Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB) is regarded as the best Family Medicine teaching hospital in the Navy. NHB is a community-based acute care and obstetrical hospital, offering expert primary care, emergency care and a broad range of medical and surgical specialties, with 36 inpatient beds (with expansion capacity to 72+). The hospital is conveniently located between Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Bremerton and NBK Bangor. NHB is parent command for three Naval Branch Health Clinics and the Puget Sound Family Medicine Residency Program. The three clinics are located at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, NBK Bangor and Naval Station Everett.
Naval Hospital Bremerton has a three-fold primary mission: To improve the health of the people we serve; provide Graduate Medical Education for Family Physicians, and execute our readiness mission. Naval Hospital Bremerton and its clinic’s staff consist of well over 1,400 dedicated military, civilian, contract and American Red Cross volunteer personnel.
Naval Hospital Bremerton has up to 12 percent of its active duty staff deployed at any given time supporting combat units in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and other locales such as Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, as well as being engaged in humanitarian aid and disaster response missions (Pacific Partnership deployments, earthquake and tsunami relief efforts, deployments to Latin American and Caribbean nations).
Naval Hospital Bremerton staff physicians are boardcertified, and all take part in continuing education to keep abreast of the latest changes in their fields. They are trained at some of the leading institutions in the United States including the University of Washington, Harvard Medical School, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Many of our nurses hold advanced certifications and degrees, and we have the only certified Nurse Midwives on the Kitsap Peninsula. Our health care professionals strive to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and excellence.
Naval Hospital Bremerton offers a variety of programs and services, providing our patients with the most effective and appropriate tools to maintain health and wellness for life. All services are centrally located at the main hospital with the exception of our health clinics and our drive-through satellite refill pharmacy, which is located nearby in the Jackson Park Navy family housing area.
As partners in the TRICARE West region, the Naval Hospital Bremerton’s dedicated staff, along with the TriWest Healthcare Alliance, provides compassionate, timely, and quality care to the 88,000 eligibleindividuals residing within the Puget Sound (approx. 60,000 in the greater Kitsap County area alone). To ensure our patients receive optimum diagnosis and treatment, Naval Hospital Bremerton collaborates with local and national Military Treatment Facilities and civilian health care institutions in both a teaching and knowledge sharing capacity.
Brief Snapshot—A Day in the Life at Naval Hospital Bremerton:
• 1,330 medical outpatient visits.
• 190 dental outpatient visits.
• 1,850 prescriptions processed.
• 9 surgery cases.
• 2 babies delivered (Northwest Beginnings Family Birth Center delivered 668 babies for an average of 56 per month in 2008).
• Daily average census is 17.
NEW & NOTABLE
NHB Hand & Hygiene Program a Successful Wash
At Naval Hospital Bremerton, the first line of defense in keeping MRSA infections away was beenthe on-going proactive “ Partners in Your Care” hand hygiene campaign. In conjunction with the Washington State Hospital Association, NHB’s goal is more than just raising awareness to improve the health of all patients and staff through a campaign focused on proper hand hygiene. The command focus is always on patient safety and lives can be saved by eliminating infections.
Naval Hospital Bremerton was singled out as an example of proper hand hygiene. For example, NHB’s Intensive Care Unit was just listed by the Washington State Hospital Association as one of six hospitals that achieved exceptional or greater hand hygiene performance for the month of September. Hospitals in this category achieved the significant accomplishment of a hand hygiene compliance rate of 70 percent or greater based on accurate product usage measurement. Only six ICUs in the state of Washington reported hand hygiene compliance rates greater than 70 percent for the month of September.
NHB Family Medicine Residency Program Receives Top Marks
The highly-accredited and top-rated program helps handle the medical and healthcare needs of approximately 60,000 active duty service members, and eligible beneficiaries. The program provides renowned Graduate Medical Education for Family Practice Interns and Residents. NHB has consistently been selected by students as their preferred place of training over the past three years among all five Navy training programs. NHB continues to set Navy Medicine standards in the overall goal of producing the best family physicians who are capable of handling all the needs of Navy families and contributing to the Navy mission anywhere in the world.
NHB HEALTH PROMOTION
TEAM RECOGNIZED
NHB was awarded the Gold Star Health Promotion and Wellness Award for command excellence in Health Promotion. The award marks the ninth consecutive time NHB Health Promotion has been recognized with the Gold Star.
NHB’s Health Promotion Division is consistently and actively engaged in a number of programs designed for all eligible beneficiaries. Their calendar of events includes such events as Health Assessments Osteoporosis Risk Assessment, Fitness and cooking demonstrations. Other classes open to all eligible beneficiaries are Mom Baby Fitness; Yoga; Tai Chi; TLC; Weight Support; Ship Shape Class; Back Class; Diabetes Support; Baby Basics; Knee Class; Bangor Commissary Tour; Car Seat Fitting; Bangor Healthy Shopping Tour. For more information, please call 475-4541.
