Journal 7 Feb 13

Vol. 25 No. 5 www.cnic.navy.mil/bethesda/ February 7, 2013

By Mass CommunicationSpecialist 2nd Class

John K. HamiltonNSAB Public Affairs

staff writer

Academy Award nomi-nated actor, Bradley Cooper,visited Naval Support Ac-tivity Bethesda recently toprovide a private showing ofhis new movie “Silver Lin-ings Playbook” for servicemembers and their familiesto enjoy.

In the movie Cooper playsas Pat Solitano, a formerteacher who spends time ina mental institution to treathis bipolar disorder andends up losing his wife, joband house. Solitano movesback in with his parentsand tries to reconcile withhis wife, but things get chal-lenging when he meets Tif-fany, a mysterious girl withproblems of her own. Sev-eral people in attendancecould relate to how Pat was

treated because of his men-tal illness.

“Being an Army chaplain,a wounded warrior here andalso being recently diag-nosed with PTSD and a spi-nal cord injury I just wantto thank you [Cooper] fromthe bottom of my heart,”said Capt. Christina Cogan,U.S. Army chaplain. “Thismakes my job so much easi-er to get the awareness out.There is a huge stigma, notonly in the civilian worldbut also in the military, andI always try to reach out tomy Soldiers and let themknow they should be heardand they should get the helpthat they need and not feelas though their career is go-ing to be jeopardized. I ap-preciate that it is more thanjust a movie and it had themost untraditional endingand I loved it, so thank youso much.”

After a screening of themovie, Cooper along with

former Congressman Pat-rick J. Kennedy and Bar-bara Van Dahlen, founderand president of the Give anHour foundation, a non-prof-it organization that providesfree mental health servicesto U.S. military personneland their families affectedby the current conflicts inIraq and Afghanistan, helda Q-and-A session to talkabout the finer points of themovie.

“What I loved about thismovie is that it begins adialog that doesn’t existin Washington right now,”said Kennedy. “We’re reallymissing the more fundamen-tal issue, and that is howwe’re going to treat eachother with the same dignityand respect we expect to betreated with if we sufferedfrom cancer or if we haddiabetes or if we had someother illness. But because

Bradley Cooper Delivers Message of Hope to Wounded Warriors

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John K. Hamilton

Cpl. William K. Carpenter poses for a photo withBradley Cooper, during Cooper’s visit to Naval Sup-port Activity Bethesda recently.

By Jeremy K. JohnsonNSAB Public Affairs

staff writer

A class of 16 studentsshowed up Jan. 28 to be-gin training for the Auxil-iary Security Force (ASF)at Naval Support ActivityBethesda (NSAB).

The three-week class isled by Master-at-Arms 1stClass Michael Gamba, theleading petty officer fortraining at NSAB SecurityDepartment. The group is amixture of Army and Navyvolunteers from tenantcommands here at NSAB.ASF academy takes placeabout once a quarter. Theaverage class size is about13.

According to Gamba, stu-

dents are taught multiplefacets of antiterrorism andlaw enforcement practices.“Within that, they get expo-sure to non-lethal weapons,firearms - everything fromrules, regulations, tactics,use of force, jurisdiction,”he said. “It almost takes aMaster-at-Arms ‘A’ schooland compresses it down tothree weeks, so that theyreally get a lot of exposureto a lot of areas.”

Army Cpl. Karin Dowdennormally works at AFRRI(Armed Forces RadiologyResearch Institute). She ad-mitted she likes the train-ing partly because it getsher out of the lab. “It’s basicmilitary training again andit’s different than my every-day routine. It’s fun.”

Culinary Specialist 3rdClass Shanta Handy, aSailor attached to NSAB,shared the reason she vol-unteered, even thoughshe’s had similar trainingalready at a previous com-mand. “It’s learning an-other side of what we doin the military. At my lastcommand, they did stufflike this and we did moretactical. Anybody can becalled out to be security,”she pointed out. “I like theengagement, the fighting,the combat and the moves,stuff like that.”

The current ASF rosterat NSAB includes a fewdozen volunteers. They areonly called upon during

First 2013 Auxiliary Security Force Academy Kicks Off

Photo by Jeremy K. Johnson

Master-at-Arms 1st Class Devon Wilson (Left), amember of the Naval Support Activity Bethesda(NSAB) Security Department Training team, coachesCulinary Specialist 3rd Class Shanta Handy in engage-ment techniques as part of Auxiliary Security Forceacademy training. The class of 16 Army and Navy vol-unteers from various NSAB tenant commands beganthe three-week class Jan. 28.

