BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Many of you may have noticed that the provider team you normally see at the 460th Medical Group has now changed. Have no fear, the same great care you have received from your previous provider team will not change! The mile high medics just completed a reorganization and re-designation of their squadrons as directed by the Air Force Medical Service in order to return Airmen to duty faster, as well as provide the best possible care to our dependent population.
The new 460th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron (OMRS), formerly known as the Medical Operations Squadron, has dedicated provider teams responsible for taking care of Team Buckley service members and getting them back into the fight as soon as possible. The 460th Health Care Operations Squadron (HCOS), formerly known as the Medical Support Squadron, has provider teams who will take care of our military dependents; something traditionally not associated with this squadron. The clinical teams in both OMRS and HCOS will consist of a provider, technicians and administrative staff charged with overseeing the health care needs of each patient assigned from check-in to diagnosis, treatment, and any follow-on care needed throughout their time assigned to the 460th Medical Group. We will continue to offer the same specialty services: pediatrics, women’s health, physical therapy, and dental as well as pharmacy services to those Department of Defense beneficiaries we currently serve.
So, why the changes? These changes are necessary to not only streamline our health care delivery, but also help provide the best readiness platform. We aim to guarantee a “medically-ready force” and “ready-medical force,” the two highest priorities of the Air Force Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Dorothy Hogg.
“This new structure optimizes both priorities and allows us to return Airmen back to full mission capability as quickly as possible without decrementing care to our beneficiaries,” said Brig. Gen. Susan J. Pietrykowski, Director, Manpower, Personnel and Resources, Office of the Air Force Surgeon General. “Restructuring where care is delivered lets our providers focus on each group to improve the quality of care, create efficiencies, and most importantly, get injured or ill Airmen back into the fight more quickly.”
Squadrons across the 460th Space Wing, as well as the 94 tenant units associated with the installation have been reorganized under specific provider teams in order to provide the continuity of care our Airmen expect. Along with this Air Force Medical Reform Model, the Defense Health Agency has assumed authority, direction, and control for all Air Force Military Treatment Facilities in the continental United States as of Oct. 1, 2019. This part of the change should be seamless to all as the transition will occur by functional capabilities, rather than geographic location, to ensure no Military Treatment Facility will lose the management support needed to accomplish the readiness and health care delivery missions. The 460th Medical Group is working hard to make sure this transition continues to provide our patients with the world-class health care they expect every time they walk through our doors.