Naval Medical Center Portsmouth celebrated the establishment of the Deployability Clinic with a ribbon cutting and open house March 12. The clinic offers a one-stop shop for medical and administrative services for Sailors who are designated as wounded, ill or injured.

"We are here for one reason, and that is to take care of people in uniform and help them get prepared to return to the (fleet)," said Cmdr. Kevin Brown, director for Public Health Services. "Our ability to (care for these patients) with efficiency, with skill and with grace is what this team is all about."

The concept focuses on improving the efficiency and continuity of care for wounded warriors. The clinic combines the deployability section that previously was a part of the Military Personnel Office with a Medical Home team composed of a doctor, nurse and several corpsmen.

"I credit you guys with taking a vision and turning it into what works for the patients you care for every day," said Capt. Darin Via, NMCP commanding officer. "This was an area that you know there were a lot of variants. We were doing things differently throughout. As we focus on being a high reliability organization, we must ensure that we minimize variants to get optimal outcomes. Our focus is on value and readiness."

Realizing that there is potential for the clinic to make an even greater impact on care, Via encouraged the team to develop ways to expand their services.

"I know you just moved in, but my challenge to you is to recognize other areas of care that can be brought under the Deployability Clinic umbrella, such as sea duty or overseas screenings," Via added. "I think you are already leading that challenge to make this even bigger and take it to the next level."

The clinic staff began seeing patients in January, and has already formed a rapport with their patients, consolidating care and setting the standards for processes and expectations.

"Those who we see are going through the Physical Evaluation Board process, people on a Medical Board, Limited Duty and wounded warriors," said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bradley Hubbell, a corpsman on the Medical Home Port team. "We are their Medical Home. Instead of them being seen through the Family Medicine Clinic, they see one provider here as their primary care manager to keep the continuity of care."

There are 330 patients assigned to the clinic's PCM, and she treats 12 to 14 patients a day. The nurse and the corpsmen on the team see additional patients who require a lower level of care. The clinic offers same-day acute care appointments in the morning, and established appointments throughout the rest of the day.

"They are here to have treatment success and then return to the fleet," Hubbell said. "As part of the Medical Home model, we see anything from medication refills to specialty care referrals to 'now I need this procedure.' We do everything Family Medicine can do, just for this specific population."

As an assistant deployment coordinator, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Chloe Easter is a liaison who helps on the administrative side.

"I track the members from the moment they step on board the command until they detach, whether they are transferring to the fleet or separating from the Navy," Easter said. "I ensure they are being seen routinely throughout their limited duty. I make sure they have access to timely appointments and that they get to those appointments.

"If the member has a condition that does not get better, they are put on a Physical Evaluation Board. If they are found fit for full duty and are returning to the fleet, I assist them with contacting the detailer for orders and completing the necessary sea duty screening and administrative aspects of preparing to transfer."

As the clinic developed, the team of corpsmen had a crucial role in creating the operational procedures for the clinic. Hubbell was previously stationed at Naval Hospital Pensacola, Florida, and had helped merge the Medical Home and Pediatrics clinics there. He used lessons learned from that experience to help shape the Deployability Clinic into what it has become today.

"The feedback I've received is they like the fact it's a one-stop shop now," Hubbell said. "We get good feedback and constructive criticism that we use to continue to refine the processes."

For more news from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, visit www.navy.mil/local/NMCP/.