Vital Signs Vol. 3 No. 5, 1 February 1981

VOL III No. 5 Naval Regional Medical Center, Orlando, Florida

Director of Navy Nurse Corps

1 February 1981

Rear Admiral Shea visits NRRIC

By LT Greg Holeman, NC, USN

RADM Frances T. Shea.NC, USN

On 13 January, Rear Ad¬
miral Frances T. Shea, NC,
USN, Director of the Navy
Nurse Corps, visited NRMC
in conjunction with her at¬
tendance at the Secretary
of the Navy's Advisory Board
on Education and Training
(SABET) Conference held in
Orlando.

During her visit, RADM
Shea toured the replacement
facility and was guest of
honor at a reception given
by the NRMC Nurse Corps Of¬
ficers at the NTC Officers'
Club. She was also the
guest speaker at the Cap¬
tain's Table Luncheon held
in the new hospital.

In an informal ques¬
tion and answer session
with NRMC's staff nurses,
RADM Shea shared her views
on the current state of the
Nurse Corps and its future
direction and goals. The
graduate and post-graduate
educational opportunities,
current challenges, and many
other topics of general in¬
terest were discussed.

RADM Shea's visit pro¬
vided a unique opportunity
for NRMC's Navy Nurses to

benefit from her broad
range of knowledge and
to better understand
the important role of
the Nurse Corps in ac¬
complishing the mission
of the Navy Medical De¬
partment.

U. S. Navy Photo

RADM Shea grad¬
uated from St. Joseph's
College and earned her
Master's Degree from De-
Paul University. She
was selected as Director
of the Navy Nurse Corps
in August 1980.

Page 2__

We re sorry you're leaving!

VITAL SIGNS

1 February 1981

LCDR B. Radpour, MC, to NRMC, Long Beach
HM2 T. Engebretsen to civilian life
HM3 J. Rodriguez to NSHS, San Diego
HN J. Gifford to civilian life
HM3 W. Thompson to civilian life
HN N. Caloyeropoulos to FMSS Camp
Lejeune and FFT to 2nd MarDiv
HM2 M. Snyder to NSHS, Portsmouth
HM3 W. Pearce to civilian life
HM3 J. Cadrain to civilian life
HM3 D. Desousa to USS MANITOWOC
HM1 F. Catcott to NSHS, Portsmouth
HM2 M. Nicholas to NavAeroSpRegMedCen,
Pensacola

Congratulations, Been I istees 1

HMC Joseph J. Daco, Pharmacy Service
HM1 Guillermo Milano, Laboratory
Service

HM2 Robert Patterson, Laboratory

We’re glad you’re hero!

HM1 M. Bennett from NSHS, San Diego

HM1 L. Kessinger from USS LASALLE

HM1 W. Downing from NOSC ELK RIVER

MSI F. Owen from USS BLANDY

HM2 M. Grubbs from TPU, MAC, Orlando

HM2 B. Billingsley from TPU, NAC, Orlando

HM3 R. Knapp from 3rd FSSG, FMFPAC

HM3 R. Brown from 3rd FSSG, FMFPAC

HM3 P. Boon from HCS GLAKES

HM3 E. Matthews from 3rd FSSG, FMFPAC

HR J. Warren from HCS San Diego

HR E. Tharrington from NSHS San Diego

HA C. Thompson from HCS GLAKES

HR H. Matheney from NSHS, San Diego

HA C. McCloud from NRMC, Oakland

HN D. Hi1 man from HCS GLAKES

HA R. Hart from HCS GLAKES

HA P. Dimitry from HCS GLAKES

HN D. McKeag from HCS San Diego

NRHIC’s Log

Servi cg

HM2 Karl Schweinberg, Pharmacy
Service

0S1 David Campbell, Operating
Management Service

WMatizzll???

DO YOU KNOW THIS STAFF MEMBER? (Answer
on Page 8.)

1 January 1981

0001 - We searched and scavenged but to
no avail

No poetic New Year's wisdom will
prevail

And the blame is totally on
sobriety, you see.

Alas, all doors are locked and the
hospital secure

So it's bon voyage 1980; welcome
aboard '81....

And Mr. Reagan, a pay raise if you
please!

HM2 Dave Porter, USN

Vital Signs Stall

Editor:

HMCM(SS) R. C. Clements, USN
Managing Editor:

Mary V. Van den Heuvel
Nursing Service Subeditor:

LT G. Holeman, NC, USN
NRMC Annex Subeditor:

MMCM H. T. Hill, USN

VITAL SI6NS 1* published In compliance with NAVEXOS-P35 (Aev. JAN74) and printed by the Navy hublice
Service Branch Office, Orlando, fro* appropriated funds.

Coanwndlng Officer: CAPTAIN J. A. ZINBLE. NC, USN
Editor: IPOKSS) R. C. CLEMENTS, USN

Ing

Content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the official views of the Depeftnant of Defense. All copy
submitted for use In VITAL SI6NS must reach the Editor's Office, M-OOB-1, Bldg. 3000, by noon of the Mth of the month.

VITAL SIGNS reserves the right to edit or reject copy to co^ly with Itr policy. In reprinting notorial appearing In
VITAL SIMS appropriate credit oust be given.

1 February 1981

VITAL SIGNS

Page 3

Do you consider our freed hostages heroes?

HN Claire Elliott, La¬
boratory Svc: "Yes,
because they were able
to survive the con¬
finement."

Pat Horn, Patient Af¬
fairs: "No, but I
think their families
are!"

LT J. Ulcickas, MSC, Chief, HumResManSvc:

"Even though they knew the Iranian political situation
was deteriorating, they stuck to their jobs; so, they
did exhibit a facet of bravery both before and after
their capture. However, I do not consider them heroic
figures in a military sense... they did not suffer the
extreme and long-term hardships of our POWs."

HM1 Bogan McQuigg, Nursing
Services Detailer: "Basi¬
cally, no. But I have great
admiration for them and sym¬
pathy for what they had to
go through. I pray no other
American will have to face
an ordeal like that again."

J L W. U L * L ~

MMCM Tom Hill, Admin Asst,
NRMC Annex: "Yes, by vir¬
tue of their tolerance for
the inhumane treatment."

Page k

VITAL SIGNS

1 February 1981

Chaplain's

Comments

By COR W. |. Tumblin. CMC. USN

Active Dreamers Live Abundant Lives

Information Desk - 4313/4314

When you call one of these numbers,
you will reach the busy hub of the Naval
Regional Medical Center, Orlando.

The prophet, Joel, foretold a coming
expansion of God's Spirit which would af¬
fect young and old, sons and daughters.
Old men will dream dreams and young men
will see visions because of God's Spirit
(Joel 2:28). One who not only acknow¬
ledged his dreams but shared one dream
with others, was the late Martin Luther
King, Jr. He did not just report once
having a dream; he spoke of "having a
dream" that guided him in living.

An incomplete understanding of dreams
causes some to blush, many to remain mute,
and others to deny the reality of dreams.
Dreams were "the royal road to the un¬
conscious" for Sigmund Freud. I believe
they are a much neglected avenue of spir¬
itual truth. But dreams not only reveal,
they compel us to action. The potency of
dreams lies in our recognition, response
and commitment of self to the best we
know of God, our Heavenly Father.

The God who inspires dreams also
calls us to courageously live toward the
ethical imperatives of those dreams.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was possessed by
his dream. Even in death, his dream
pricks the consciences of people. To have
a dream, surely given by God and shared
with others, is one meaning of abundant
life. To find Godly wealth, mine your
dreams.

MARTIN
LUTHER
KING,JR.

In the midst of the ringing phones,
the crackling of the short wave radio
base station, and the line up of persons
seeking help, sits Jean Rodarte, who con¬
fidently and professionally, dispatches
information.

Jean has been
employed at NRMC
for 6 years. Her
first assignment
was in the Medical
Records Section of
OPD. She trans¬
ferred to the In¬
formation Desk in
March, 1978.