Safe Harbor Program Comes toNaval Hospital Bremerton
The Safe Harbor Program will help protect Sailors, U.S. Coast Guardsman and their families throughout the Pacific Northwest who have been impacted from the ongoing winds of war. Sailors or family members with questions or problems can contact Safe Harbor 24/7 by phone (877) 746-8563 or at http://www.SafeHarbor.navy.mil. The Safe Harbor Program offers non-medical case management support that includes helping with pay, benefits, travel orders, lodging/housing adaption, commissary/ exchange access, education and vocational rehabilitation, employment, child and youth programs, recreation and leisure opportunities, legal and guardianship issues, respite care, charitable assistance and much more. The main objective is to try and get every Sailor back to duty. When that is not a feasible option, they will be successfully reintegrated back into their community and worked with to ensure they are taken care of. Once a Sailor and their family are enrolled in the Safe Harbor Program, they will continue to be tracked throughout their life.
There are also valuable intangibles, such as hope and care, which can be in short supply for a severely wounded, ill and injured patient struggling to come to grips with medical issues on top of physical, professional, financial, spiritual, and physiological concerns.
Enrollment in the program for those currently in uniform generally comes from the Navy Personnel Casualty Report, medical case managers, and fleet liaison representatives. For those who are retired, non-medical case managers are working closely with VA representatives to seek out those in need. The Safe Harbor program has recently extended care beyond those Sailors with serious injuries to include those from the fleet and squadrons who have been injured in the line of duty or on liberty, such as those injured in a motorcycle or motor vehicle accident; as well as Sailors diagnosed with a serious illness.
MEDICAL CLINICS
Naval Branch Health Clinic,
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Naval Branch Health Clinic, PSNS is located in PSNS Building 940 and provides occupational healthcare for both military and civil service personnel who work at the shipyard, primary care for active duty members assigned aboard Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton and the Shipyard and medical support to fleet medical departments. Sick call hours are by appointment. Call 476-6872 to schedule. Physical examinations for active duty personnel are conducted weekdays by appointment and can be scheduled by calling 476-5994. CIA access is required.
Naval Branch Health Clinic, Bangor
Naval Branch Health Clinic Bangor is located at 2050 Barb St. aboard Naval Base Kitsap Bangor. The clinic provides routine and acute medical and dental healthcare for active duty service members as well as occupational healthcare to both military and civil service personnel. NBHC Bangor also provides emergency ambulance service 24-hours-a-day on Naval Base Kitsap Bangor by calling 911 on base.
DENTAL CLINIC
Naval Branch Health Clinic, Bangor
Naval Branch Health Clinic Bangor offers specialty dental services such as Prostodontics, Periodontics, and Endodontics for all active duty personnel. Dependents are seen on a stand-by basis and in cases of emergency. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with sick-call hours from 7 to 9 a.m. To schedule an appointment, please call 315-4287 or DSN 322-4287. For after hours dental emergencies call 509-8086.
Naval Hospital Bremerton Dental Annex
Naval Hospital Bremerton Dental Annex is located on NBK Bremerton, on the second deck of Building 506, 2249 Decatur Ave. and provides services to personnel who work on base. Services include fillings, hygiene, general dentistry needs. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with sick-call hours from 7 to 8 a.m. To schedule an appointment, please call 476-2211 or DSN 439-2211.
Family members and survivors of all active duty personnel, Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve personnel are eligible for the TRICARE Dental Program with comprehensive worldwide coverage administered by United Concordia. Information can be obtained at http://www.ucci.com or (800) 332-3260. Retired personnel and their families can obtain dental care under the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program through Delta Dental. Information can be obtained at http://www.ddpdelta.org.
TRICARE
TRICARE policies and benefits are governed by public law. Changes to TRICARE programs are continuous and new benefits are added regularly as we continue to make TRICARE a better program for you. For the most recent information, visit www.tricare.mil. TRICARE is the Department of Defense (DoD) health care program for active duty and retired members of the uniformed services, their families and survivors. TRICARE’s primary objectives are to optimize the delivery of health care and services in military treatment facilities (MTFs) and attain the highest level of beneficiary satisfaction through the delivery of world-class health care benefits. Naval Hospital Bremerton and its Health Clinics in Everett, Bangor and at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard are located in the TRICARE West Region.
TRICARE Information
There are three different plan options to the TRICARE program-TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Extra and TRICARE Standard. In-depth information on each option is available in your TRICARE Beneficiary Handbook. Additionally, Naval Hospital Bremerton conducts general TRICARE Overview (or orientation) briefings every other month. If you are interested in information on when these briefings occur, please call 475-4408 for details.