SeeWARRIOR page 7

See SECURITY page 10

2 Thursday, February 7, 2013 The Journal

Published by offset every Thurs-day by Comprint Military Publi-cations, 9030 Comprint Court,Gaithersburg, Md. 20877, a pri-vate firm in no way connectedwith the U.S. Navy, under ex-clusive written contract with theWalter Reed National MilitaryMedical Center, Bethesda, Md.This commercial enterprise news-paper is an authorized publication formembers of the military services. Contentsof The Journal are not necessarily the of-ficial views of, nor endorsed by, the U.S.Government, the Department of Defense,or the Department of Navy. The appearanceof advertising in this publication, includinginserts or supplements, does not constituteendorsement by the Department of De-fense or Comprint, Inc., of the products orservices advertised. Everything advertisedin this publication shall be made availablefor purchase, use or patronage without re-

gard to race, color, religion, sex,national origin, age, maritalstatus, physical handicap,political affiliation, or anyother non-merit factor of thepurchaser, user, or patron.Editorial content is edited,

prepared and provided bythe Public Affairs Office, Naval

Support Activity Bethesda, Md.News copy should be submitted to

the Public Affairs Office, Building 11, lowerlevel, Room 41, by noon one week pre-ceding the desired publication date. Newsitems are welcomed from all installationsources. Inquiries about news copy will beanswered by calling 301- 295-1803. Com-mercial advertising should be placed withthe publisher by telephoning 301-921-2800.Publisher’s advertising offices are locatedat 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md.20877. Classified ads can be placed by call-ing 301-670-1700.

Naval Support Activity (NSA) BethesdaCommanding Officer: Capt. Frederick (Fritz) Kass

Public Affairs Officer NSAB: Joseph MacriPublic Affairs Office NSAB: (301) 295-1803

Journal StaffStaff Writers Sarah Marshall

Sharon Renee TaylorCat DeBinderDavid A. DickinsonJeremy Johnson

Managing Editor MC2 Nathan Parde

NSAB Editor MC2 John HamiltonWRNMMC Editor Bernard Little

Walter Reed National Military Medical CenterOffice of Media Relations 301-295-5727Fleet And Family Support Center 301-319-4087

WRNMMC OmbudsmanJulie Bondar 443- 854-5167

NSAB OmbudsmanJojo Lim Hector 703-901-6730

Visit us on Facebook:Naval Support Activity Bethesda page:https://www.facebook.com/NSABethesda

Walter Reed National Medical Center page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walter-Reed-National-Military-Medical-Center/295857217111107

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sci-ences page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Uni-formed-Services-University-of-the-Health-Sciences/96338890888?fref=ts

Dental Fair TodayIn observance of National Children’s Dental

Health Month during February, the PediatricDental Clinic at Walter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Center (WRNMMC) andNaval Postgraduate Dental School will per-form oral screenings and cavity assessmentsfor children ages 6 months to 12 years oldtoday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the AmericaBuilding, fourth floor, Pediatric Clinic. Theevent will also include face painting, story-telling, games and instructions for teachingchildren good oral hygiene habits.

Prostate Cancer Speaker Program TodayThe WRNMMC Prostate Cancer Support

Group’s Speaker Program meets at 7 p.m. to-day in the America Building, River ConferenceRoom on the third floor. Dr. Rex Kiteley,chief of Radiation Oncology, WRNMMC, willdiscuss “The Role of Radiation Therapy inthe Treatment of Prostate Cancer.” For moreinformation, contact Jane Hudak, at 301-319-2918 or [email protected], or VinMcDonald at 703-643-2658 or [email protected].

2013 Parking Distribution -Purple Placards

Distribution for PURPLE parking placardswill take place at the Naval Support ActivityBethesda Pass & ID Office, Building 102, lo-cated along North Wood Road at North Gate.Hours of distribution will be 8 a.m. to 3:30p.m., Monday through Friday. Purple park-ing placards are being distributed in supportof the new parking plan which will take ef-fect, March 4. Until March 3, the currentpurple parking placards will remain the le-gal parking placard for purple tenants. OnMarch 4 and beyond, the new purple park-ing placards will become the legal parkingplacard for purple tenants. The old purpleparking placard can be recycled and does notrequire return to Pass & ID.

Bethesda Notebook

Winter. It’sthat time of yearwhere we feel (orat least I do) theleast productiveand yet we seemto be at our busi-est. A true para-dox if ever therewas one. I bringup this unfortu-nate fact becausewe’ve already hitthe ground run-ning this yearand our franticpace is only goingto increase.

That’s the badnews. The goodnews is that if the first part ofthis year is any indication, feelingunproductive and being unpro-ductive are completely unrelated.We have had a bunch going on re-cently with more activity on thehorizon.

Thursday, as many of you mayhave heard, we held a screeningof “The Silver Linings Playbook,”with a visit from its star, Brad-ley Cooper. Mr. Cooper stayed foralmost three hours, making surethat every single person in atten-dance got a photo with him. I wasimpressed with his dedication,but I can’t say that I’m surprised.There’s something about this in-stallation that brings out the bestin people. Something you may notknow about that visit is that wehad less than 24 hours notice toput it together. It took a team ofpeople from across the installa-tion working pretty hard on thisto pull it off. Most of that sameteam then had to turn around and

ready the phe-nomenal SuperBowl party heldfor our woundedwarriors.

Right aroundthe corner, wehave Solid Cur-tain, CitadelShield, our an-nual Navy-wideforce protectionexercise, fol-lowed shortlyby the HUR-REX disasterresponse drill.Last year, ourfirst as a com-mand, these

exercises were big learning ex-periences for all of us. This yearwe still expect to learn, but wedefinitely have lessons to applyfrom last year that should reduceimpacts to our staff members andvisitors.

We have another round of con-struction that’s just beginning,and with that comes parking andlogistical challenges. More detailswill follow on these projects, butsome of them will create some in-conveniences as we get them done.

