U.S. Navy Branch Health Clinic (BHC) Atsugi, Japan, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Aug. 6, to celebrate the official completion of renovations to the Navy Medicine West facility.

BHC Atsugi Officer-in-Charge Cmdr. Alex Dagnachew welcomed everyone to the ceremony and thanked the personnel responsible for the renovated facility.

"The ultimate goal is to improve the patient experience by creating a more comfortable and safe environment for patients to receive their care," Dagnachew said. "We used a complex 4-phase approach that included lab, pharmacy, audiology, radiology and dental. Each department extended their hours to ensure continuity of care, while still maintaining the highest patient satisfaction and medical readiness in the enterprise."

The ribbon-cutting concluded an 11-month transition into the future of Navy medicine and commitment to the U.S. Navy Medicine motto: World Class Care Anywhere, Anytime.

"The $3.5 million renovation provides a modernized approach to health care and exemplifies all that BHC Atsugi has to offer the 6,300 plus beneficiaries aboard [Naval Air Facility] Atsugi," said Lt. Brian Desiderio, BHC Atsugi's facility manager. "The main clinic building was originally completed in 1988, making this renovation an intricate process to remodel and revamp the way BHC has conducted patient care."

The renovation included the addition of four patient exam rooms to provide more efficient patient care, and the relocation of ancillary services such as Occupational Health, Periodic Health Assessments and Optometry to provide easier access to care and primary care manager continuity. Other necessary upgrades included the placement of new fire alarm systems; replacing the previous sprinkler system; and upgrading the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to provide better environmental comfort for the patients.

Dental care was upgraded by replacing vacuum pumps and a new dental compressor, which has decreased patient wait time, and ensures the dental clinic is running at its peak throughout the day. The replacement of plumbing systems and asbestos abatement, along with updated electrical wiring, are some of the less visible aspects of the renovation that were vital to enhancing the safety and care of patients.

"By supporting the largest naval air facility in the Pacific, BHC Atsugi plays a key role in ensuring all squadrons and tenant commands aboard NAF Atsugi are healthy and capable of being mission ready at all times," Dagnachew added. "With BHC Atsugi's upgrade, we want to exemplify our dedication to improving patient satisfaction and to add an overall increase in patient health to encouraging NAF Atsugi's beneficiaries to return back to us for their future health care needs."

For more news from Naval Air Facility Atsugi, visit www.navy.mil/ .