Jean Rodarte Jean is mar¬

ried and she and
her husband, William, have three childrer
and three grand-children.

Jean has two American Red Cross Vol¬
unteers who assist her. Mrs. Shirley La-
Bonte, who works at the Information Desk
on Wednesday afternoons and also all day
Thursday, and Mrs. Alice Obarski, who
works all day Friday. Shirley has been a
Volunteer at the hospital for 3 years and
has a total of 7 years of volunteer work.
In addition to the Information Desk, she
also works Wednesday mornings at the Fam¬
ily Practice Clinic. Alice has been a
Volunteer for 3 years - all at the Infor¬
mation Desk.

Shirley LaBonte

Alice Obarski

Jan. 15, 1929-
April 4, 1968

1 February 1981

VITAL SIGNS _

Smoking Cessation Program

Page 5

NURSING

SERVICE

By LT Greg Holeman.NC. USN

CDR McKown addresses NR NIC Nurses

"There is no one magic way for everybody
to quit smoking. But there are a great
many effective ways. If at first you
don't succeed, quit and quit again!"

From Office of Cancer Communications

Accompanying Rear Admiral Frances T.
Shea, the Director of the Nurse Corps, on
her recent visit to NRMC Orlando, was CDR
F. C. McKown, the Officer in Charge of
the Nurse Corps programs at HSETC

In a special conference with NRMC's
staff nurses, CDR McKown discussed many
of the routes leading to educational op¬
portunities available to Navy nurses. CDR
McKown specifically addressed the eligi¬
bility requirements needed to meet the
criteria for various educational billets
as well as the Navy directives which
specifically outline procedures for ap¬
plication to various graduate and post¬
graduate courses of study.

CDR McKown's visit was most informa¬
tive. Anyone desiring more specific in¬
formation, can contact the CDR at her of¬
fice at HSETC.

RADM Shea tours the new facility
with (left to right) Captain Nickerson,
Commander McKown and Captain Zimble.

NRMC has taken giant steps in their
Smoking Cessation Program to aid and as¬
sist smokers in calling it quits.

The first Smoking Cessation Seminar
was conducted in November with HM1 Pat
Johnson and HM1 Tony Washington serving
as the American Cancer Society trained
instructors. Their seminar started with
10 participants, with 6 completing the
course.

The second Seminar was conducted in
December with Tom Van Ells, Food Manage¬
ment Service as the instructor. Tom had
8 participants at the beginning with 6
completing the course.

Beginning with the first week in
February, Smoking Cessation Classes will
be held the first week of every month. The
course is made up of five sessions which
will be held from 7 - 9 p.m. on Ward 17.
These seminars are FREE and open to all
beneficiaries; however, each seminar will
be limited to 15 enrollees. Call the Ed¬
ucational Services Office, X4751, for
more information.

The Mission of the Smoking Cessation
Program is as follows:

To establish a non-smoking climate
in our medical facility constantly rein¬
forcing the value of not smoking for
health related reasons.

To provide accurate knowledge and
educational support.

To establish and maintain a No
Smoking display in NRMC and provide in¬
formation about smoking and how to quit.

To establish and maintain a monthly
Smoking Cessation Seminar for staff, pa¬
tients, retirees and dependents.

Page 6

VITAL SIGNS

1 February 1981

From the

other side!

By HMC Jim Silvers, USN

LAB LINE

By LCOR J. 0. Cotelingam. MC. USNR

Independent? You bet!

The Navy Enlisted Classification Man¬
ual defines the code of HM-8425 as "the
principal medical department representa¬
tive rendering all types of advanced med¬
ical assistance to eligible personnel
aboard ships, deployed units and stations
independent of a medical officer." The
Manual of the Medical Department further
amplifies this view by stating that "the
medical department representative serves
as the representative of the Surgeon Gen¬
eral in all medical functions performed
on independent duty and is directly re¬
sponsible to the Commanding Officer for
the health of the crew; sanitation of the
command; care of the sick and injured;
procurement, storage and custody of medi¬
cal department property; preparation of
required medical reports; and maintenance
of health records."

