- tion, and help boost morale of service members and their families at the medical center. Rear Adm. Alton L. Stocks, WRNMMC com- mander, welcomed the Mets to the medical center, thank- ing them for coming and up- lifting the spirits of the wounded warriors and their families. During their visit, the Mets signed autographs and listened to stories of the wounded warriors. Manager Terry Collins called the visit, "a reality check." He said the loss of a baseball game was no com- parison to what wounded warriors experience. "They want to talk about what they're going through. They want to talk about things that they've experi- enced. We have no concept of Vol. 24 No. 24 www.bethesda.med.navy.mil June 14, 2012 Photo by Bernard Little Rear Adm.Alton L. Stocks, commander of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, welcomes the New York Mets toWalter Reed Bethesda on Friday.During their visit, the Mets signed autographs and listened to stories of the wounded warriors. "Don't underestimate the impact your visit has on our wounded warriors," Stocks said to the team. N.Y. Mets Visit Walter Reed Bethesda See METS page 4 By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John K. Hamilton NSAB Public Affairs staff writer Walter Reed National Mil- itary Medical Center's Bethesda Uniform Center held its grand opening cere- mony to celebrate the new ex- pansion to its store Friday. The expansion now allows the uniform center to fully service all branches of the military with essential uni- form items all in one place. "The combined uniform center was designed in re- sponse to the request of cus- tomers and leadership at the hospital and the base," said Robert J. Bianchi, Navy Ex- change Service Command (NEXCOM), chief executive officer. "The multi-service product assortment and combined layout of the uniform center mirrors the blended com- mand atmosphere of the hos- pital. We look forward to pro- viding exceptional service to our customers here at WRN- MMC and partnering with the commands to continually improve our level of service," he added. Nakesha Tucker, the Bethesda Uniform Center manager, said she was over- joyed with the grand opening and is excited to be able to service the command on a bigger scale. "By being able to [offer] service and dress uniforms on one side and physical train- ing and working uniforms on another, we're able to take care of that customer right then and there," said Tucker. "The space that it has opened up for the wounded warriors to be able to travel through the stores is a phenomenal milestone in itself," said Tucker. One of the biggest chal- Uniform Center Opens Doors to All Service Members See UNIFORM page 5 Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John K. Hamilton Capt. Frederick Kass commanding officer of Naval Support Activity Bethesda (NSAB); NakeshaTucker, manager of Bethesda Uniform Center; Rear Adm. Al- ton L. Stocks, commander of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center; Rick Pimentel, general manager of NSAB Navy Exchange, and Robert J. Bianchi, chief executive officer of Navy Exchange Service Command cut the ribbon during the grand opening of the Bethesda Uniform Center Friday.
Transcript
By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Journal
staff writer
Army Col. Kevin Hickscould barely contain his ex-citement seeing members ofhis favorite Major LeagueBaseball team, the New YorkMets, walk into the MilitaryAdvanced Training Centerat Walter Reed National Mil-itary Medical Center (WRN-MMC) on June 6.
"It was awesome [seeingthem]; a dream come true,"said Hicks, injured recentlywhile in Afghanistan andnow recovering at WalterReed Bethesda. "I made itback for a great season, andfor these guys to show up
here means a lot," said theLong Island, N.Y. native.
"For a guy like me awayfrom home, being able to seesomeone from home isgreat," Hicks added.
The Mets stopped byWRNMMC during theirthree-game series againstthe Washington Nationalslast week. The teambrought players, coaches,trainers, managers andeven the team's mascot, Mr.Met, to Walter Reed Bethes-da to show their apprecia-tion, and help boost moraleof service members andtheir families at the medicalcenter.
Rear Adm. Alton L.Stocks, WRNMMC com-
mander, welcomed the Metsto the medical center, thank-ing them for coming and up-lifting the spirits of thewounded warriors and theirfamilies.
During their visit, theMets signed autographs andlistened to stories of thewounded warriors.
Manager Terry Collinscalled the visit, "a realitycheck." He said the loss of abaseball game was no com-parison to what woundedwarriors experience.
"They want to talk aboutwhat they're going through.They want to talk aboutthings that they've experi-enced. We have no concept of
Vol. 24 No. 24 www.bethesda.med.navy.mil June 14, 2012
Photo by Bernard Little
RearAdm.Alton L.Stocks,commander ofWalter ReedNational Military Medical Center, welcomes the NewYork Mets toWalter Reed Bethesda on Friday. Duringtheir visit, the Mets signed autographs and listened tostories of the wounded warriors."Don't underestimatethe impact your visit has on our wounded warriors,"Stocks said to the team.
N.Y. Mets Visit Walter Reed Bethesda
See METS page 4
By MassCommunication
Specialist 2nd ClassJohn K. Hamilton
NSAB Public Affairsstaff writer
Walter Reed National Mil-itary Medical Center'sBethesda Uniform Centerheld its grand opening cere-mony to celebrate the new ex-pansion to its store Friday.