I’m truly impressed by the workethic, great attitude, and commit-ment of everyone who calls this in-stallation their home (work homeanyways). Thank you for your con-tinued (and ongoing) hard workand cooperation. All ahead full.

All Ahead Full,Capt. Frederick (Fritz) KassNaval Support ActivityBethesdaCommanding Officer

Commander’s Column

The Journal Thursday, February 7, 2013 3

By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Journal staff writer

A Fit/Strong Weight Manage-ment Course is available to activeduty military members on the thirdTuesday of every month from 9 to10:30 a.m. in the Nutrition Outpa-tient Conference room at WalterReed Bethesda.

“It is to educate our active dutyin proper nutrition and fitnessbehaviors so they can be missioncapable and ready at all times,”explained Navy Lt. Nelson Gua-dalupe, chief, Outpatient ClinicalNutrition Services at Walter ReedNational Military Medical Center(WRNMMC), and coordinator forthe course.

As an instructor of the nutritionportion of the course, he believes itis tailored for those service mem-bers who may have failed a PT(physical training) test and wouldlike to fulfill the requirement fornutrition and exercise education tobetter their PT scores.

Travis Combest, an exercisephysiologist at WRNMMC, teachesthe fitness portion of the course,focusing on ways service memberscan improve their PT times andscores, as well as their readinessposture.

“The key to a healthy lifestyle isfinding balance — balanced eatingand working out effectively,” Comb-est said. He explained an effectivephysical activity program includesa “dynamic” warm-up, cardiovascu-lar training, a cool-down, muscularstrength/endurance training, andflexibility training.

Examples of a dynamic warm-upinclude walking, a light jog, highknees and butt kicks. Cardiovas-cular training can include running,biking, swimming and aerobic ac-tivity. Examples of cool-down in-clude a slow jog, walking and lowlevel aerobic activity. Weight work,push-ups and sit-ups are examplesof muscular strength/endurancetraining and stretching improvesflexibility.

Combest said training for cardio-vascular endurance should be threeto five days per week for 30 to 60minutes per session at 70 to 85 per-cent of your maximum heart rate.Training for muscular strength andendurance should be at least twodays per week for a minimum of 20minutes for eight to 10 major mus-cle groups performing two to threesets of eight to 12 repetitions perexercise. Stretching should be per-

formed after warming up and work-ing out. There should be one stretchfor each major muscle group, andthe stretch should be held for 10to 30 seconds so that there is mildtension, but not pain.

In order to have a successfulphysical activity program, Comb-est said, “Keep it positive, motivat-ing, and set realistic and attainablegoals. Try to find something you geta passion for and that will motivateyou to continue.”

Guadalupe explained the perfor-mance benefits of good nutritioninclude enhanced ability to train-ing and performance; improvedconcentration; increased energylevel; increased endurance; short-ened recovery time; and an overallgeneral good feeling. He added keypoints for good nutrition is to “keepyour total body fueled with a mix ofcarbohydrate, protein and fat eachday for optimal performance, focus-ing on fruits and vegetables for vi-tamins and minerals.”

It’s also important to keep hy-drated, especially with water, be-fore, during and after activity, Gua-dalupe said.

“The class is just a steppingstone,” Guadalupe said. “It is amulti-dimensional environmentin which the service member canlearn a lot of new things in theclass to help with their fitness andnutrition.”

Spc. Jacob Owens attended theclass to improve his overall fitness

after rehabilitating from injurieshe suffered last year in Afghani-stan. He broke the femur bone inhis left leg and the orbital bone inhis right eye, and suffered a pulmo-nary embolism in his lungs. “Mostof that has healed, but I picked up

a lot of weight due to the medica-tion,” he explained. “Now I’m work-ing into getting back into shape[with] “a good strategy for gettingmy weight down.”

Sgt. Rodolfo Bonilla said he cameto the class to learn more aboutnutrition and how he can improvehis eating practices. “I’ve had alot of questions about what’s good,what’s bad, what’s recommended asopposed to what you see on televi-sion, and what I can change andimprove,” he explained.

Spc. Lindsey Powers explainedshe works out regularly and wantsto “get to the next level” in her fit-ness by improving her nutrition.“I’m hoping to figure out strategiesfor getting beyond the plateau I’vebeen on the last few months andcontinue to build my fitness levelso that I’m at a point I’m physicallyhappy with my body.”

A referral is not necessary toattend the course, but interestedparticipants should call Outpa-tient Nutrition Services at 301-295-4065 to sign up to attend. Theclass is also available for units bycalling Outpatient Nutrition Ser-vices, or emailing Robin Revell [email protected].

New Course Helps Service Members Stay Fit, Strong

Photo by Bernard S. Little

Navy Lt. Nelson Guadalupe, chief, Outpatient Clinical NutritionServices at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and co-ordinator for the Fit/Strong Weight Management Course, teachesthe nutrition portion of the class Jan. 23 at Walter Reed Bethesda.

For more news from other bases around the Washington, D.C. area,

visit www.dcmilitary.com.1033266


Capt. Ginger TaylorWRNMMC NutritionServices Department

Walter Reed Bethesda’sNutrition Services Depart-ment continues its year-longrenovation project of Café8901, and will soon shut thedoors to the facility in thebasement of Building 9 formajor construction.