Who is this individual that the Navy
has tasked with such a direct and at
times, awesomely, frightening amount of
responsibility? Is this individual a
physician practicing medicine on board an
isolated duty station, a Medical Service
Corps Officer managing dispensary opera¬
tions on a Marine Corps base in the Pa¬
cific, or an Environmental Health Officer
who is endeavoring to ensure compliance
with good sanitation practices and pro¬
cedures on a naval vessel? No, he is none
of these!

The answer to all these questions...
... he or she is an Independent Duty Hos¬
pital Corpsperson - HM 8425. First, and
perhaps most surprising to someone out¬
side the Hospital Corps community, this
individual is an enlisted person. Second¬
ly, this individual is a graduate of the
"C" school for independent duty and is a
First Class or Chief Petty Officer. Third¬
ly, this individual is required to demon¬
strate, refine and expand, possessed
knowledge, skill and abilities on a daily
basis by the simple expedient of accom¬
plishing numerous delegated responsibili¬

Microscopy of a meniscus

No. It wasn't a crippling infirmity.
Merely a torn knee cartilage, but it tem¬
porarily reversed my role from health
care provider to recipient. The pre-oper¬
ative work-up went smoothly enough. The
Lab even got my vein the first time! In
fact, I went on to survive the three bath
schedule of Ward 12! All through my hos¬
pitalization and convalescence, I was
privileged to receive the professional,
caring and courteous support of physi¬
cians, nurses, corpspersons, reception¬
ists, physiotherapists, and my associates.

As a patient, I was able to reflect
and focus on priorities from another
angle. The outcome of my deliberation
confirmed what I had believed all along.
The patient is positively the center of
concern here at NRMC.

Thanks to a superb team effort. I'm
back to the old microscope.

Just one more thing -- all of you
who've been wanting to race me, had better
get into shape. I'm almost ready to run!

February - Black History Month

ties in a satisfactory manner. Finally,
it is imperative that this individual
maintain a high standard of pride, exper¬
tise and professionalism.

NRMC Orlando has the following HM
8425's serving as active members of the
health care team: HMC Francis Davidson,
Outpatient Department, HMC Francis Moore,
Physical Exam Section, and HMC James Sil¬
vers, Medical Records Department. Mann¬
ing the newly established Division Sick
Calls at RTC are: HMC Alexander Phillips,
HMC Lynn Houseworth, HM1 Martin Bennett,
HM1 Larry Mull is, HM1 Bernard Nachimson,
and HM1 Willard Downing.

1 February 1981

VITAL SIGNS

Page 7

Master

Shipwreck

HMCM(SS) R. C. Clements. USN

Message from the Surgeon General

"The Surgeon General and Chief, Bureau
of Medicine and Surgery takes great plea¬
sure in announcing that HMCM Steve W.
Brown, USN, presently serving as Director,
Hospital Corps Division, BuMed, has been
selected as the Force Master Chief, Medi¬
cal Department, U.S. Navy.

Master Chief Brown will assume his
new duties 1 February. He has served in
various Medical Department facilities and
bi1 lets throughout his
28 years of service, thus
making him eminently
qualified to serve in
this position.

Master Chief Brown
will be the personal ad¬
visor to the Surgeon
General on Medical De¬
partment policies affec¬
ting the totality of the
hospital corpsmen and
dental technician com¬
munities. Increased awareness and empha¬
sis will be given to these enlisted mem¬
bers who daily exercise their highly
valued, specialized skills throughout the
Navy.

NRNIC’s Sailor off the Year-1980

HM1 Trimble

HM1 William B. Trimble, USN, NRMC
Annex, has been selected as NRMC, Orlando,
Sailor of the Year for 1980. In order to
be considered for this honor, Petty Of¬
ficer Trimble had been selected as NRMC's
Sailor of the Quarter, First Quarter,
1980 for his outstanding sustained per¬
formance.