What to Do Upon Transfer
Upon transfer, please check with your local Military Treatment Facility or medical department representative to ensure you are properly enrolled. This especially is important even when you are transferring from one command to another in the same local area. Sailors assigned to ships or submarines that are transferring to shore commands (and vice versa) will need to have their enrollment changed and information updated. Make sure your records are up-to-date to ensure that there are no administrative delays when accessing care.
Keep Records Up To Date in DEERS
One of the systems that the military health system uses to verify eligibility is the DEERS program. DEERS is a computerized database of military sponsors, families and others worldwide who are entitled under the law to TRICARE benefits. DEERS registration is required for TRICARE eligibility. Active duty and retired service members are automatically registered in DEERS, but they must take action to register their family members and ensure they’re correctly entered into the database. Mistakes in the DEERS database can cause problems with TRICARE claims, so it is critical to maintain your DEERS information. Failure to update DEERS can result in misdirected communication, delayed enrollment and claims payment and other difficulties. Some common times to update DEERS include:
• Activation, reenlistment, separation, retirement and moves or changes of address
• Birth/Adoption
• Death of spouse or child
• Full-time student over age 21
• Marriage/Divorce
• Moves/address changes for spouse or children
More TRICARE Programs
For information on the following programs, please access the pertinent web site or contact your Medical Department Representative:
• TRICARE Dental Program (800) 866-8499, http://www.ucci.com
• TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (888) 838-8737, http://www.trdp.org
• TRICARE for Life, http://www.tricare.mil/tfl
• TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy Program (866) 363-8667, www.express-scripts.com/tricare
• TRICARE Retail Pharmacy Program (866) 363-8779, http://www.tricare.mil/pharmacy
For More Information
If you need more information about your medical benefits, please contact one of the following points of contact:
• Your Medical Department Representative
• Your local Branch Health Clinic or Naval Hospital Bremerton (see numbers below)
• TriWest (see number below)
• Or visit the TRICARE Service Center
Naval Hospital Bremerton Information
Naval Hospital Bremerton
One Boone Road
Bremerton, WA 98312-1898
(800) 422-1383/475-4000, DSN 494-4000
http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nhbrem
AMERICAN RED CROSS
The American Red Cross Emergency Services serving military personnel is there to reach your family in times of emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For service members assigned to CONUS, Alaska, Hawaii military installations, call toll-free at (877) 272-7337.
The American Red Cross Bremerton office is located at 811 Pacific Ave., Bremerton, WA. 98377 (377-3761) or by visiting their Web site at: www.westsoundred cross.org. The American Red Cross is there for you to help prevent, prepare for and cope with emergencies. It’s a fact of military life; families are frequently separated due to deployments and relocation. No matter how strong the family ties, moves and separations often put a strain on relationships. ARC can help with immediate personal and family concerns. All Red Cross social services are provided free of charge.
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
In the event of an actual emergency, critical accident, illness or death in a service member’s immediate family, the Red Cross should be called at once. The Red Cross is equipped to verify the situation and relay an emergency leave request, if necessary, to proper military authorities. It is then up to the Commanding Officer to decide whether or not to grant leave. Other services offered are Health and Welfare Inquiries; Information, Referral and Advocacy; HumanitarianReassignment and Hardship Discharge; Discharge Review and Correction of Military Records for Veterans; and Emergency Financial Assistance.
The Red Cross is here to assist you in the case of emergencies 24 hours a day. The American Red Cross provides many services that focus on Health, Safety and Community Services for military families. The following are classes offered (please call the office for class updated schedule and costs): Baby sitting training; Family Care giving; Adult CPR with First Aid; Standard First Aid Review; Standard First Aid with Infant & Child CPR; Adult CPR; Infant and Child CPR; First Aid/CPR/ AED Instructor; Fundamentals of Instructor Training; Pet First Aid for Dogs and Cats.
A true indication of how Naval Hospital Bremerton is a true member of the community is showcased with their partnership with the American Red Cross, which is opened Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. ARC volunteers at Naval Hospital Bremerton are an integral part of the overall team effort to improve the health of the people we serve. The program has expanded this past year where ARC volunteers, on average, now contribute approximately 1,000 hours a month of vital, quality service in helping to execute the hospital’s readiness mission. There are approximately 65 ARC volunteers do Donate their time and effort as part of the NHB team on a regular basis. For those interested in volunteer work and for more information, please call 475-4341.
Frequently Called Numbers
TRICARE Regional Appointment Center (TRAC).....................(800) 404-4506
TriWest Healthcare Alliance Beneficiary Services.......................(888) 874-9378
Pharmacy Refills........................................................................475-4217
Naval Hospital Information Desk...............................................475-4000
Primary Care Clinics - Family Medicine Clinic...........................475-4379
Internal Medicine Clinic.............................................................475-4206
Pediatric Clinic..........................................................................475-4216
Branch Health Clinics - Bangor............................................... ..315-4391
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.....................................................476-2508
Everett.....................................................................................(425)304-4060