While inpatient room ser-vice operations will still oper-ate out of the basement loca-tion to support patient roomservice, new locations to meetthe food service needs of staffand visitors are scheduled toopen in early March. Loca-tions for food services includethe modular trailers in frontof the Tower (Building 1), andkiosks in Building 9 and theHeroes Zone (between Build-ings 3 and 5).

The modular food trail-ers in front of the Tower willoperate seven days a week,including holidays, and fea-ture hot entrees, a salad bar,a deli bar, soup and more. Inaddition, the facility will ac-commodate 120 customersfor sit-down dining, and allitems will be available fortakeout. Hours of operationare:

Breakfast: 6 to 10 a.m.Lunch: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.Dinner: 4 to 6:30 p.m.The two kiosks, called

“Café 8901 Express,” will belocated in Building 9 nearthe escalators and mainpharmacy and on the sec-ond floor of the Heroes zone(Buildings 3/5). They are ex-pected to be fully operation-al in early March.

The Building 9 kiosk willbe open from 6 a.m. to 12:30

a.m. weekdays, and from 6p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on week-ends and holidays, and willfeature soups, sandwiches,salads, burgers, fresh fruit,pizza and more. Café 8901late night meal service willcontinue operations fromthis kiosk.

The kiosks in the HeroesZone will be open from 7a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdaysand will include similar fea-tures to the Building 9 CaféExpress kiosk.

The Nutrition ServicesDepartment staff will pro-vide additional updates onthe renovations that areexpected to last throughSeptember 2013 via post-master messages, postersin the facility, and the Wal-ter Reed National MilitaryMedical Center (WRNMMC)intranet.

Renovations of Café 8901 Underway

Temporary Dining Facility to be Located in front of Tower

Photo by David Dickinson

Workers prepare the site for the installation of mod-ular trailers which will house the temporary dining fa-cility in front of the Tower at Walter Reed Bethesdawhile Café 8901 in Building 9 undergoes renovationsscheduled to last until September.

1037965

RentalTownhomes

Less than 3 miles to WRNMMC

1037718

Featuring: Oversized 2 & 3 Story Townhomes21/2 & 31/2 Baths

3, 4 & 5 Bedrooms . 1,400 to 2,100 Sq. Feet

q Pre-wired for FIOS cable &high-speed internet

q Newly redesigned kitchen& appliances

q Hardwood floors w/inlayq Ceramic tiled bathq 2" Plantation blindsq Cherry finish kitchen cabinetryq Self-cleaning ranges

Included Amenitiesq Side-by-side refrigerator/freezerq Garbage disposalq Stainless steel sinksq Built in Microwaveq Dishwasherq Full-size washer & dryerq Private entry patio w/additional

storage

11300 - 11476 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895 . www.rcptownhomes.com301-949-4466

SPECIALTwo Level, 3BR

Town Homes Starting atONLY $1,875

PER MONTH!


By David A. DickinsonWRNMMC Journal staff writer

As part of Walter Reed National Military Medi-cal Center’s (WRNMMC) Stages of Healing pro-gram, Poet Laureate of North Carolina JosephBathanti hosted a poetry reading and writingworkshop at Walter Reed Bethesda recently.

Bathanti, who teaches at Appalachian StateUniversity, is the author of six poetry books. A na-tive of Pittsburg, he originally traveled to NorthCarolina in 1976 to volunteer in prisons, wherehe continues to teach and hold workshops.

The poet laureate position in North Carolinarequires the person participate in various liter-ary activities across the state and country, work-ing with schools and community groups, accord-ing to the North Carolina Arts Council.

After becoming the seventh North Carolinapoet laureate on Sept. 20, 2012, Bathanti deter-mined he would focus on assisting the veteranpopulation with their writings as a way to ex-press their feelings and emotions.

“I was asked, when being installed as the poetlaureate, to develop a signature project,” he ex-plained. “I wanted to work with combat and re-turning veterans to harvest these stories.”

During his workshop at WRNMMC, Bathantiread one of his poems, “Advising,” which speaksto the challenges faced by a remedial student heonce advised.

“Mr. Bathanti’s style was sort of a revelationfor me. He seemed to be able to reach inside him-self and find a complex emotion, and craft a poemin gorgeous language,” said Staff Sgt. Bryon E.Reiger, a WRNMMC nurse and aspiring writer.

As part of the workshop, Bathanti also encour-aged the group to write their own poetry, draw-ing on personal reflection. The pieces had to beentitled, “Where I’m From.”

Dr. Micah Sickel, coordinator for Stages ofHealing events, said, “The assignment broughtout a great deal of emotion in the room, fromsmiles to some tears.”

“My biological father was a poet in New Or-leans,” explained Reiger, who began writing po-etry as a middle school student. He read a poemabout his upbringing and the challenges he over-came.

Bathanti expressed his appreciation for theopportunity to work with the service membersand staff at WRNMMC. “This is just the supremehonor to be here, period,” he said.

For more information about Stages of Healingevents at WRNMMC, contact Dr. Micah Sickel [email protected].

Poet Laureate Leads Workshop at Walter Reed Bethesda


Poet Laureate of North Carolina JosephBathanti hosts a poetry reading and writingworkshop at Walter Reed Bethesda recently.

It’s Still Flu Season,Wash Your Hands!