The competition was very keen and our
congratulations are extended, not only to
HM1 Trimble but to the other three staff
members who qualified to be considered
by the Sailor of the Year Board: HM2
Randolph Beers, Operating Room, HM2 Keith
A. Poirier, Laboratory Service, and HM1
Anthony J. Washington, NRMC Annex.

Fourth Quarter - 1980

Sailor off the Quarter

HMl Anthony J. Washington, NRMC Annex,
was selected as NRMC's Sailor of the Quar¬
ter, Fourth Quarter, 1980.

The competition was very keen and
deciding on one single choice was most
difficult. Each of the nominees were in¬
dividuals of the highest caliber, and we
can all be justly proud of these Master
Chiefs who typify the proud and accom¬
plished hospital corpsmen and dental tech¬
nicians of the U. S. Navy."

Master Chief Brown ensures me that
he will visit NRMC Orlando in the near

Petty Officer Washington reported to
Orlando for duty in October 1979. He is

presently serving as
the Assistant Medical
Board Coordinator. His
everyday outstanding
performance, personal
conduct, appearance,
and devotion to duty
truly reflect a su¬
perior petty officer,
leader, and a superb
asset to the health
care team. Congratu¬
lations HMl Washington!

HMl Washington

I

Page 8

VITAL SIGNS

1 February 1981

The written word

The written word is meant to be read.
One of our most common occupations as
Medical professionals is noting, record¬
ing, documenting, reporting, narrating,
logging, etcetera. Further, we write with
the full understanding that our deathless
prose will be read by colleagues, super¬
visors, surveyors, inspectors, lawyers,
patients, doctors, nurses, technicians,
auditors, coordinators, etcetera.

Your written word becomes your his¬
tory. It is your profile. Please be
careful when you write. Let your words
mirror your high standards; let them pro¬
claim your worthy contribution.

*****

Managing Editor's note: An appropriate
post-script to Captain's column is: Your
written word on Enlisted Peformance Eval¬
uations and Officer Fitness Reports also
is a reflection on your performance!

Black History Month Events

The theme for Black History Month
for 1980 is "Giving Our Fair Share." The
events scheduled at NTC, to observe this
special month, are as follows:

Thus, we should be expected to take
care in what we write. Although our doc¬
uments will probably never become price¬
less artefacts in some future archeologi¬
cal digs or nominees for the Pulitzer
Prize, neither are they wasted words of
Babel. We're proud of what we do and we
must ensure that our words accurately re¬
flect our performance. Sometimes, how¬
ever, I suspect some NRMC authors lose
sight of that requirement.

In my job, I have the great pleasure
of reviewing a considerable portion of
those words which on sundry documents
find their way into my in-basket. Several
particulars dismay me in my reading in
that the high level of attentive care in
all the activities of this hospital are
inaccurately displayed. One particular
is spelling, or rather misspelling. In
logs, charts, morning reports, I fre¬
quently see medical nomenclature (some¬
thing with which medical professionals
should be most familiar) so misshapened,
mishandled, and misspelled as to become
almost unintelligible. Such deformities
can significantly alter the reader's per¬
ception of our abilities.

More serious, of course, are inappro¬
priate entries into various documents.
Reputations and careers can be affected
by intemperate or vindictive notations.
Adverse patient care could result from
imprecise, illegible or irrelevant writ¬
ing.

1400 15 February - Gospel Concert

at the Mariners' Club

1400 15 February - Service at

McCoy Chapel

1400 17 February - Fashion Show at the

Petty Officers' Club

1400 18 February - Luncheon at the

Mariners' Club

1630 22 February - Family Night - Soul

Food at Galley #3

Whoooizzit?

It's HMC Alexander Phillips, NRMC

Annex. Chief Phillips reported on board

in October 1979 and is presently assigned

as the Chief Petty
Officer in Charge
of all the Division
Sick Calls at RTC.

Chief Phillips
and his wife, Diane,
have one child.
Their daughter,

Hadassah Leah is
now 10 months old.
Chief Phillips has
served in the Navy
for over 17 years.

"hometown" is the
Caughnawaga Indian Reservation in Quebec,
Canada.

Chief Phillips'