AFWC opens satellite office at JBM-HH

By Denise CaskeyJuly 12, 2024

AFWC office
The Armed Forces Wellness Center satellite office inside America’s Kitchen at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall will offer all the same services as other AFWC offices, except the BodPod, which is replaced with and InBody 770 composition scanner. (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA. – At the same time Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall celebrated the June 12 opening of America’s Kitchen, Armed Forces Wellness Center celebrated the opening of a satellite office in the same building.

It is the first AFWC site to share space with an Army dining facility, a concept which was first discussed at the November 2021 Army’s Commitment to Improving Overall Nutrition forum.

“Having an AFWC within a dining facility footprint allows for the delivery of nutritional education, assessments, and coaching to take place at the point of need within the same space in which the service members will be making their food choices,” said Noelle Austin-Jones, lead health educator for Fort George G. Meade and JBM-HH AFWC.

With the goal of improving individual and unit readiness and resilience, the AFWC at JBM-HH offers services that support mental and physical fitness goals such as biometric screening, metabolic testing, nutrition education, stress management and wellness coaching.

Previously, AFWC only provided services to the JBM-HH community twice a month through a partnership with Andrew Radar U.S. Army Health Clinic. The JBM-HH AFWC is open the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, and in August will add the first and third Wednesdays. The satellite site offers the same services as all standardized AFWC locations.

The JBMHH location will have the InBody 770 available for body composition assessments. The InBody 770 has been authorized to be used as a supplemental measurement for soldiers who do not pass height/weight or body circumference measurements.

People interested in using the BodPod for a body composition assessment instead of the InBody 770 would need to contact their closest AFWC. For JBMHH the closest offices would be at either Fort Belvoir or Fort George G. Meade.

A visit to AFWC is part of a comprehensive care plan and is integrated with the Patient Centered Medical Home, said Austin-Jones.

“The primary goal of the AFWC program is to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury, improve overall performance, and enhance the self-efficacy of individuals to maintain lifelong healthy behaviors,” she said.

Services are available to all Department of Defense beneficiaries including active duty, activated Guard and reservists, retirees and their spouses and DoD civilians.

A referral is not needed; however, clients may be referred by their primary care physician or unit command, and while walk-ins are accepted, appointments are recommended.

Before their first appointment, the AFWC will ask clients to complete a health and wellness tracker questionnaire, which they will also complete every 30 days for follow-up. Further requirements will be dependent upon the type of assessments being conducted. Clients will receive detailed instructions upon scheduling.

To learn more about the AFWC and to see a comprehensive contact list for all 35 AFWCs worldwide, please visit: https://ph.health.mil/organization/hpw/Pages/ArmyWellnessCenters.aspx, and AFWC clients can call Fort Belvoir AFWC at (703)806-1323 or Fort George G. Meade at (301)677-2006.

For more JBM-HH news, visit: www.army.mil/jbmhhnews