The expansion now allowsthe uniform center to fullyservice all branches of themilitary with essential uni-form items all in one place.
"The combined uniformcenter was designed in re-sponse to the request of cus-tomers and leadership at thehospital and the base," saidRobert J. Bianchi, Navy Ex-change Service Command(NEXCOM), chief executiveofficer.
"The multi-service productassortment and combinedlayout of the uniform centermirrors the blended com-
mand atmosphere of the hos-pital. We look forward to pro-viding exceptional service toour customers here at WRN-MMC and partnering withthe commands to continuallyimprove our level of service,"he added.
Nakesha Tucker, theBethesda Uniform Centermanager, said she was over-joyed with the grand openingand is excited to be able toservice the command on abigger scale.
"By being able to [offer]service and dress uniforms onone side and physical train-ing and working uniforms onanother, we're able to takecare of that customer rightthen and there," said Tucker."The space that it has openedup for the wounded warriorsto be able to travel throughthe stores is a phenomenalmilestone in itself," saidTucker.
One of the biggest chal-
Uniform Center Opens Doors to All Service Members
See UNIFORM page 5
Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John K. Hamilton
Capt. Frederick Kass commanding officer of Naval Support Activity Bethesda(NSAB); Nakesha Tucker, manager of Bethesda Uniform Center; Rear Adm. Al-ton L.Stocks, commander ofWalter Reed National Military Medical Center;RickPimentel, general manager of NSAB Navy Exchange, and Robert J. Bianchi, chiefexecutive officer of Navy Exchange Service Command cut the ribbon during thegrand opening of the Bethesda Uniform Center Friday.
2 Thursday, June 14, 2012 The Journal
Published by offset every Thurs-day by Comprint Military Publica-tions, 9030 Comprint Court,Gaithersburg, Md. 20877, a pri-vate firm in no way connectedwith the U.S. Navy, under exclu-sive written contract with theWalter Reed National MilitaryMedical Center, Bethesda, Md. Thiscommercial enterprise newspaper is anauthorized publication for members of the mil-itary services. Contents of The Journal are notnecessarily the official views of, nor endorsedby, the U.S. Government, the Department ofDefense, or the Department of Navy. The ap-pearance of advertising in this publication, in-cluding inserts or supplements, does not con-stitute endorsement by the Department of De-fense or Comprint, Inc., of the products orservices advertised. Everything advertised inthis publication shall be made available forpurchase, use or patronage without regard to
race, color, religion, sex, nationalorigin, age, marital status, phys-ical handicap, political affiliation,or any other non-merit factor ofthe purchaser, user, or patron.Editorial content is edited, pre-pared and provided by the
Public Affairs Office, WalterReed National Military Medical
Center, Bethesda, Md. News copyshould be submitted to the Public Affairs Of-fice, Bldg. 1, 11th Floor, by noon one weekpreceding the desired publication date.News items are welcomed from all WRN-MMC complex sources. Inquiries aboutnews copy will be answered by calling (301)295-1803. Commercial advertising shouldbe placed with the publisher by telephoning(301) 921-2800. Publisher’s advertising of-fices are located at 9030 Comprint Court,Gaithersburg, Md. 20877. Classified adscan be placed by calling (301) 670-1700.
Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bethesda
Commanding Officer: Capt. Frederick (Fritz) Kass
Public Affairs Officer NSAB: Joseph MacriPublic Affairs Office NSAB: (301) 295-1803
NSAB Editor MCSN Dion DawsonWRNMMC Editor Bernard Little
Walter Reed National Military Medical CenterOffice of Media Relations (301) 295-5727
Fleet And Family Support Center (301) 319-4087
Family Ombudsman (443) 854-5167(410) 800-3787(240) 468-6386
Visit us on Facebook:Naval Support Activity Bethesda page:https://www.facebook.com/NSABethesda
Walter Reed National Medical Center page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walter-Reed-National-Military-Medical-Center/295857217111107
Strict Enforcement of America GarageNew measures begin Monday, to ensure Building 63
remains for use by "PATIENTS ONLY." The garagewill be blocked to incoming traffic from midnight to 6a.m. All patients arriving before 6 a.m. are to park inBuilding 55 (Arrowhead Garage) in the designatedpatient parking spots. No staff, whether issued a"Red" staff parking placard or not or holding a handi-capped parking permit, are authorized to park inBuilding 63. All staff holding a "RED" staff parkingplacard and handicapped parking permit are to parkin the designated staff parking areas of Building 54(Liberty Garage), Building 55 (Arrowhead Garage),MUPS (Multi-Use Parking Garage), G-Lot (near theNorth Gate), CDC Lot (Child Development Center),AFFRI (Armed Force Radio-Biological ResearchInstitute), and the Stone Lake Road Parking while on-board Naval Support Activity Bethesda on their regu-lar scheduled work/duty day. The only time a WalterReed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC)staff member may park in a designated PATIENTONLY parking area is when either the sponsor (whileon leave or off duty) and or dependent of a staff mem-ber is attending a scheduled clinical appointmentwith a provider at WRNMMC.
