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DOD health system archives COVID-19 vaccination data
March 18, 2021 — MHS GENESIS, the Defense Department's new electronic health record system, has recently created a large digital record of COVID-19 vaccinations administered to service members and their families... MORE

A U.S. Army Soldier from 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, receives his second and final COVID-19 vaccine dose Feb. 24 in Wiesbaden, Germany.

DOD experts explain science behind COVID-19 vaccines
February 2, 2021 — Almost six weeks after the Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for the first two COVID-19 vaccines, many questions have arisen concerning their efficacy in attacking the SARS-CoV-2 virus and deadly COVID-19 disease. To better understand how COVID-19 vaccines work, MHS Communications spoke to two medical experts who have been intimately involved in the Department of Defense’s effort to develop and roll out vaccines for Americans... MORE

JBSA medical facilities support Operation Warp Speed
November 25, 2020 — Joint Base San Antonio’s Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, or WHASC, and Brooke Army Medical Center are supporting the Department of Defense on Operation Warp Speed, which seeks to pioneer vaccines for COVID-19. The vaccine trial began at JBSA Nov. 5... MORE

Personnel interested in participating in the Phase III AstraZeneca trials at selected DOD locations should visit www.CoronavirusPreventionNetwork.org, click on “Volunteer Now,” and complete the survey using the appropriate DOD Site Code.

SAMHS COVID-19 Nurse Info Line discontinued
August 25, 2020 — The SAMHS COVID-19 Nurse Info Line has been discontinued as of 5 p.m. Aug. 27... MORE

After duty hours, call the MHS Nurse Advice Line at 1-800-TRICARE (824-2273) or visit MHSNurseAdviceline.com to speak or chat with a nurse.

Combat medical innovations carry over to COVID-19 care
July 28, 2020 — When the pandemic struck the United States, the combat joint trauma system, made up of a panel of physicians, quickly took form to gather data on COVID-positive patients in the Military Health System... MORE

Navy Lt. Cmdr. T. Blake Van Brunt collects a sample for a COVID-19 test aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort, May 1, 2020. All personnel aboard the ship were tested as the Comfort transited the Atlantic Ocean, returning to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, following its mission in New York City in support of the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts.

Military health system changes focus on readiness
February 27, 2020 — The Military Health System is implementing significant reforms aimed at building a more integrated and effective system of readiness and health, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs said... MORE

Dr. Courtney Humphrey, an optometrist with the 633rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron, holds a lens used to look into a patient's eye at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., Jan. 27, 2020. (Photo Credit: Airman 1st Class Sarah Dowe)

Military health system changes focus on readiness
February 21, 2020 — The Military Health System is implementing significant reforms aimed at building a more integrated and effective system of readiness and health, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs said Feb. 19... MORE

Defense Health Agency changes leadership
September 5, 2019 — Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place became the third director of the Defense Health Agency Sept. 4 in a ceremony at Defense Health Headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia. He succeeds Navy Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, who is retiring after 36 years of service and has been the DHA director since 2015. ... MORE

Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, the new director of the Defense Health Agency, previously served in DHA as director of the National Capital Region Medical Directorate, the transitional Intermediate Management Organization, and the interim assistant director for health care administration.

Military health care consolidation moves to next phase
August 29, 2019 — The Defense Health Agency will take the next step this fall in evolving health care across the Military Health System, which oversees the care and well-being of some 9.5 million people, including service members, families and retirees... MORE

A health care provider meets with a patient at William Beaumont Army Medical Center on Fort Bliss, Texas, March 17, 2017.

DOD health leaders: whole of military health is greater than sum of parts
December 6, 2018 — Department of Defense health leaders who spoke about Military Health System reform during the 2018 meeting of AMSUS, the Society of Federal Health Professionals, stressed collaboration and commitment to implement massive organizational transformation... MORE

Dr. John Cho (far right), AMSUS executive director, introduces speakers (from left) Navy Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, Defense Health Agency director; Lt. Gen. Nadja West, Army Surgeon General; Vice Adm. Forrest Faison III, Navy Surgeon General; Lt. Gen. Dorothy Hogg, Air Force Surgeon General; Navy Rear Adm. Colin Chinn, Joint Staff surgeon, Dr. Richard Thomas, president of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; and Dr. Terry Adirim, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Services Policy and Oversight.

DHA director discusses ‘forward momentum’ for new health record system
July 27, 2018 — The Military Health System is looking how to best incorporate feedback as it advances with the deployment of the new electronic health record system called MHS GENESIS, the director of the Defense Health Agency said... MORE

Navy Vice Adm. Raquel C. Bono, director of the Defense Health Agency, and Stacy Cummings, program executive officer for Defense Health Management Systems, answer questions about the progress of MHS GENESIS electronic health record, during the 2018 Defense Health Information Technology Symposium in Orlando, Florida, July 24.

Retiree News: Older adults should get new shingles vaccine
May 14, 2018 — A new shingles vaccine is rolling out across the Military Health System, and health care experts say it’s a game changer. The vaccine, Shingrix, is recommended for healthy adults 50 and older to prevent shingles, a painful skin rash that can have debilitating long-term effects for older people... MORE

An earlier shingles vaccine was introduced in 2006, but that vaccine was for people 60 and older when it first came out, and only about 70 percent effective in offering full protection against the virus.

59th MDW opens new hyperbaric medicine facility on JBSA
June 20, 2017 — Designed from the ground up to provide outstanding patient care, the 59th Medical Wing’s new, state-of-the-art facility near the San Antonio Military Medical Center on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston expands the wing’s capability to provide hyperbaric medicine and wound care... MORE

Col. Michael Richards gives an opening speech during the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic ribbon cutting June 16, San Antonio Military Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas.