MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Navy Capt. Kevin D. Moore, U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka and the Robert M. Casey Medical and Dental Clinic commanding officer, hosted a Healthcare Consumer Council meeting for the community at the Station Chapel Jan 13.
The Branch Health Clinic hosted the meeting in an effort to hear what the community had to say regarding the healthcare services provided on the station.
Moore said the meeting allowed there to be an open dialogue that will continue and become stronger between the command and the community, ultimately allowing the command to better identify areas that can be improved upon.
“The location of Iwakuni has made for a unique experience for the people living here,” said Moore. “What we have to look for is a way to improve that.”
Discussed at the meeting were issues such as mental health and healthcare providers, pediatricians, clinical staffing, and healthcare services to be provided here.
Another topic covered was the future staffing and construction of a new Family Healthcare Center for the community.
Moore said the construction of a new healthcare center is currently being planned by senior medical staffs.
We have to work out a reasonable way to have resources here for what people need ─ use civilian resources as possible, and then have what other kind of support that people need, said Moore.
Other options available to the community until the construction of the Family Healthcare Center were presented as possible temporary solutions.
“Naval Hospital Yokosuka does send visiting specialists here to augment the out-patient clinic,” said Cmdr. William Wike, BHC officerin- charge. “The way the community here can access that is through their primary care doctor who is one of our staff physicians.”
Wike said that the specialists sent to the BHC include specialists in mental health, orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology specialists, ear, nose and throat specialists, among others.
The mental health of returning service members from theater and the healthcare services provided to them and their families was another of the many topics discussed during the meeting.
Moore said they are working on ways to attract the best mental healthcare physicians available.
“We are actually looking at how we can improve our retention,” said Moore. “We are putting in bonuses, and we are supervising their training.”
While the subjects that were discussed covered many of the future services coming to the community, they also covered the present quality of the services and staff at the BHC. Elizabeth Lindquist, a Matthew C. Perry Elementary School learning specialist, recounted the time her husband fell ill and needed treatment.
“The clinic here sent him over, with an interpreter, to a Japanese hospital,” said Lindquist. “The interpreters from the clinic were fantastic; I don’t know what we’d do without them.”
Lindquist said when it came to the services the BHC provides, she’s had excellent results.
“I was happy I was able to thank all the doctors, dentists, physician’s assistants, nurses, interpreters, and even the pharmacists and everyone that’s helped us,” said Lindquist. “They are all excellent.”
“The Branch Clinic here that supports Iwakuni is by far one of the best I’ve seen,” said Harry Rush, a retired Marine and local of Iwakuni. “The doctors are wonderful, and the Dental Clinic is in a class by itself.” Rush said he likes being informed and appreciated the information passed on during the meeting.
Wike said that Moore appreciated the opportunity to meet and discuss the concerns of the community and looks forward to hosting similar events in the future.