Weight Management WorkshopThe Department of Defense Weight Management
Workshop, Ship Shape, will hold sessions at WalterReed Bethesda through July 10. The program is de-signed to help active duty service members and bene-ficiaries live healthy lifestyles and maintain healthybody compositions. Please contact Maj. MichelleMardock, the program facilitator, at (301) 295-4065 toenroll in the Outpatient Clinical Nutrition Services.
DiLorenzo Clinic Offers Family TherapyThe DiLorenzo TRICARE Health Clinic offers both
family therapy and couples therapy for service mem-bers and their families at the Crystal City TaylorBuilding in Arlington, Va. The therapy is designed toassist those who may have difficulty with communica-tion, sexual or emotional intimacy, parenting, and/orfamily conflict. The therapy is available by self-refer-ral. For more information, call (703) 545-3533.
This month repre-sents a number ofspecial occasionsthat are dear to myheart and that we alllook forward to cele-brating. A particularmomentous celebra-tion is the 237thbirthday of theArmy.
The Army has astrong history of menand women who courageously cametogether during the American Revo-lution, even before its authorizationby Congress in 1775. This bravegroup of volunteers grew tired ofBritain's stronghold over the coloniesand proudly marched to Boston tobreak the grips of tyranny.Now morethan 200 years later,ourArmy is up-holding the same commitment andloyalty as our Nation's first ArmedForces.
Today, please join me in wishing avery Happy Birthday to our ArmyBrothers and Sisters who continue toanswer the call for freedom aroundthe world. It’s also fitting that on thisvery same day we pay tribute to OldGlory. Inspired by the Flag Resolu-tion of June 14, 1777, when the Sec-ond Continental Congress recog-nized that the flag of the UnitedStates would contain 13 stripes and13 stars,and after numerous patriotsaround the country participated inceremonies in honor of the flag, in1916 President Woodrow Wilson of-ficially proclaimed June 14 of everyyear as National Flag Day.
Flags are powerful and symbolizeunwavering bravery, pride and kins-manship around the world. As youare aware our Nation's flag is theframework upon which many mili-tary traditions rest. So today andevery day let us honor and salute ourflag for the unity, liberty and justice
for all that it represents.Also, let us not forget to
honor another proud daySunday, June 17, thebirthday of the Navy Hos-pital Corps.
Since 1898, hospitalCorpsmen have served adual mission in our Na-tion's hospitals and clinics,and on the battlefield. To-day our service members
are experiencing the lowest battle-field mortality and non-battle fieldmortality injury rate. That's due inlarge part to the dedication and qual-ity of care provided by our Corps-men. It's an honor to stand besidethese outstanding service members,so please take a moment to thankthem for their contributions and self-less acts to preserve life.
Last, but certainly not least, wealso celebrate Father's Day on Sun-day. We greatly value the many fa-thers, who wear the cloth of our na-tion,and those who stand behind ourArmed Forces allowing us to meetmission. As service members theseindividuals relentlessly sacrificemuch, taking on additional responsi-bilities as service members deploy inresponse to freedom's call, and oftenact as a surrogate father to thosethey lead. These men are true he-roes and on Sunday let us honorthem as well.
As I mentioned earlier, we havea lot to celebrate, so please take thistime to reflect upon this great nationand honor our service men andwomen and those father's who sup-port them.
Commander Sends,Rear Adm. Alton L. StocksMC, USNWalter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Center
The Journal Thursday, June 14, 2012 3Thursday, June 14, 2012 3
By Mass CommunicationSpecialist 3rd Class
Nathan PardeNSAB Public Affairs
staff writer
Eleven Sailors were congratulatedby Naval Support Activity Bethesda’s(NSAB) Commanding Officer, Capt.Frederick Kass in a frocking ceremo-ny June 7.
“This is an especially big momentfor those of you who are assuming anoffice or rank for the first time,” saidKass. “This is not an easy time in theNavy to get promoted, so you havemuch to be proud of.”
“Frocking” precedes advancementin pay grade, and is awarded toSailors based on biannual advance-ment exam results. These exams as-sess a Sailor’s knowledge, perform-ance and achievements in the Navy.Preparations for the exam beginmany months before, with an extend-ed period of studying to increase job-specific and Navy-related knowledge.
“During the course of an advance-ment cycle, a bibliography is sent outfor each rating to show exactly whatitems to study,” said Master-at-Arms1st Class Ricky Calhoun, NSAB’ssenior enlisted leader. “You have tostudy and prepare, because the Navy
is down-sizing. It’s getting tougherand tougher to advance.”
After the exams have been scoredand processed, Sailors await their ad-vancement results. Master-at-Arms3rd Class Michael J. Keliher said hewas caught off-guard when he re-ceived his results.