Photo by Master-at-Arms Seaman April Beazer

The Center for Disease Control suggestto first wet your hands with clean water,apply soap, and rub your hands togeth-er to make lather and scrub them well.Then continue rubbing you hands for atleast 20 seconds, then rinse well. Finallydry your hands with a clean towel or airdry them.

10291280


By Sharon Renee TaylorWRNMMC Journal

staff writer

Three wounded warriorsshared the patient perspec-tive of trauma care during aJan. 30 panel discussion aspart of the nine-day traumasymposium lecture seriesat Walter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Center(WRNMMC).

Army 1st Lt. NathanRimpf, Hospital Corpsman3rd Class Max R. Rohn, andHospital Corpsman 2ndClass Michael N. Wengloskispoke of their pain and re-covery, and what they be-lieved to be the most criticalpart of their trauma care.

Rimpf explained the mostcritical point in his care oc-curred between the time hewas injured and his place-ment on an operating tableat the first CSH [combatsupport hospital]. His med-ic, Sgt. Ryan Kidd, speedilyapplied tourniquets to con-trol bleeding in both his legsafter the lieutenant steppedon a bomb during combatpatrol in the Ghazni Prov-ince of Afghanistan on July8, 2012.

The infantry platoon lead-er credits Kidd with savinghis life, along with those atForward Operating BaseGhazni who rushed to theaid station to give the 12units of battle buddy bloodthat was pumped into Rimpfduring his first surgery. “Atleast 12 other Soldiers helpsave my life,” he said.

Twelve hours after ar-riving at the first CSH andsurgery, Rimpf was flown toBaghrum, where he stayedfor less than two days beforea flight to Landstuhl, Ger-many and a three-day stay,returning to the states andadmitted to WRNMMC onJuly 13, 2012.

Rimpf, a double amputee- below the knee on the left,and “through the knee” onthe right - said he endured“four major surgeries, but atleast nine procedures.” Hewas discharged from WalterReed Bethesda on Aug. 20,2012 and remained as anoutpatient recovering eversince.

Rimpf appreciated the op-portunity to speak to healthcare providers at the lecturesymposium. He said theevaluation of trauma carefrom the Vietnam War, theGulf War and the currentwar has enabled them, “to

see the prevalence of certaininjuries and the cause ofdeath,” he explained. “Theyredefined everything downto what the individual Sol-dier carries to fix that.”

Rohn sustained injuryto both legs, the right moresevere than the left, on May2, 2009 in Fallujah, Iraq. “Itwas just a bad day in May,”he said. “We were caughtin a complex ambush. Thefirst vehicle was blocked offby a tractor trailer. I was inthe third vehicle, and thethird vehicle got hit by anRPG[rocket-propelled gre-nade] 3 grenade. We startedtaking contact from the left,”explained the Sailor, whoplaced a tourniquet on hisown leg.

He traveled to Al-Taqad-dum Air Base (TQ), Iraq andlater to Baghdad where hehad his first surgery. Rohnsaid he spent three days inBalad and another in Land-stuhl before arriving at Wal-ter Reed Bethesda. With atotal of 15 surgeries behindhim, the Sailor said the mostcritical point of his traumacare was amputation.

“I think the most impor-tant part in my case is go-ing from limb salvage to an

amputation,” Rohn said. Hisright leg was amputated af-ter a two-year effort to saveit. “Since the amputation,everything turned around,”he explained.

Since his amputation,Rohn participated in the2012 U.S. Paralympic War-rior Games last May in trackand field events as well asswimming, wheelchair bas-ketball, and volleyball. Hisfuture plans include attend-ing Penn State University.

During Wengloski’s firstdeployment to Afghanistan,a round fired in an Oct. 15,2011 “horseshoe” ambushhit the Sailor’s left arm. Thebullet dislocated his elbowand the hospital corpsmansustained a fracture to hisradius and ulna, in his arm.“Basically, it just shattered,”explained Wengloski, whowas able to apply his owntourniquet at the scene.

A medevac flight carriedhim to Camp Dwyer in theHelmand Province, wherehe spent a day after his firstsurgery. Wengloski eventu-ally headed to Landstuhlfor two more surgeries. Hesaid eight days later hewas flown to Joint Base An-drews, Md., and admitted as

an inpatient at Walter ReedBethesda for a week beforehe was discharged on con-valescence leave to receiveoccupational therapy at acivilian clinic near his Con-necticut home for 30 days.He returned to WRNMMCin December 2012, where hehas remained for outpatientrecovery except for a briefinpatient stay.

Wengloski said doctorshave performed 11 surger-ies since his injury. He ex-plained the single mostcritical element of his trau-ma care was the continu-ity of care he received atWRNMMC.

The Sailor explainedNavy Cmdr. George Nanos, ahand specialist, has provid-ed care to him since his firstinpatient admission, includ-ing the latest surgery morethan two weeks ago. “Otherthan those first surgeries inGermany, it’s been him thewhole way,” Wengloski said.

Army Lt. Col. Joy Napper,department chief, HealthEducation and Training, ex-plained why it was importantto include patients in thesymposium series of classesand lectures designed to en-able health care providers to

continue enhancing patientcare through staff and fac-ulty development.

“When we were planningthis we wanted to includethem so that we can geta transparent look at ourskill set and how we canimprove,” said Napper, whoexplained it was reaffirm-ing for trainers to hear theywere training providers onthe right procedures.

