Photo By Senior Airman Brandon Valle | Lt. Col. Hans Meissnest, 90th MDOS Physical Medicine flight commander, performs an...... read more read more
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F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. - The 90th Medical Group Physical Medicine flight will begin walk-in appointments for physical therapy beginning Nov. 2. Airmen will have the opportunity to walk in and be seen for physical therapy appointments on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 to 10 a.m.
“The walk in appointments will help remove the long wait times we currently have for Airmen,” said Senior Master Sgt. Micki Hinnershitz, 90th Medical Operations Squadron Physical Medicine flight chief. “Our biggest goal is to be able to get patients seen quicker and help them recover and get back to duty faster.”
The walk-in appointments will be for active duty military – including active duty guard and reserve Airmen – and won’t require a referral.
“Airmen from base, including those who are a part of the personal reliability program, will be able to utilize the walk-in appointments, with the exception of Airmen assigned to flight medicine,” said Senior Airman Natalie Cheng, 90th MDOS Physical Medicine technician.
The office hopes that the new availability will reduce the number of Airmen cancelling appointments last minute due to changes in their work schedules.
“The process should help those Airmen who have unique schedules, such as those who trip out to the field and come back at various hours,” Cheng said. “With the new procedure, Airmen can come in at their ideal time.”
Walk-in appointments will be first-come, first-served, with an average of 12 to 15 slots available each day, Cheng said.
“Injuries we will look to help with will be sports medicine injuries, such as neck, shoulder, back, hip, knee, ankle, and foot pain,” Hinnershitz said. “Due to the limited available time, patients can only be seen for one injury per week.”
The physical therapy staff will only be able to take Airmen without a referral if they are experiencing pain at a six or lower on a scale of one to ten, she said. Anyone experiencing severe pain, higher than six, needs to see a doctor first to better assess the injury.
The walk-in appointments will focus on instructing Airmen on ways they can perform therapy at home to help with injuries.
“After checking in, Lt. Col. Hans Meissnest, 90th MDOS Physical Medicine flight commander, will perform an exam of the Airmen,” Hinnershitz said. “After he determines the best course of action, he will send them to one of the technicians, who will walk through stretches and exercises with the patient.”
The physical therapy office hopes the new availability will reduce the number of Airmen having to be seen off base for therapy, something the Air Force as a whole has been working to fix.
“The idea for walk-in appointments came from an Air Force physical therapy symposium where the main focus was on how to decrease the number of active duty Airmen that had to be sent off-base for physical therapy,” Hinnershitz said. “The decision came down to work toward making walk-in times for physical therapy at as many Air Force bases as possible.”
| Date Taken: | 10.30.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.10.2015 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 181635 |
| Location: | F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 247 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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