“The Friday before Memorial day,I was posted on the NEX (Navy Ex-change) gate and my watch com-mander called me over the radio andsaid, ‘Congratulations on advancingto E-4,’” said Keliher. “I was speech-less – I held the radio to respond, butno words came out.”
After selection for advancement,Sailors attend a mandatory petty of-ficer indoctrination class where theylearn how to take on their new lead-ership roles.
“The [indoctrination class] is veryimportant,” said Calhoun. “As juniorSailors become petty officers, theyalso pick up more responsibility,such as having Sailors who work forthem.The course covers many topicsthat center around the Navy’s corevalues of honor, courage and com-mitment. They learn what it meansto lead as a third class petty officer.There is also an [indoctrination]class for second and first class pettyofficers.”
Keliher said the main lesson thathe will take from the indoctrinationclass is to recognize the various back-grounds and influences that Sailorshave in the Navy.
“Diversity is one of the biggestthemes from the indoctrinationclass, because there are a lot of ideasand cultures out there,” said Keliher.“If you don’t keep your mind open todifferent ideas, you stand to lose a
lot and it will slow your growthprocess as an individual.”
Keliher, whose parents bothserved in the Navy, was honored tohave his father travel from upstateNew York to join his wife for thefrocking ceremony.
“The ceremony went very well,”said Keliher. “We had a greatturnout, the command supported usand it was a beautiful day.”
Naval Support Activity Bethesda Hosts Frocking Ceremony
Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Parde
Naval SupportActivity Bethesda Commanding Officer Capt.Fred-erick Kass stands with Sailors during the frocking ceremony heldon Building 17’s patio June 7.
By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Journal staff writer
Mothers who want to breastfeedtheir babies at Walter Reed Nation-al Military Medical Center (WRN-MMC) can now do so in the newCathy Shefka Center for Breast-feeding on the sixth floor in Build-ing 9.
The family of Cathy Shefka, whopassed away in February, cut the rib-bon to open the new breastfeedingcenter on Friday following a memo-rial service in the medical centerchapel for the long-time Walter ReedBethesda pediatric nurse. In thepurposely discrete center, which of-fers reclining chairs, educationalreading material, a computer sta-tion, and a flat-screen television,mothers can breastfeed their babiesprivately and in comfort, explainedShannon Riley, a nurse and lactationconsultant in the Mother and InfantCare Center (MICC) at Walter ReedBethesda.
"Cathy is synonymous with allthings breastfeeding at Bethesda,"Riley continued, adding Sheka's vi-sion lives on in the breastfeedingcenter at WRNMMC, where motherscan learn about breastfeeding and itsbenefits.
In dedicating the room and re-
membering Shefka, who worked atWalter Reed Bethesda for morethan 22 years, Army Lt. Col.Catherine Kimball-Eayers, chief ofpediatric primary care services atWRNMMC, said Shefka was first a
nurse "for some of our most vulner-able patients" in the Neonatal In-tensive Care Unit. She added She-fka then became the lactation ex-pert "everyone trusted who literallyand figuratively wrapped her arms
around patients and those whosought her consult, and amazedpeople with her energy and enthu-siasm, and I was one of those pa-tients."
Kimball-Eayers noted that Shef-ka's advice and knowledge will liveon in her patients, and especially inher colleagues, making them "betterproviders, caregivers and people."
Army Col. Thomas R. Burklow,chief of pediatrics at WRNMMC,said Shefka, known to many pa-tients and staff at WRNMMC as"Nana," embraced the importanceof families to service members. Heexplained how she understood thatif service members feel their fami-lies are well cared for, then they canmore effectively do their jobs. Thecolonel said Shefka was passionateabout caring for service membersand their families, and she was agreat inspiration to staff and pa-tients.
"We'll never know how many livesshe touched, how many babies shehelped, and how many miracles shewas a part of," he concluded.
For more information about theCathy Shefka Center for Breastfeed-ing, call Shannon Riley at (301) 319-5048 or e-mail [email protected].
Breastfeeding Center Opens at Walter Reed Bethesda
photo by Bernard S. Little
A plaque honoring Cathy Shefka hangs outside the new breast-feeding center on the sixth floor in Building 9 at Walter Reed Na-tional Military Medical Center. Staff and family dedicated the newcenter on Friday.The Cathy Shefka Center for Breastfeeding isnamed in honor of the nurse and lactation specialist who workedatWalter Reed Bethesda for more than 22 years, and passed awayin February.
4 Thursday, June 14, 2012 The Journal
By Helen HocknellNSAB Public Affairs
staff writer
The Army's annual Soldier Readi-ness Processing, which updates therecords of active duty soldiers, is sched-uled to begin Monday, from 6 a.m. to 4p.m. on the first floor of Building 9.
“It’s a way to make sure that if weneed to deploy our unit, all the sol-diers’ records are current,” said ArmyCapt. (Dr.) Tanya Ghanjanasak, a sec-ond-year medical resident who was incharge of coordinating the event.
