Following a dynamic, three-year tour as the commander for Navy Medicine West (NMW), Rear Adm. Bruce L. Gillingham will relinquish command to Rear Adm. Paul D. Pearigen at a ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m., Dec. 5, at Naval Base San Diego.

The conclusion of the ceremony will mark the beginning of Gillingham's next assignment, where he will assume responsibility for operations, research, patient safety, worldwide deployments, and future capability development for the Falls Church, Virginia-based U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), as the deputy chief of BUMED for Readiness and Health and the first Navy Medicine chief quality officer.

"As I move on to my next assignment, I leave behind an amazing command and a wonderful city," said Gillingham, a San Diego native and graduate of Helix High School and the University of California, San Diego. "Much of the success Navy Medicine West has enjoyed is due to the unflagging support we have received from the community at all levels."

Pearigen, an emergency medicine physician by trade and Memphis, Tennessee native, previously served as the BUMED liaison to the Defense Health Agency and chief of the Navy Medical Corps.
Known for his staunch advocacy of high reliability, process improvement, collaboration, and innovation, Gillingham led more than 17,500 active-duty and civilian personnel through numerous milestones which would improve the quality and safety of healthcare delivery for thousands. This achieved a 95 percent score in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) satisfaction-with-healthcare category, and led the U.S. Navy with the highest number of military treatment facilities distinguished by prestigious Department of Defense patient safety awards.

More than 850,000 beneficiaries are cared for at 10 hospitals and 50 primary care clinics throughout the Navy Medicine West region, which encompasses the U.S. west coast, Hawaii, Guam, and Japan. Gillingham also oversaw the manning, training, and equipping of more than 2,000 personnel for missions throughout the globe, such as the deployment of hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) in support of Pacific Partnership -- the largest multilateral humanitarian and disaster relief preparedness mission in the Asia-Pacific region.

During his tenure, Gillingham's scope expanded when Aug. 1, 2015, the Bethesda, Maryland-based Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) was aligned under the umbrella of Navy Medicine West, making him responsible for the entire U.S. Navy Medicine Research and Development (R&D) enterprise. The R&D enterprise is comprised of eight research labs dispersed throughout Asia, Africa, South America, and the continental U.S. The R&D enterprise achieved numerous breakthroughs in medical research, and was a key contributor in the fight against emerging diseases such as Zika and the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak for which members of NMRC received personal recognition from President Barack Obama.

"More than 17,500 Sailors and civilians from the Navy Medicine West enterprise served throughout the globe to ensure the health and well-being of our warfighters, even in some of the most inhospitable places on Earth," said Gillingham to his staff in a recently recorded farewell video message. "Your actions were truly the embodiment of the Navy Medicine tagline, 'World-class care, anytime, anywhere.' I want you to know how very proud I am of your accomplishments, and how grateful I am to have had the honor and privilege of being a part of your success."

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