Navy Medicine Feels the Pulse of Music City During Nashville Navy Week

By Valerie A. Kremer, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Public Affairs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (NNS) -- Navy Medicine met with corporate executives, local community leaders, universities, media and the Tennessee Titans to discuss shared medical initiatives and Navy Medicine's role in the maritime strategy as part of Nashville Navy Week, May 7-12.

Rear Adm. Donald Gintzig, deputy chief, medical operations, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, was the senior medical officer during the visit.

"It is an honor to be in Nashville and middle Tennessee, which has a rich tradition and heritage of supporting the military," said Gintzig. "We are America's Navy and Nashville Navy Week provides a wonderful opportunity to show the people of middle Tennessee what their Navy does, how we take care of our dedicated men and women in uniform, and the possibilities for those looking to pursue a career in the Navy."

Of the nearly 330,000 active duty Sailors across the Navy, 8,300 come from Tennessee. An additional 2,000 Reserve Sailors also hail from the state, and more than 11,600 retired Navy veterans live in Tennessee, Gintzig noted.

During a meeting with leadership and staff of Centerstone, the nation's largest not-for-profit provider of community-based behavioral health care, the parties stressed the importance of continued medical research and development, the significance of the electronic health record, and heralded the work both continue to do to provide outstanding behavioral health care to the nation's wounded warriors.

"Research and specialized care needs to be a part of the continuum of care," said Gintzig. "One size does not fit all in terms of care models. It is with partnerships with civilian organizations like Centerstone that can make a difference in how we learn from each other's care models."

During Nashville Navy Week, Gintzig also met with students and staff of Meharry Medical College where he discussed Navy Medicine's capabilities in humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, research and development, expeditionary care, and garrison care, while supporting the maritime strategy.

"We are so thankful to have Rear Adm. Gintzig here at Meharry Medical College," said Charles Mouton, dean of the Meharry School of Medicine, senior vice president of health affairs. "It is wonderful to know that what our students are learning at Meharry is transferrable to Navy Medicine and the military."

As a global force for good, Gintzig pointed out the increased capabilities in life saving techniques on the battlefield.

"If we get you to one of our facilities after an hour of being injured on the battlefield, you have a 98 percent survivability rate," said Gintzig. "If we can get you to our medical center in Germany, you have a 99.8 percent chance of survival. These numbers are unprecedented and demonstrate the outstanding life saving capabilities by our corpsmen on the battlefield and the research and development that goes into making these techniques possible."

During his presentation, Gintzig also highlighted how Navy Medicine supports the maritime strategy.

"Navy Medicine plays a vital role in supporting the five 'hard power' capabilities of the maritime strategy: forward presence, deterrence, sea control, power projection, and maritime security...because no ship, submarine, aircraft or other Navy asset deploys without the support of Navy Medicine," said Gintzig. "In addition, Navy Medicine projects and executes 'smart power', the maritime strategy's final priority, through its most visible role in humanitarian assistance/disaster relief missions."

During Nashville Navy Week, Gintzig also met with top leaders, staff, and veterans of the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, where the parties discussed shared initiatives with Navy Medicine's Medical Home Port model and the Department of Veterans Affairs' Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model. Both models provide the patient a team of health care professionals that is responsible for their individual health needs.

"We are honored to have Rear Adm. Gintzig visit the Middle Tennessee Veterans Healthcare System," said Juan Morales, director, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Veterans Administration. "It has been wonderful sharing best practices of the Medical Home Port and PACT models, as well as our other life saving and health care capabilities."

Tennessee Valley Healthcare System is an integrated healthcare system comprised of Medical Centers, the Alvin C. York Campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn, and the Nashville Campus in Nashville, Tenn, and many community based outpatient clinics located in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Other events during Nashville Navy Week included: sending 102 World War II veterans on an honor flight to Washington, D.C.; a visit to a fifth grade class at Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro, Tenn.; a visit to the future site of the Murfreesboro Fisher House; an address to members of Kiwanis Nashville; a visit to the Tennessee State Veterans Home; an interview on the FOX and CBS morning shows; and the commissioning of 11 new officers at Vanderbilt University's Reserve Officer Training Corps program, among others.

Navy Medicine is a global healthcare network of 63,000 Navy medical personnel around the world who provide high quality health care to more than one million eligible beneficiaries. Navy Medicine personnel deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide, providing critical mission support aboard ship, in the air, under the sea and on the battlefield.

Nashville Navy Week is one of 15 Navy weeks across the country this year. Navy Weeks are designed to show Americans the investment they make in their Navy and increase awareness in cities that do not have a significant Navy presence.

For more information about Nashville Navy Week, visit http://www.navyweek.org/nashville2012/index.html.