Ghanjanasak said they expect tosee approximately 1,500 Soldiers atthe event, and anticipate most peoplewill show up during their lunch hour.However, she said it’s possible to savetime and skip long lines by avoidingpeak hours and getting some thingsdone beforehand.
“There are a lot of boxes to check.Your medical and dental exams needto be up to date, for example, and youcan do those things now so by thetime you show up, you already have aprintout of the right form ready to go,”explained Ghanjanasak.
Staff will be on hand to help Sol-
diers update their records with all therequired information, from medicalclearances to emergency contact in-formation.
Organizers emphasized the eventis not just for Soldiers preparing forpossible deployment. Representa-tives from the Army Career andAlumni Program (ACAP) and Fleet &Family Support Center (FFSC) willbe on hand to share informationabout the many programs availableat Naval Support Activity Bethesda.
“Many soldiers who came overfrom Walter Reed Army Hospitalwhen it closed aren’t yet familiarwith the services available here.Thisevent is a wonderful opportunity forus to close that loop,” said FrederickSherris, FFSC relocation coordinator.
For soldiers looking to leave theservice sometime in the next fewyears, ACAP representatives will beavailable to go over the congression-ally-mandated Pre-Separation Coun-seling Checklist and discuss transi-tion services and career options.
For more information about FFSCprograms, call (301) 319-4087, or tolearn more about ACAP services, call(301) 400-1992.
Base to Conduct SoldierReadiness Processing
what these guys have to deal with,none," Collins said. "You leave [here]with a different perspective.We don't
have any idea how you perform un-der those types of circumstances."
"I'm just real excited they tooktime out of their schedule to comehere and hang out with us," said Ma-rine Cpl. Tyler Southern, injured byan improvised explosive device inAfghanistan in 2010.
METSMETSContinued from 1
photo by Sarah Marshall
Members of the N.Y. Mets visit with Army Staff Sgt. Chris Walkerand his family Friday.
Want Some Pie?
photo by Bernard Little
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Command Sen-ior Enlisted Leader Master Chief Terry J. Prince takes a pie tothe face from Master Chief Hospital Corpsman William Glas-coe during Tuesday's Hospital Corps Birthday Ball fund-raiserin the galley courtyard at Walter Reed Bethesda.
1032109
The Journal Thursday, June 14, 2012 5
lenges during the yearlong process of redesigningand building the new expansion to the store wasfinding the right items that would service every-one's needs.
"The most important thing was having the dif-ferent senior enlisted leaders (SEL) from eachbranch of service give us suggestions about whatto carry and what the demands were going to be,"said Tucker.
"The SELs played a key role in getting the as-sortments we needed. Once we got the list fromeach branch we were able to narrow it down and
then our buyers were able to tap into their re-sources to get the assortments right for each branchof service. We're still going to be expanding as theneeds come up with the help of the men and womenthat wear the uniform every day," she added.
The Bethesda Uniform Center is the first to offeruniforms for all branches of the military. Navy Ex-change Service Commancd hopes to bring thesesame services to other installations around theworld.
"This new uniform center incorporates newbranding and visual elements which customers willbegin to see in Navy Exchanges worldwide. NEX-COM would like to see combined uniform centerson joint bases where practicable, and this WalterReed National Military Medical Center combineduniform center now provides a prototype for thistype of layout," said Bianchi.
Thursday, June 14, 2012 5
UNIFORMUNIFORMContinued from 1
Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John K. Hamilton
Lt.Cmdr.Eva Chou,ofWalter Reed Nation-al Military Medical Center’s ophthalmologydepartment,purchases uniform items fromAngela Garrett, sales associate in the newlyre-designed Bethesda Uniform CenterTuesday.
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6 Thursday, June 14, 2012 The Journal
By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Journal
staff writer
A hospital corpsman fromWalter Reed National Mili-tary Medical Center (WRN-MMC) recently became thefirst Sailor to graduate fromthe U.S. Army WarriorLeader Course (WLC) at FortBragg, N.C.
Hospital Corpsman 2ndClass Darius C. Summers,leading petty officer of theNeurosurgery Clinic atWRN-MMC, completed the month-long WLC on March 29. Hewas the lone Sailor in the seaof Army green uniforms whomarched in formation forgraduation from the course,described by Army officials as"hard hitting and intensivewith emphasis on leadershipskills."
Combining classroom in-struction with practical appli-cation in the field, the WLC isthe first course in the Non-commissioned Officer Educa-tion System (NCOES). Ittrains E-4s and E-5s in thefundamentals of leadership,as well as training manage-ment, warfighting, map read-ing, land navigation, drill andceremony. To graduate, stu-dents must pass the ArmyPhysical Fitness Test, and ex-ams covering leadership,training management,warfighting, garrison leader-ship,physical readiness train-ing, individual task training,oral presentation, militarycorrespondence, and tacticalleadership.