Army 1st Lt. Caitlyn Mc-Gowan, a registered nurseon the 4-Center ward saidthe patient experience pan-el helped confirm what shedoes as a nurse every day.

“I work with woundedwarriors during their impa-tient stay. It’s always niceto hear what they thoughtof the process when theycome back to the unit andwe see how they’re doing:that they’re walking, [and]they’re more mobile,” Mc-Gowan said. “You see theseguys and they’re in a certainplace when they get to you,”she said. “Everyday littlethings, accomplishments,are really huge,” she ex-plained. You might not seeit every day - subtle things- but then they come back,Wow!”

Wounded Warriors Share Patient Side of Trauma Care at Panel

Photo by Sharon Renee Taylor

Army 1st Lt. Nathan Rimpf (left) shares his experience as Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Max R. Rohn (center)and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Michael N. Wengloski wait their turn. The three wounded warriors sharedthe patient perspective of trauma care during a Jan. 30 panel discussion as part of the nine-day trauma sym-posium lecture series at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.


Col. Barbara A CrothersWRNMMC

Cytopathology

You’ve just noticed a smalllump under your skin, orperhaps your doctor has toldyou that a lump was discov-ered in your thyroid glandor your breast. That meansthat you need surgery,doesn’t it?

Not necessarily. There is amethod of diagnosing lumpsand bumps that is as simpleas having your blood drawn,and its uses has expandedover the past decade as test-ing becomes more sophisti-cated.

The procedure is calledFine Needle Aspiration(FNA), practiced by manyphysicians at the WalterReed National Military Med-ical Center (WRNMMC).The procedure involvesplacing a needle (smallerthan one used to draw blood)into lumps and collectingthe cells to make a diagno-sis. The cells are smearedonto glass slides, stained,and reviewed under a mi-croscope for adequacy by aspecially-trained individualcalled a cytotechnologist.These slides are immediate-ly evaluated and interpretedby pathologists, who usuallyprovide an exact diagnosis ofthe lump.

The Pathology Depart-ment recently opened a newFNA clinic at WRNMMC,where health-care providers

can refer patients for thisprocedure. The PathologyFNA clinic is designed togive health-care providersan immediate answer to thequestion: what is this mass

and how should it be treat-ed? It also provides patientswith the opportunity to ob-tain a same-day diagnosiswithout scheduling anotherclinic visit. Only superficial

masses are aspirated at thepathology FNA clinic, butultrasound-guided FNA isalso available for superficialmasses, such as those in thethyroid.

There are advantages tohaving a pathologist per-form FNA procedures andevaluate the slides immedi-ately. Pathologists interpretand make a diagnosis onall FNA specimen slides, sothey are aware of the neces-sity of having high-qualityslides and staining to makean accurate diagnosis. Pa-thologists who review allspecimen collections imme-diately on site know whenthey need to collect addition-al specimen for special tests,which may prevent the pa-tient from returning to themedical center for a secondaspiration. Pathologists alsoknow what specimen spe-cial studies are needed tohelp make a diagnosis, andcan separate or collect moresamples for those additionalstudies. This immediate “tri-age” step can prevent addi-tional unnecessary proce-dures for the patient, suchas repeat FNAs.

Prior to the FNA proce-dure, pathologists reviewpatient electronic recordsand radiographic studies,as well as perform a clini-cal history and physicalexamination related to themass. The entire proceduretakes about 30 minutes, butappointments are gener-

ally scheduled for an hourat a time to allow patientsand pathologists a chanceto discuss the findings andimplications of the test. Pa-thologists are available toexplain the differential diag-nosis of the mass, the likeli-hood of a particular diagno-sis, and the typical diseaseprogression of lesions andtumors. Patients and fami-lies should feel comfortableasking questions about theirdisease during these visits.Often after reviewing theinitial slides, the patholo-gist has a general idea ofthe category of disease and/or the diagnosis and can dis-cuss this with the patient.When additional studies arenecessary, or the cellular col-lection is scant, the interpre-tation of the slides may takelonger.

Patients are acceptedon a walk-in basis and asimmediate referrals fromWRNMMC clinics. Pathol-ogy FNA clinic hours arefrom 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mon-day through Friday. Ap-pointments can be made bycalling the Department ofPathology, CytopathologyService, at 301-295-2100.The clinic is located in Ar-rowhead Building 9, sec-ond floor, Room 4710, in thesame area as phlebotomy,across from the cardiologydepartment. Patients shouldreport to the LaboratoryMain Desk.

Fine Needle Aspiration Clinic Opens, Advances Care

Photo by Sharon Renee Taylor

Army Capt. (Dr.) Sarah Heaton, a second-year pa-thology resident, demonstrates the technique she usesto obtain a superficial mass in the new Fine Needle As-piration Clinic which recently opened at WRNMMC.

mental illness is seen as acharacter issue, not a chem-istry issue, we still margin-alize people who suffer fromany kind of brain-based ill-ness because the symptomsof it are behavior.

“We saw in Bradley’s char-acter in this movie an accu-rate portrayal of what behav-ior looks like when your brainisn’t firing the way it ought tobe firing,” he added. “I’m hop-ing that movies like this willbegin to open peoples’ eyes tothe idea that people like whoBradley portrayed and his fa-ther, is all of us. The soonerthat our country can come tothat realization - hopefullyone of the great byproductsis we will be better and more

responsive to those of youwho have a very real physi-cal wound but not one thatreveals itself on the outside.”

