The Front Page

The fight against youth tobacco use was accelerated today by Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin, with the release of the Surgeon General’s Report, Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults. This report details the scope, health consequences and influences that lead to youth tobacco use and proven strategies that prevent its use.

by Sandra Lea Abrams


WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the halls of the Pentagon and throughout the armed forces, there are signs that women are gaining momentum on the leadership front.

Witness the recent elevation of Army Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho – the first nurse and first woman to be named Army surgeon general. At the third annual “Building Stronger Female Physicians Awards” ceremony, held in conjunction with the 2012 Military Health System Conference, six women doctors received special honors. The awards program is about more than being a good military doctor; selection is also predicated on what one has done specifically as a leader to help other women.

Cmdr. (Dr.) Mary Dott, the U.S. Public Health junior winner, said she appreciates that the "Building Stronger Female Physicians Awards” program shines a spotlight on women military doctors.

“There are so many wonderful female physicians doing such great work throughout the Military Health System and all the uniformed services. So it is really an honor to be recognized and appreciated and I think it speaks to the work many of the female physicians are doing,” Dott said.

Dott, who is now a primary deputy in the Epidemic Intelligence Service for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga., has long list of accomplishments including developing obstetric practices while deployed to Afghanistan that directly contributed to an 80 percent drop in mortality for newborns with normal birth weight.

Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/news/84314/f...#ixzz1nPfPLGS7

DHHS has a competition on innovation and our HHS Community Health and Service Missions – CHASM is in contention to be one of the TOP SIX innovations that go forward to the Secretary for consideration for an award.

CHASM is OFRD's PHS field training that has been done during the past two years to bring USPHS officer health services to underserved populations. We worked in many counties in Tennesee, in Pikeville KY, at Remote Area Medical events (Pikeville and Operation Lone Star in Texas).

IF you have access to the DHHS intranet, you can vote for CHASM to bring it out of the top 20 initiatives and move it up to the top 6 initiatives.

But, you must take the time to VOTE in Round 4 of this competition, taking place from February 13 to 24.

LOGON at http://intranet.hhs.gov/abouthhs/programs_initiatives/innovates/index.html and cast your vote for CHASM. There is a short and simple registration process before you can cast your vote.

Dr. Carmona talks briefly about his time as Surgeon General in an ad which explains his past and his motivation for running for Senate.

The following message was delivered from the USPHS that restricts new calls to active duty, severely limiting any additions to the applicant pool for certain professional categories and making only certain programs a destination for recruitment beginning in 2012:

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Throughout 2011, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) has received overwhelming interest in career opportunities with the Commissioned Corps. This is positive news following a temporary pause in calls-to-active duty in 2010. We are currently working with over 1,200 applicants in various stages of the application process. For comparison, our calls-to-active duty in any given year have numbered approximately 500.

Even as applications more than doubled, we also underwent an internal reorganization. We have a renewed commitment to improving the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the application process to streamline functions, optimize performance and improve customer service.

To manage the current volume of applications amidst organizational and process changes, we will focus our efforts on professions, groups and positions of identified need. Beginning Jan 1, 2012 - and until further notice - the Commissioned Corps will only accept new application packets for the following professions and groups:

· Physicians and Dentists.
· CDC EIS candidates forwarded to USPHS from the Agency.
· IHS Pharmacy Residency candidates that have been forwarded from the Agency.
· USUHS candidates forwarded to USPHS from the program.
· DOD Wounded Warrior Initiative applicants (psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners and licensed clinical social workers). http://usphs.gov/Articles/Dod.aspx
· Student programs (i.e. Jr and Sr COSTEP).

We will continue to accept new application packets from all categories through Dec. 31^st, 2011 (postmarked on or prior to Dec 31^st). As well, all candidates who have already submitted their applications prior to December 31, 2011 will continue to be processed and will be called to active duty if they fulfill the necessary criteria of commissioning.

In order to improve customer service and satisfaction, we will focus our efforts on new calls-to-active duty from our existing applicant pool of all professions and candidates. The intent is to assign existing applicants (and applicants within the groups listed above) as efficiently as possible to our Agencies and other customers. As we continue to call candidates to active duty, we will refine the application process to one that is more efficient and customer-centric.

In the interim, candidates and other customers are encouraged to continue to visit our website for updates on the application process. Additionally, beginning this December, there will be informational sessions (via webinar, conference call, etc.) for those interested to explain the new process. We have shared this information with Agency contacts, liaisons and other key stakeholders. A calendar of these informational sessions will be provided on our website and Facebook page in late November, 2011.

The increased focus on calls-to-active duty from our existing applicant pool and additional emphasis on specific professions and groups will better meet the identified needs of our customers. Once again, we will continue with calls-to-active duty throughout 2012. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work to improve our processes to better meet your needs.

The following article in USA TODAY shows a service gap that could be filled USPHS Officers:

By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

Senate Veterans' Affairs committee has been pressing the VA hard in recent months on delays in treating mental health cases after a survey done within the department earlier this year showed that 70% of clinicians believe the VA lacks staffing or space to handle the mounting numbers of veterans seeking care.

A USA TODAY analysis of VA data showed that new mental health patients at about a third of department hospitals wait longer than the VA's goal of treating patients within 14 days or less. The VA insists that it is meeting scheduling deadlines and that any delays are the result of problems it cannot control, such as patient rescheduling or failing to show up for appointments.

USA TODAY reported Wednesday that 10,000 combat veterans with PTSD sought care at VA hospitals every three months this year, pushing the total number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated by the VA for the disorder to 211,000.

Full USAToday Article: Senate panel hears of battles for care by veterans with PTSD http://usat.ly/vDU9Um