A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the new location of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth’s TRICARE Prime Clinic (TPC) Chesapeake at 1400 Crossways Boulevard, Aug. 10.

The new building is only about a mile and a half of the previous location, and will open for patient care Aug. 13.

“Our current clinic began as a NavCare clinic more than 25 years ago, transitioned into a research-sharing clinic with Humana, and then became one of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth’s nine branch health clinics,” said Capt. Christopher Culp, NMCP’s commanding officer.  “If you liked the old clinic, this one will ‘wow’ you. Today, we get out of the 1990s and into the 2020s.”

Shauna Hicks-Mumford, one of the project’s primary coordinators, said this was the first major move for a TRICARE clinic since the ‘90s. 

“The clinic was moved in an effort to right size the building for staffing and for the needs of our patients.” said Hicks-Mumford.   

“The new location is quiet, it’s off to the side, and we have enough space here so providers have enough exam rooms,” she said.  “We also have the ability to do mammo (mammography) with an up-to-date 3D machine, a brand new x-ray machine that shoots better pictures - all top of the line equipment which increases the capabilities over what we had at the other location, and more parking.”

Prior to cutting the ribbon, Culp mentioned the new Suffolk-based TRICARE Prime Clinic will be unveiled soon and be open for patient care by the end of the month.  This is in addition to scheduled upgrades that have happened, or are in the planning stages, for the various clinics located throughout the Hampton Roads area. 

“These clinics are the front door to the medical center.  They exist for the men and women who wear, or have worn, the cloth of our country and their families, past and present,” said Culp. “The new clinics move us forward in the provision of the great care that we are known for to our beneficiaries.”

As the U. S. Navy's oldest, continuously-operating hospital since 1830, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth proudly serves past and present military members and their families. The nationally acclaimed, state-of-the-art medical center, including its nine branch clinics located throughout the Hampton Roads area, additionally offers premier research and teaching programs designed to prepare new doctors, nurses and hospital corpsmen for future roles in healing and wellness.

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