Get to Know: East Bliss Health and Dental Clinic

By Marcy SanchezJanuary 25, 2016

Get to Know: East Bliss Health and Dental Clinic
Sgt. Gary Hendricks, noncommissioned officer-in-charge, East Bliss Health and Dental Clinic, demonstrates the simple and expeditious check-in available for Soldiers at the clinic using a Kiosk which checks in patients directly to the clinic of their ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Soldiers and units on the east side of Fort Bliss, Texas, have options for health care that doesn't include a long haul away from their units.

The "active-duty-only" East Bliss Health and Dental Clinic located on the east side of Fort Bliss, has made some recent changes to their patient clientele. Although the clinic has been open since late 2012, recent changes in 1st Armored Division's Primary Care Physician (PCP) assignments have led to a realignment of Soldiers assigned to the clinic.

According to Sgt. Gary Hendricks, noncommissioned officer in-charge at the East Bliss Clinic, in April 2015, Soldiers with 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, were reassigned to the East Bliss Clinic to alleviate congestion at other clinics on post.

"We had a total of 11 providers that came in after the gain in Soldiers. It was very challenging but we made it work," said Jackie Beard, the clinical nursing officer in charge. "The [clinic] is truly for them, it's about them and we are here to facilitate and service them. "

The clinic provides Soldiers with a one-stop shop for their medical and dental needs.

"We provide behavioral health, physical therapy, X-ray, laboratory, pharmacy, optometry and dental clinic," said Hendricks, from Gainesville, Texas. "The only service we don't provide here is audiology."

Location is ideal for the Soldiers of Fort Bliss, as it is the Army's second largest installation along with being U.S. Army Forces Command's (FORSCOM) largest installation.

Units assigned to the East Bliss Health and Dental Clinic include: 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division "Ready First" and the Brigade Headquarters & Headquarters Company; 16th Brigade Engineer Battalion "Catamounts"; 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment "Gunners"; 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment "Blackhawks"; 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment "Spartans"; 501st Brigade Support Battalion "Providers"; 3rd Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment "Rifles"; 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment "Buffalos"; 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion "Tigers" and 1st Armored Division Artillery or DIVARTY.

"One of the main reasons for our success is that we are truly free-standing, [Soldiers] are not competing with pediatrics, we're not competing with family practice and dependents or retired service members," said Beard, a native of Moreno Valley, Calif. "When the Soldiers come here it is all about our Soldiers, everything we are doing is for them."

The clinic's medical capabilities ensure assigned Soldiers can make an appointment or walk-in during Sick-call hours for anything from wellness visits to broken bones.

"We can take care of all problems that may arise during normal Army life," said Hendricks. "Anything that happens where Soldiers have to see their PCP then this is where they come to."

Included in the clinic's arsenal is equipment such as an anti-gravity treadmill and a full suite of equipment for physical therapy.

In addition to closer proximity to units it serves, the clinics also expedites check-in through the use of kiosk which allow Soldiers to check into their respective clinics and avoid waiting in line for patients of other clinics.

In 2011, TRICARE introduced a policy addressing service members' "access to care." It was a policy established to ease the time and distance of beneficiaries to a MTF. The policy included standards for emergency, urgent or acute, routine referrals. The policy also outlined expected wait times at MTFs to be no longer than 30 minutes, except in the case of emergency care being provided to patients, causing disruption to normal schedule.

The decrease in wait time is also a benefit to Soldiers visiting the clinic for care vise going to a private practitioner. According to a 2015 New York Times article, average wait times for appointments was estimated at 21 minutes for Texas private physicians.

"If someone needs to be seen that day and it's an urgent situation, the team camaraderie that we have here is great," said Beard. "Even if the Soldier's PCP is not available someone on our team will take care of them."

According to Beard, the clinic's location on the East side of Fort Bliss provides Soldiers with better access to care and keeps commanders happy with the medical readiness of the Soldiers.

"We understand they need to get in, they need to be seen and they need to get back to duty," said Beard, who has been practicing at the clinic since it first opened in 2012. "At the same time, we understand the excellence of medical care that is required."

For more information contact the East Bliss Health and Dental Clinic at 915-742-9324.