Service members from all
military occupational special-ties attend WLC, taught at anArmy NCO Academy. Theacademy where Summers at-tended the course at FortBragg is the second largest inthe U.S. Army Forces Com-mand, according to Army offi-cials. While the academy atFort Hood,Texas is larger,FortBragg's academy trains andgraduates more students thanany other NCO Academy an-nually, officials added. Eachyear, the cadre teaches 15Warrior Leader Course class-es, with a 350-student capaci-ty, and the academy has beenrecognized by the Army as aninstitution of excellence.
Summers, 27, explainedthat what he learned at thecourse will help with his dailyduties.
"My job is to manage gener-al operations in the Neuro-surgery Clinic. I am giventasks from the departmentchief on how he wants theclinic ran, and my job is tomake sure the junior enlistedcarry out those tasks. I amalso responsible for makingsure the staff stays up-to-dateon all training and the clinicmeets Joint Commission stan-dards," the Sailor said.
"Since we are now a jointcommand, I was eager to par-ticipate in a course that would
help me have a better under-standing of what it means tobe a leader by Army stan-dards," Summers continued."I now have a better apprecia-tion and understanding ofwhat is expected of the Sol-diers I lead and encounter ona daily basis."
A Detroit native, Summerssaid what he enjoys mostabout his job is the impact hehas on junior Sailors. "I havethe task of forming [them] intopetty officers. I enjoy delegat-ing their responsibilities, en-couraging their growth, andassisting them in reachingtheir goals."
Summers said Army 1stSgt. Eddie Fields, senior en-listed leader of the Depart-ment of Surgical Services atWalter Reed Bethesda,brought the Sailor's attentionto the idea of attending WLCto hone his leadership skills.
Fields, and Army Staff Sgt.Jannette Shamaly, Summers'supervisor,describe the Sailoras impressive,responsible andmotivated, and other col-leagues of his agree.
"I am very impressed withhis level of professionalismand technical skills," Shamalysaid. "This Sailor can operatethe clinic in my absence flaw-lessly. He is very knowledge-able in naval instruction andhospital standard operatingprocedures. I am very pleasedwith his performance bothdaily and in WLC."
Sgt. Linsey Siu, noncom-missioned officer-in-charge ofUrology Services at WalterReed Bethesda who works inthe same department as Sum-mers,served as his sponsor for
WLC and helped prepare himfor the course, along withShamaly.
"This command could nothave chosen a better candi-date to represent the Navy asthe first Sailor to attendWLC," Siu said. "HM2 Sum-mers is always motivated anddedicated to whatever task heis presented. His militarybearing and dedication to theservice is displayed in all as-pects of his job performance."
Summers said it was"great" to be able to representthe Navy at WLC. "I was em-braced by the Soldiers. Theyrespected my position as acorpsman.I was commonly re-ferred to as 'Big Blue' and'Doc.'" The Sailor said some ofthe Soldiers even came to himfor advice and help.
"In the tradition of being'Doc' in a field environment, afew guys came over to my rackto confide in me about person-al issues, and others had melook at different sprains andthings," Summers said. "If youmissed four hours of training,you would be dropped fromthe course, so the guys wouldcome to 'Doc' for assistance sowe could push through. I en-joyed the time there. I earneda great experience, newfriends and invaluable les-sons," the Sailor concluded.
For more informationabout Army leadershiptraining, go to the websitehttp://www.goarmy.com/soldier-life/being-a-soldier/on-going-training/leadership-training.html.
6 Thursday, June 14, 2012
By Cat DeBinderWRNMMC Journal
staff writer
To encourage healthylifestyles, screenings and in-form people of the state-of-the-art services available atWalter Reed Bethesda, theCancer Center hosted Can-cer Awareness Day on June4 in the America Buildinglobby.
The center provides pa-tient-centric, world-classcare and support for militarybeneficiaries with any typeof cancer, as well as offers as-sistance to their familymembers, explained ArmyCol. (Dr.) Craig Shriver, in-terim director of the CancerCenter and chief of the Gen-
eral Surgery Service at Wal-ter Reed National MilitaryMedical Center (WRN-MMC).
"The entire team of treat-ment and support profes-sionals brings state-of-the-art care and compassion toall patients and their fami-lies," he added.
Stacee Springer, a licensedclinical social worker in theCancer Center, was the keycoordinator of the CancerAwareness Day activities atWalter Reed Bethesda. Theevent included displays, ex-hibits and subject matter ex-perts, who provided adviceand health tips about cancerprevention and treatments.Springer said Walter Reed
WRNMMC Holds Cancer Awareness Day
See CANCER page 8
Courtesy photo
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Darius C. Summers (inblue) participates in drill and ceremony while attend-ing the U.S.Army Warrior Leader Course (WLC) inMarch at the Noncommissioned Officer (NCO)Acad-emy at Fort Bragg, N.C. Summers, leading petty offi-cer of the Neurosurgery Clinic atWalter Reed Nation-al Military Medical Center, is the first Sailor to gradu-ate fromWLC,the first course in theArmy's Noncom-missioned Officer Education System (NCOES).
