FORT SILL, Okla. Feb. 18, 2016 -- So now that you know TRICARE Online (TOL) is available to schedule your doctor's appointments, the question is, are you familiar with how TRICARE Online works?
This is the question Col. Kenneth Lemons, Reynolds Army Community Hospital commander, has for all the commanders on Fort Sill.
"A recent article highlighted all the features available through TRICARE Online, but I want to make sure that our service members and their families not only know about TRICARE Online but know how to effectively use it as well." Lemons said. "It is my goal to sit down with all the brigade command teams on Fort Sill and show them how effective TRICARE Online can be for their overall health during and after their career in the military."
The first command team Lemons approached was the Marine Artillery Detachment here.
"Since this is an Army installation I wanted to make sure that our sister services were aware that TRICARE Online is also available to them," said Lemons.
"Marines who are assigned here do not go through the same in-processing that Soldiers do, and up until now we have not had the opportunity to educate them on TRICARE Online," the colonel added.
Col. Wayne Harrison, MARDET commander, was more than happy to have his Marines briefed on the advantages of TRICARE Online.
"I have not seen a hospital commander reach out to the Marines like Colonel Lemons has done," said Harrison. "He came to my office and showed me how to use TRICARE Online and all the features that were available; my initial reaction was how empowering this is and asked him on the spot to show this to the rest of my Marines."
Lemons went to the Marine detachment with a group of his staff and spent over two and a half hours educating the Marines on the Performance Triad, TRICARE Online, and steps they need to take to ensure a smooth transition from active duty.
"Our target audience for this initial brief was senior leaders," said Lemons. "As a result many of these Marines are looking at retiring over the next several years. I felt it was important to bring in representatives from the VA as well as the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), which is a Department of Defense program that handles all of the medical discharges."
"We are better now because of this," said Harrison. "I strongly encourage all my leaders to share with their young Marines what they learned today."
The motivation was echoed by many of those present. "I wish I had known all this a long time ago," said Master Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Bast.
The goal now is to spread the word to the rest of the units on Fort Sill.
"I brief this same information every Tuesday morning at the hospital," said Lemons, "but I have only been doing is since July. I now want to reach the rest of our beneficiaries that have not had the opportunity to hear about what TRICARE Online can do for the and how they can become a truly knowledgeable partner in their healthcare."
For more information on TRICARE Online visit www.tricareonline.com.
To schedule a unit brief, call the Reynolds Public Affairs Office at 580-558-2008.
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