Jacksonville Reservist Lends a Healing Hand

NAVAL AIR STATION JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- When a man has looked directly into the face of poverty and devastation, he often finds an overwhelming drive to make a difference in the lives and welfare of others.

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Rene Lumene, a native of Miami, has been driven by this compassion and determination since he was a young man.

As a Navy Reservist, Lumene works as a dental X-ray technician at Naval Branch Health Clinic Jacksonville. He has worked in the health care industry for more than seven years, and in his civilian career, he is the practice manager of a specialty medical practice in Clay County.

"I'm a compassionate person by nature," said Lumene. "I just want to be able to help people in any way possible. This is the reason I turned to Navy medicine, as an avenue for me to display my compassion, while simultaneously sustaining a productive career."

Lumene said that Navy training taught and reinforced the principle of attention to detail, which continues to help him excel in his work and studies. He enlisted in the Navy in 2005. After attending "C" School at the Naval School of Sciences in Portsmouth, Va., he graduated as a surgical technician.

Since then, Lumene has continued to gain knowledge and skills with an ongoing drive to further his education. He earned an Associate's degree in Healthcare Administration in 2008, followed by a Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Management in 2009.

After completing his active-duty obligation in 2010, Lumene opted to reenlist in the Navy Reserve to take advantage of earned educational benefits and continue developing his civilian career. Last year, he earned a dual Master's degree in Health and Business Administration from Webster University.

Lumene said the training and responsibilities that are part of being a Navy corpsman and petty officer have helped him to embrace the responsibilities and challenges that he faces daily as a business leader. As a civilian, he manages two occupational medical clinics and serves as vice president of the 'We R Love Foundation', a non-profit organization established in 2009 to help provide opportunities and mentorship to underprivileged youth in the community by supplying basic educational needs, such as stationery, book bags and textbooks.

The organization is now affiliated with an affordable car buying program for low-income adults. Lumene hopes that one day his organization will be able to help fund medical missions to needy places like Haiti, where he has many extended family members.

"I remember my first visit to Haiti in 2009, seeing the kids, conditions and poverty that they were living in," said Lumene. "I really wanted to do something to help change that."

He deployed a year later to Haiti aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20), as part of Operation Unified Response-providing humanitarian aid, after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

This is where he had the opportunity to help, by translating Creole and assisting Navy surgeons during treatment of patients with orthopedic trauma.

For all the Navy has helped him accomplish, Lumene attributes much of it to mentorship.

"Be motivated and seek mentors who are doing what you want to be doing," said Lumene. "Let them take you under their wing, and learn from them so that you can accomplish your dreams. Learn from those who have gone before you and always try to learn something new. The Navy is a great place for this!"

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