Summers becomes first Sailor to graduate from Army Leadership Course
photo by Cat DeBinder
Patients, visitors and staff get information from health-care providers and subjectmatter experts during the Cancer Center's CancerAwareness Day event on June4 in the America Building lobby at Walter Reed Bethesda.
The Journal Thursday, June 14, 2012 7Thursday, June 14, 2012 7
By Sharon Renee TaylorWRNMMC Journal staff writer
Dr. Mark A. Chassin, president of the Joint Com-mission (TJC) and the Center for TransformingHealthcare, presented the lecture "Overcoming Ob-stacles to High Reliability Healthcare," to hundredsof Walter Reed National Military Medical Center(WRNMMC) leaders, health-care providers andstaffers who attended the special presentation inLaurel Clark Memorial Auditorium Friday.
"I'm delighted to be helpful in this great enter-prise you've undertaken to [integrate] two amazing-ly world-class organizations to serve service mem-bers even more effectively," said Chassin, a nation-ally-recognized leader and champion of safe, qualityhealth care.
During his June 8 lecture, Chassin defined highreliability as "consistent excellence." As the JointCommission leader's first visit to WRNMMC sincethe Army medical center and Navy medical centerjoined forces in September 2011 to form the firstjoint military treatment facility in the country. Thenewly integrated medical center received full accred-itation in March after WRNMMC successfully com-pleted its first TJC survey, which evaluated the hos-pital's quality of health care and efficiency of admin-
istrative procedures."Consistent excellence is everything that we do
in health care, and that's an aim that I think all ofus share but it's a goal that's pretty elusive," he said.Chassin cited an Institute of Medicine report pub-lished 12 years ago "that galvanized a patient safetymovement" to attain consistent excellence.
Chassin counted hand hygiene, medication ad-ministration, patient identification, and communi-cation in transitions of care as more common areasof concern in the delivery of quality health care;how-ever, some of the less frequent, preventable adverseevents, like wrong-site surgeries, fires in the OR, in-fant abductions and inpatient suicides, make news-paper headlines, he said.
Chassin's lecture also illustrated how communi-cation failed at multiple levels at hospitals and otherhealth-care facilities where patient identificationprotocols were ignored, teamwork was not present,and there was a lack of coordination between serv-ices, and informed consent was disregarded.
"What can you do?" Chassin asked the audience,before offering suggestions. He urged health-careleaders and staff to be watchful of bypassing of safetypolicies and procedures - they are unsafe practices,according to the presenter. Not having the informa-tion you need about a patient is also an unsafe con-dition. In addition,be alert to intimidating behavior:impatience, a condescending tone or verbal abuseamong fellow staffers. Maintain accountability tosafe practices,and also recognize close calls when pa-tient safety could be compromised, explained theexpert.
Joint Commission lecture stresses importance of high reliable health care
photo by Sharon Renee Taylor
Dr. Mark A. Chassin, president of the JointCommission (TJC) and the Center forTrans-forming Healthcare,speaks to staff atWalterReed Bethesda during a presentation in theLaurel Clark MemorialAuditorium on Friday.
See HEALTH page 8
By Helen HocknellNSAB Public Affairs staff writer
Events across the globe mark today as "WorldBlood Donor Day," thanking those who save mil-lions of lives each year by voluntarily donatingblood.
This year's theme, "every blood donor is ahero," couldn't be more fitting for those here atNaval Support Activity Bethesda (NSAB).
Lt. Col. Robert Pell, chief of blood services atWalter Reed National Military Medical Center(WRNMMC), said regular donors are the "every-day heroes" who allow the Armed Services BloodProgram (ASBP) to meet both the demand hereat WRNMMC and the weekly quota of blood itis required to ship overseas for troops serving inIraq and Afghanistan.
One such "everyday hero" is Joseph Scutt, acomputer specialist at the Uniformed Universi-ty of the Health Sciences, though he certainlywouldn't put it that way.
"A lot of people don't realize how easy it is.There's nothing to it but a little pin prick," saidScutt, who became a regular blood donor whenhe was serving in the Army in 1966. In 1987,Scutt began donating platelets, which are cellfragments in the blood that interact with pro-teins to stop or prevent bleeding.
"Platelets help with clotting and are typicallyused to help trauma victims like wounded war-riors recovering from battlefield injuries, cancerpatients and infants," explained Apheresis Su-pervisor Mary Lewis.
Unlike whole blood donors, who must wait 56days between donations, platelet donors cangive every two weeks, up to 24 times per year.Scutt has donated more than 400 units ofplatelets.
"Regular platelet donors like Mr. Scutt areworth their weight in gold," said Pell. If theASBP was short and needed to buy plateletsfrom an outside source, explained Pell, they'dhave to spend between $500 and $1,000 per unit.
Unlike whole blood, which can be stored for morethan a month, platelets only have a shelf life ofapproximately five days. This means a regularsupply is crucial for keeping up with demand.
