EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- In an effort to return more Airmen to duty quicker, the Air Force is rolling out a new medical model to restore the overall readiness of our military.
The 354th Medical Group (MDG) will be reorganized in the upcoming weeks, with the official activation scheduled for Sept. 15.
“While our group undergoes this reorganization, we’ll continue to provide consistent, trusted care to our community at Eielson Air Force Base,” said Col William Thoms, Jr., 354th Medical Group Commander. “The goal of this reorganization is to improve the lethality of our Airmen while also aligning our teams to focus on healthcare issues based on the beneficiary type and ensuring the healthcare needs of all patients are met.”
To return Airmen to duty quicker, the Air Force Medical Service began implementing this new medical model in 2019 after it was successfully piloted at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
Under this new medical model, dedicated provider care teams will be aligned to an Operational Medical Readiness Squadron primarily focused on proactively treating active-duty Airmen and improving their availability to support the warfighting mission.
Care for non-active duty patients, primarily the families of service members and military retirees, will be handled by separate provider teams aligned to the Healthcare Operations Squadron.
The reorganization will require some Airmen and families to be assigned a new primary care manager, and affected individuals will begin receiving notifications through email account within the next few weeks.
The 354th MDG will be working with patients to help them understand the changes and address any concerns they may have.
In addition, the medical group will be hosting a virtual town hall on the Eielson Air Force Base Facebook page Aug. 20 at 3 p.m. to answer questions about the reorganization.