Cooper said he remembersa time when he was talkingto his actor friends who werediscussing whether or notthey learned something fromtheir role. He said he neverunderstood that until thismovie.

“There is something aboutthis guy Pat Solitano who Iplay that I fell in love with,”said Cooper. “It felt like Iwent away and this guyPat was there, and when Iwalked into a room all theseother wonderful actorswould look at me like I’mthis guy Pat and I could feelthem change. That was veryunnerving for me as theywere very careful aroundme and very cautious untilI met this woman TiffanyMaxwell. That’s the whole

thing about this movie, thiswoman understands himfrom the minute she comesin and you can see that inthe dining room scene. Shesees him and they start talk-ing about meds at the tableand they start to get into itand she is not scared to in-sult him and treat him likea man.

“Going through that andexperiencing that in animaginary circumstance, Istarted to empathize withhis condition in a way thatI never have before. I real-ize that I’m a victim of thattoo. I have walked down thestreet or been in places andseen somebody that I thinkhas a mental challenge andI’m careful or overly nice in-stead of just treating themlike a human being the wayI want to be treated. That’sa huge thing I learned andI also learned that you need

a strategy in life and that Ican relate to Pat in a lot ofways.”

In order to get into therole, Cooper spent a lot oftime with the director’s sonwho has a mental illnessand also did a lot of researchreading books and watchingdocumentaries.

“I was made aware earlyon how personal this wasfor the director and that hewas doing it in many waysfor his son. There was a realobligation to make it veryauthentic and I felt the bur-den of responsibility of that,”said Cooper. “I spent a lotof time with his son and hisson’s friends and there area couple of friends of minewho are diagnosed bipolar.That was a way to figure outthe heart of the characterby hanging out with his son,Matt. Then, it was the logic offiguring out the neurological

pathway with which he pro-cesses information and thatwas through reading a lot ofmaterial and watching somewonderful documentaries onmanic depression.”

Cooper was surprised byhow much attention his newmovie was getting.

“We didn’t realize howmuch it would resonate onthe larger scale,” said Cooper.“I always knew the power ofcinema personally growingup. It’s a hugely influentialmedia. It’s the reason I doso much. I think this is thefirst movie that I’ve been apart of where I felt like I ac-tually understood in termsof other people experiencingsomething I’ve been involvedwith.”

There were hundreds in at-tendance to see Cooper, whosigned autographs on per-sonal items and took pictureswith the audience.

WARRIORContinued from 1


By Mass CommunicationSpecialist 2nd Class

Nathan PardeNSAB Public Affairs

staff writer

Effective Friday, the Navyand Marine Corps Relief Society(NMCRS) has increased the amountthat can be borrowed through theirQuick Assist Loan program to $500.

“The Quick Assist Loan programis offered at Naval Support ActivityBethesda,” said NMCRS BethesdaDirector Gillian Connon. “You canonly get a Quick Assist Loan at afull-service office, and we are thefull-service office for the NationalCapital Area.”

The NMCRS branch at Bethesdaoffers many services for active dutyand retired Sailors and Marines,retired reservists and eligible fam-ily members, but the Quick AssistLoan is only available for Sailorsand Marines who have a need forimmediate cash assistance.

“If you should have a car accidentthat requires unexpected repairs,for example, or something happensin your family where you need gro-

ceries or a plane ticket home - it’s aquick, no-questions asked solutionthat will get you the money thatyou need and get you on your way,”said Connon.

What makes this loan uniquecompared to the alternatives is theterms of repayment, she said.

“There is no interest on theQuick Assist Loan,” she continued.“I’ve seen the competition, a pay-day lender out in town, start atrates of 36 percent and go up to the

moon. I’ve also seen a 520 percentinterest loan offered locally.”

Jenna Grotler, a client servicesassistant at NMCRS Bethesda,said there’s no comparison betweenthe Quick Assist Loan and the al-ternatives.

“It’s way better than going outin town because it is 0 percent in-terest and no questions asked, andthere’s no command involvement,”said Grotler. “It’s really that sim-ple.”

Maj. Gen. Carl Jensen, USMC(Ret), Executive Vice President,NMCRS, said the Quick AssistLoan program is designed to pro-vide direct relief to service mem-bers who are struggling financially.

“This program is our best defenseagainst questionable payday lend-ers who create a cycle of debt withtriple-digit interest and short-termrepayments that adversely impactour service members and their fam-ilies,” said Jensen.

So just how ‘quick’ is the QuickAssist Loan? Most loans can beprocessed on a walk-in basis in lessthan 15 minutes, and they can beborrowed up to twice a year, saidConnon. However, the NMCRS isabout more than just providingshort-term solutions. The organiza-tion’s goal is to financially educateSailors and Marines, she added. Fi-nancial budgeting is offered to in-dividuals for free, and is requiredif a person should request a thirdQuick Assist Loan.

“When you sit down with us asa counselor, we’re not judging any-one based on their budget. Every-

Navy and Marine Corps Relief Available

See RELIEF page 10

1037920


By David DickinsonWRNMMC Journal

staff writer

Walter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Center(WRNMMC) physical thera-pist Dr. Mary McVearry re-ceived the 2012 Rehabilita-tion Award from the Associa-tion of Military Surgeons ofthe United States (AMSUS)during a ceremony at WalterReed Bethesda Jan. 29.