Whereas donating blood can be done in as lit-tle as 30 minutes, platelet donation takes aboutan hour and a half. The donor must sit stillwhile a little bit of blood is drawn out at a timeand passed through an apheresis machine,which spins the blood to separate the compo-nents by weight. After collecting the platelets,the machine returns the remaining components,along with some saline, back to the donor.
Scutt waived off the time commitment. "Mywife and I had six children. Back when theywere young, those two hours were the only time
I had to myself. I looked forward to watching anentire movie during the process."
When his wife died of cancer a few years ago,the routine act took on a more personal mean-ing, and Scutt said he has no plans to stop any-time soon.
"A couple hours is all you really need to comeover here and help someone. Plus, you get cook-ies," said Scutt.
To learn more about the ASBP or to schedulean appointment, please visit: www.militaryblood.dod.mil. To interact directly with ASBPstaff, see more photos or to get the latest news, vis-it: www.facebook.com/militaryblood, www.flickr.com/militaryblood and www.twitter.com/military-blood.
‘Everyday heroes’ save lives with blood donations
photo by Helen Hocknell
Platelet donor Joseph Scutt relaxes while hooked up to the apheresis machine.TheArmedServices Blood Program hosts monthly blood drives, which typically yield about 60 to 80units of blood.Each unit of blood can save up to three lives.The next drive is scheduled forMonday, July 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., but walk-in donors are always welcome.
8 Thursday, June 14, 2012 The Journal
A safety culture and leadership thatmoves forward to high reliability in-volves trust, reporting and improve-ment. Chassin continued by citing areal-life example involving a case ofmistaken identity that resulted in un-necessary surgery for the wrong pa-tient after a series of mostly small er-rors by many individuals who failedto speak up or recognize the unsafeconditions and practices. The physi-cian said there were several chancesto avoid this event yet conditions inthis instance are very common.
According to Chassin, events likethis have resulted in the Joint Com-mission launching a Center forTrans-forming Healthcare to create solu-tions for high reliability health care.Utilizing the Lean Six Sigma man-agement methodology, the center be-gan a project in 2009 where partici-pating accredited hospitals utilized aninteractive, data-driven technologytool to combat focused concerns such
as hand hygiene, wrong-site surgery,colorectal surgical site infections, sep-sis and medication safety.
"We should always be ready to pro-vide safe and high quality care for ourpatients and their families," saidGene Monroe, Walter Reed BethesdaJoint Commission specialist, followingthe medical center's successful surveyin March. "The Joint Commissionstandards help us to accomplish that.Each time our staff demonstrates howthey safely provide high quality care,and how they partner with the pa-tient and their family in the planningof their care consistently, then we'vegone a long way to staying continu-ously survey ready."
The Joint Commission is a U.S.-based non-profit organization thatsurveys more than 19,000 health-careorganizations and programs in theUnited States for accreditation, "tocontinuously improve health care forthe public, in collaboration with otherstakeholders, by evaluation healthcare organizations and inspiringthem to excel in providing safe andeffective care of the highest qualityand value," according to the TJCwebsite.
8 Thursday, June 14, 2012
HEALTHHEALTHContinued from 7
Bethesda plans to have annual CancerAwareness Days, adding Walter ReedBethesda also partners with other fa-cilities to provide world-class care forits patients.
"WRNMMC is in partnership withthe Ulman Cancer Fund for YoungAdults because so many of our benefi-ciaries are young," she said.
Barbara Ganster, a nurse casemanager in the Breast Care Center(BCC) at Walter Reed Bethesda, par-ticipated in the Cancer AwarenessDay event, providing informationabout the center's services to thosewho stopped by her table.
As a case manager, Ganster saidshe's responsible for making sureeach BCC patient is taken care offrom the time of their diagnosisthroughout their treatment. "Wehave a very comprehensive, multi-discipline clinic and the ability tomove quickly when necessary to getthe patient where they need to be [inother clinical areas]," she said.
Gay Schroeder, a Breast Care Cen-ter patient and cancer survivor, said
she thought the Cancer AwarenessDay was a good idea. "It's very impor-tant if it makes anyone aware ofsomething that could save their life,"she said, adding that the annualBreast Care Center Art Show in Oc-tober, features works by cancer pa-tients and survivors, also helps raisescancer awareness.
Debra Lewis, a WRNMMC outpa-tient, took the opportunity to get in-formation from the Health Benefitstable during the Cancer AwarenessDay event. "I did have questionsabout health benefits, but wouldn'thave sought out the answer other-wise." She said it was nice to be ableto walk by and get her questions an-swered right there on the spot.
As it seeks to educate patients,families and staff, the Cancer Centercontinues to grow, Shriver ex-plained.
"We are constantly increasing ourcapabilities to ensure the highestquality of care and best experiencefor the patient during their difficulttime," said Shriver.
For more information about theCancer Center, contact StaceeSpringer at (301) 319-7943 or [email protected].
CANCERCANCERContinued from 6
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