Naval Hospital Pensacola to Stand Up Navy Medicine Readiness Training Commands as They Transition to Defense Health Agency

PENSACOLA, FL, UNITED STATES

Story by Marcus Henry

Navy Hospital Pensacola

PENSACOLA, Florida (September 18, 2019) Naval Hospital Pensacola, including its ten branch health clinics, will transition to the Defense Health Agency (DHA) on Oct. 1, 2019.

To support the Naval Hospital Pensacola transition, Navy Medicine is establishing a co-located Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC). Navy Medicine, through the NMRTC, retains command and control of the uniformed medical force and maintains responsibility and authority for its operational readiness. This includes the medical readiness of Sailors and Marines, as well as the clinical readiness of the medical force.

The Pensacola, Florida based NMRTC will improve the ability of Naval Hospital Pensacola to meet the needs of operational commanders. Survivability of Navy and Marine Corps personnel in the future warfighting environment requires a medical force that’s ready to deploy immediately and to save lives.

NMRTCs will report to Naval Medical Forces Atlantic (NMFA) and Pacific (NMFP), formerly known as Navy Medicine East and West, which in turn are accountable to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

Captain David Webster who assumed command of NHP on July 29, 2019, will serve as both the MTF director under the DHA and the NMRTC Commanding Officer under Navy Medicine.

“NHP is excited about the transition. We are committed to ensuring the operational readiness of every member of our Navy Medicine team. We look forward to having the ability to work with other services, and the streamlining of processes that we anticipate will become less complicated in the future,” said Webster

The change in administration, management and control will be seamless to patients — service members, retirees, and family members — with little or no immediate effect on their experience of care.

“What this means to our patients is that they are still going to see the same doctors, nurses, corpsman, and support staff that they’ve always seen. We look forward to continuing to serve them with the best patient-centered healthcare they can receive,” stated Webster

To achieve Congress’ requirements in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, the DHA will assume administration and management of all military treatment facilities (MTFs). This transition will increase efficiency by eliminating duplication and enhancing standardization and consistency across the military services.

For the foreseeable future, all facilities’ names will remain the same and will maintain their Navy affiliation.

While DHA will be responsible for health care delivery and business operations, Navy Medicine will retain principal responsibility for the operational readiness of the medical force.

Established in 1826, Naval Hospital Pensacola’s mission is to deliver high-quality health care and to ensure a medically ready force and a ready medical force through strategic partnerships and innovation.