McVearry is a pelvic floorphysical therapist whojoined the UrogynecologyService in October 2009 atthe former Walter ReedArmy Medical Center asboth a provider and educa-tor with the Female PelvicMedicine and Reconstruc-tive Surgery Fellowship. InFebruary 2012, she earnedcertification as a women’shealth clinical specialist.She is the only board cer-tified pelvic floor physicaltherapist in the NationalCapital Area (NCA) Depart-ment of Defense system.

The physical therapist as-sists men and women in therehabilitation of their pel-

vic floor function, workingclosely with providers fromservices such as colorectal,gastrointestinal, urology,physical medicine, gyne-cology/oncology, and painmanagement, in addition tonumerous primary care pro-viders in the NCA.

“The Association of Mili-tary Surgeons of the UnitedStates/Society of FederalHealth Professionals 2012Rehabilitation Award, [rec-ognizes McVearry for] thetherapy she provides thatextends beyond the healingof the physical and encom-passes the mental and spiri-tual rehabilitation of thosein greatest need,” explainedRear Adm. Alton L. StocksWRNMMC commander ashe read the proclamation hepresented to McVeary at theceremony.

“This award means thatI’m doing something thatmakes a difference, and thatI’m doing something right,”McVearry said. “I’m thankfuland I attribute a lot of thisto being here at WRNMMC,”she added.

The doctor of physical

therapy remembers receiv-ing a call from Army Lt. Col.Johnny Wright from the Di-vision Bureau of Gynecologyoffering her an interview,

and ultimately the job atWalter Reed three-and one-half years ago.

“I never thought I wouldlove working in military

medicine as much as I have,”McVearry said. She went onto say about working at Wal-ter Reed Bethesda, “You re-ally get to practice in a waythat you should. That’s en-abled me to grow a lot.”

“She gives 110 percentto her job,” her supervi-sor, Army Lt. Col. SandraHernandez said. “She lovesworking with wounded war-riors. She is the only personin OB/GYN who sees male[beneficiaries] and that’s abig population of woundedwarriors.”

In addition to McVeary’sclinical work, the physi-cal therapist is involved inGraduate Medical Educationand research, both withinthe Urogynecology Serviceas well as with GYN On-cology, Stocks added. She isalso a volunteer coordinatorfor an area free clinic whichprovides services for unin-sured women suffering frompelvic floor disorders, andMcVeary coaches a special-Olympics soccer team, whichrecently won the Marylandstate championship.

Walter Reed Bethesda Physical Therapist Earns AMSUS Award


Dr. Mary McVearry receives the 2012 RehabilitationAward from the Association of Military Surgeons ofthe United States from Rear Adm. Alton L. Stocks,Walter Reed National Military Medical Center com-mander, during a ceremony at Walter Reed BethesdaJan. 29. McVearry earned the award for her work as aphysical therapist at Walter Reed Bethesda.

1036021


one has to live within their budget.My place is to educate you: to showyou what it is today, where you canbe tomorrow and where you can bebeyond that.”

A Sailor or Marine who is inter-ested in a Quick Assist Loan can

find the form online at www.nmcrs.org, or just stop by the local office.

“And hopefully, you will discoverthat we are helpful, friendly, non-judgmental, and we really want tohelp teach you about your financ-es,” said Connon.

NMCRS Bethesda is locatedin Building 11, Room 118 at Na-val Support Activity Bethesda. ANMCRS representative can alsobe reached by phone at 301 -295-

RELIEFContinued from 8

For more news from other bases around the Washington, D.C. area,

visit www.dcmilitary.com.

times of heightened security, butare required to stand one watcha month to maintain their status.This allows them to continue theirprimary jobs.

Gamba described ASF as a flexi-ble program tailored to the needs ofeach location where it exists. “Someinstallations utilize their ASF on a

more permanent basis,” he contin-ued, “so if they become part of theASF team - going through the acad-emy - they may get temporarily as-signed to security for six months,or sometimes a year, depending onhow long they set it up to be.”

Anyone who wants to join and gothrough the training should meetsome minimum requirements, ex-plained Gamba. “They should havea clean record, with no UCMJ (Uni-form Code of Military Justice) ac-tions, and be physically fit,” he said.

SECURITYContinued from 1

T6611110

1029140


1033175

Know an outstanding caregiver or non-profit organization that deserves to be recognized? Nominate them for ourWounded Warrior Caregiver of the Year Award presented by DCMilitary Family Life.

Write a short essay about an individual or organization that has provided exceptional assistance to a WoundedWarrior during their time of need over the past year. Submissions will be collected and judged based upon theirrecent sacrifices and contributions made in order to care for Wounded Warrior(s).

5 finalists from each category will be chosen by a panel appointed by Comprint Military Publications and all will beinvited to attend an awards luncheon where the winners will be publicly announced. All finalists will appear in theJune issue of DCMilitary Family Life magazine.

Cash prizes will be donated to the winners and top finalists.

Visit www.dcmilitary.com/award for more information or email your essay to [email protected] by March 29, 2013!

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN!

SPONSORS INCLUDE:

1037967


Documents

Journal 7 Feb 13