TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director of the Defense Health Agency, visited the 325th Medical Group assigned to Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Aug. 31, 2020.
Place received updates on Tyndall’s recovery and a tour of the 325th MDG during his visit. He also went to the Air Force Northern Command Headquarters.
Place also gained insight from Tyndall Airmen on the best way to deliver healthcare across the military.
“Weather has significantly impacted medical capability here so it has always been a goal to come here myself,” said Place. “I needed to see what the rebuild looks like and how we can work together in the near future as well as long term.”
Seeing the destruction on Tyndall due to Hurricane Michael in 2018 was an eye-opening experience, according to Place.
“It’s good to hear from military and local leaders what they’re doing to solve problems,” said Place. “Sometimes you can do that with written documents or over the telephone but to be able to see it makes a big difference. It has been very impactful to me.”
Place says the main objective of DHA under his leadership is to standardize healthcare across the military.
“Our first goal is to be able to provide a medically ready force,” said Place. “This means we have done everything we can to keep every uniformed person healthy.”
Place says efforts are being made to standardize procedures in order to avoid delays.
“For military families moving from location to location very frequently, the process of simple things like how to make an appointment with medical is different,” Place said. “That doesn’t make sense. These simple business practices need to be standardized so the clinical care outcome improves.”
While changes may be coming to procedures, ensuring that healthcare professionals master their craft remains a priority.
“The second part is achieving a ready medical force,” Place said. “Making sure uniformed healthcare providers have the proper experience so when we send them on an operational mission they’re current and competent in their specific medical specialty.”
Place left Tyndall reassuring service members of DHA’s mission.
“We’re here to support service members.” said Place. “Our role is to keep these service members healthy, we know that the strength of these service members often depends on the strength of their families and we’re here to keep the families strong as well.”