Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP) Military Treatment Facility (MTF), including its 10 branch health and TRICARE Prime clinics in the Hampton Roads area, will transition to the Defense Health Agency (DHA) on Oct. 1. 

To support NMCP’s transition, Navy Medicine is establishing a co-located Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) on that date. Navy Medicine, through the NMRTC, retains command and control of the uniformed medical force and maintains responsibility for operational readiness. This includes the medical readiness of Sailors and Marines, as well as the clinical readiness of the medical force.

The NMRTCs will report to Naval Medical Forces Atlantic (NMFA) and Pacific (NMFP), formerly known as Navy Medicine East and West, which in turn are accountable to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED).

Capt. Lisa Mulligan, the commanding officer of NMCP, will serve as both the MTF director under the DHA and the NMRTC commanding officer under Navy Medicine.

“Naval Medical Center Portsmouth is ready to make this transition that focuses on two missions,” Mulligan said.  “First we need to ensure the readiness of our warfighters and the readiness and capability of the medical forces that support them, and to make sure our beneficiaries continue to receive exceptional, high quality health care.” 

The transition of administration and management will be seamless to patients, with little or no immediate impact to their experience, access, scope of current services or quality of medical care.

“The transition to DHA will enhance our support of the medical readiness of our warfighters by creating a more efficient and effective integrated health care system,” Mulligan said.  “We will continue to take care of our beneficiaries - from active duty to retirees and their families - through the current MTF resources and health care providers in the Hampton Roads area."

The National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2017, 2018 and 2019 require the Military Departments to transition administration and management of military MTFs to the DHA not later than Sept. 30, 2021. This transition should provide a more consistent experience of health care across the Military Health System.

Currently, NMCP’s name is expected to remain and a U.S. Naval Officer will continue to manage the facility, reporting to the DHA on administration and management of the MTF.

While DHA will be responsible for health care delivery and business operations, Navy Medicine will retain principal responsibility for operational readiness of the medical force.

NMCP will help meet the needs of operational commanders. Survivability of the Navy and Marine Corps personnel in future warfighting environments requires a medical force that’s ready to immediately deploy with the operationally relevant skills to save lives.

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 ten branch and TRICARE Prime clinics, serves the Hampton Roads area and 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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