Captain Jay Woelkers assumed command of Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point, North Carolina, during a routine change of command ceremony held July 21, 2017, at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.

Woelkers relieved Capt. Angela S. Nimmo who is retiring after 29 years of Naval service.

Rear Admiral Anne. M. Swap, Commander, Navy Medicine East served as the presiding officer for the event.

Upon assuming command, Woelkers praised his predecessor for her leadership saying, "Angie, you have been a stellar leader, fearless to make the hard and right decisions that would benefit your staff and our beneficiary population.

"Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point is regarded as one of the best health clinics in Navy Medicine, and that is largely due to your leadership and the dedicated performance of the Health Clinic staff."

Woelkers went on to address his new command.

"To you, Naval Health Clinic staff... you are given the trust of parents, spouses and children to take care of their loved ones, both active-duty and their families," Woelkers said. "Do not take this sacred trust lightly. We owe it to them to provide safety, security and world-class healthcare each and every day they are in our care."

Woelkers, a native of Detroit, Michigan, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in August 1982 as a non-rate seaman and served aboard USS ALAMO. He then served as a general hospital corpsman and as a physical therapy technician specializing in sports medicine.

In April 1993, upon completing his Bachelor's Degree in Health and Social Services from Roger Williams University, Woelkers was commissioned an ensign as a Health Care Administrator in the Medical Service Corps. He completed a Master's Degree in Healthcare Administration from Baylor University in August 2000 and is currently a Board Certified Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Woelkers has previously served as Assistant Head, Patient Administration, Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Head, Operating and Facilities Management, Naval Dental Center Northeast; Duty Under Instruction at Baylor University; Head, Officer/Medical Recruiting, Navy Recruiting District Michigan; Officer in Charge, Naval Branch Health Clinic Earle, New Jersey; Director of Administration, Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi, Texas; Officer in Charge, Naval Branch Health Clinic Groton, Connecticut; and Chief, Program Operations, TRICARE Area Office Eurasia-Africa, Sembach, Germany.

Woelkers previous duty station was as executive officer at Navy Medicine Professional Development Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

Woelkers has served in two separate combat operations with the United States Marine Corps as Executive Officer, Charlie Trauma Surgical Company, Al Asad, Iraq and Commanding Officer, Bravo Trauma Surgical Company, Delaram, Afghanistan.

His previous assignment before assuming command of NHCCP was as Executive Officer, Navy Medicine Professional Development Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

Named after Medal of Honor recipient, Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class William D. Halyburton, the Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point provides high-quality patient care to more than 33,000 active-duty members and Department of Defense beneficiaries. In addition to outpatient surgical services, NHCCP offers Medical Home Port (including family care and pediatrics), dermatology, internal medicine, orthopedics, physical therapy, mental health, pharmacy services, preventive medicine, aviation medicine, and radiology to include MRIs.

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