Photo By Staff Sgt. Priscilla Desormeaux | Spc. Jameela Williams, 104th Troop Command, Virgin Islands National Guard receives a...... read more read more
Soldiers in the Virgin Islands Army National Guard participated in the annual Periodic Health Assessment held from Friday, May 27, 2016, to Thursday, June 2, 2016 in St. Croix, USVI.
PHA is designed to assess a soldier’s current state of health while also providing guidance as to what further medical needs they may have in order to make them medically ready to deploy.
The soldiers met with healthcare personnel at several stations to include dental, behavioral health, hearing, electrocardiogram (EKG), military provider, vision, vitals, record review and vaccinations.
This year’s PHA was combined with the annual VING field exercise Operation Forward Guardian IV. The exercise brought together soldiers from both St. Thomas and St. Croix, making the PHA process easier to complete with all soldiers on one island.
550 soldiers were expected to complete PHA this year, which spanned three days.
Lt. Col. Jean Collins, deputy state surgeon of the VING, expressed the importance of PHA while also stating the need for soldiers to also do their own medical checks to ensure continued physical readiness.
“Every year it’s an annual requirement,” said Collins. “It’s really a screening, not a physical exam, to determine basic physical issues of a soldier. Soldiers are still required to use their own insurance to see a private physician and get a physical exam done.”
The PHA process was largely organized and managed by the VING Medical Detachment and Deputy State Surgeon office. Assisting with the process was also West Virginia National Guard Medical Detachment and Indiana National Guard Medical Detachment.
“Well it was a little hectic at first,” said Spc. Frank Gordon of the VING’s Medical Detachment. “But once we got into the groove of things during the first half of the first day, everything began going smoothly. Having the support of West Virginia and Indiana was helpful and also made it a bit easier.”
The soldiers also had the opportunity to play a scavenger hunt game, which gave them chances to win prizes to include healthy snacks and water. The games were a way for Collins to encourage soldiers to make better eating decisions.
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2016 16:26 |
| Story ID: | 199787 |
| Location: | ST. CROIX, VI |
| Web Views: | 146 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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