Photo By Isaac Savitz | 20 Feb 2025 Kadena Air Base Enlisted Rocker Club. All the nurses in attendance from...... read more read more
20FEB2025 Okinawa, Japan Kadena Air Base, Enlisted Rocker Club. U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (USNMRTC) Okinawa co-facilitated and co-hosted the first Joint Nursing Symposium in Okinawa, Japan. There were over 75 healthcare leaders from USNMRTC Okinawa, the 3d Medical Battalion, the 18th Medical Group, the 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, Kadena Air Base's U.S. Army Veterinarian Technicians, and Hawaii's Critical Care Air Transport Team in attendance.
The Okinawa Joint Nurse Executive Council (JNEC), led by Chief Nursing Officers, CAPT Rudy San Juan (USNMRTC Okinawa), LtCol Anna Birch (18th Medical Group), and CDR Cameron Mathie (3d Medical Battalion), identified a knowledge and communication gap between service-specific terminology as well as an understanding of sister services' missions. In an ever-changing environment in one of the most heavily contested areas of operation (AOR), and during a determined downsizing and streamlining of our military forces, it makes sense to collaborate and consolidate where possible. In the event of military contingencies, natural disasters, or another large-scale pandemic, Okinawa is a tiny island out in the middle of the South China Sea and will need to be able to sustain itself for an extended period without a resupply of resources or personnel.
Capt. Rudy San Juan said, "The symposium's primary focus is to highlight each service's mission and function to directly support warfighter readiness and enhance cooperation and inter-operability in the AOR during disaster response. When asked why training with other units and services is essential, Cdr. Mathie said, "Joint interoperability will be the foundation of future success within health services. The JNEC symposium offered a forum for the sister services to learn, discuss, and interact with each other in a conducive learning environment. Each service made significant efforts to prioritize this symposium and get their staff there, which showed how important this type of interaction is to our continued success.
Cdr. Mathie elaborated further, explaining that each command has a specific function and associated tasks within Okinawa, and they are often siloed from each other. The idea to create a JNEC only came to fruition within the past 18 months, intending to increase communication, share ideas and resources, and leverage each other's strengths to increase our readiness. Mathie said, "Through our meetings, we were able to highlight key differences, and we identified gaps in our understanding of each other's missions that we thought could benefit from a joint symposium." The idea to create a symposium was born out of the desire to have the key leaders from each specific nursing service interact and offer this to all nursing stakeholders. There is a lot of great work being done by nurses in Okinawa, and there is a lot of opportunity to integrate the services further to improve care and care delivery. They intend to include their Japanese counterparts in future interactions to enhance their relations with the host nation and allied forces.
One of the nursing stakeholders, Cdr. Angela Jordan, Associate Director for Nursing Services at USNHO, described the event and explained why it was necessary. She said that to combat this knowledge deficit, a Nursing Symposium was instituted with agenda topics consisting of Walking Blood Bank, Valkyrie Transfusion Program, Patient Movement Across the Echelons of Care, Women's Health, Global Health Engagement, Care of the Military Working Dogs with Simulation, Military Health Resiliency, Main Operating Room Smoke Evacuator, and Medical Supply Distribution. An impressive static display of civilian, Japanese, and military ambulances with Critical Care Air Transport (CCAT) and home-grown USNMRTC Okinawa Emergency Medical Technician subject matter experts provided hands-on learning for attendees, highlighting capabilities across the Patient Movement Care Continuum. The first Joint Nursing Symposium in Okinawa aimed to enhance military nursing tri-service readiness, partnerships, and joint interoperability in the INDOPACOM AOR. Capt. San Juan explained that the goal is for future symposiums to be expanded to 2 days and will be held annually with invitations extended to General Schedule (GS) and Master of Labor Contracts (MLC) civilian nurses. He said a highlight of the symposium was the static displays that each service presented, from military working dogs, CCATT transport, EMS/Trauma response, Valkyrie, and women's health. Undoubtedly, the collaboration will benefit not only the nurses involved but will ultimately have a more significant positive impact on the shared beneficiaries who receive their medical care here in Okinawa.
The U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Okinawa (USNMRTCO) supports the Defense Health Agency's U.S. Naval Hospital, Okinawa (USNHO) as the largest OCONUS Navy Medicine medical treatment facility and stands at the ready to respond to contingency operations to support the INDOPACOM region. It is a critical regional asset for direct care delivery, regional referrals, and medical contingency operations. The staff of USNHO understands their vital role as pre-positioned, forward-deployed naval forces within the first island chain, aligned and in support of the joint military commands and operations.
Trey Savitz, Public Affairs Officer
U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan
Comm: 011-81-971-7024
DSN: (315) 646-7024
isaac.s.savitz.civ@health.mil
| Date Taken: | 02.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2025 01:56 |
| Story ID: | 493527 |
| Location: | OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 150 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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