FORT BRAGG, N.C. —
Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan visited Womack Army Medical Center here July 26 for an update on how the Defense Health Agency and the military services are collaborating on the integration of the Military Health System.
“We don't want to hear about how well things are going,” Shanahan said in an interview after the visit. “We really want to understand: ‘What are the things that are issues?”
Shanahan said he wants to “kick the tires, if you will, and talk to the people who are going to do the implementation, and discuss day one readiness” to ensure problems are mitigated and the proper resources are in place when the first phase of the transition begins Oct. 1.
The fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act transfers the administration and management of military medical treatment facilities to the DHA beginning Oct. 1, 2018. It will be done in phases, and Womack Army Medical Center is included in the first wave of transfers.
Supporting National Defense Strategy
The transition of the administration and management of the military medical treatment facilities, Shanahan explained, will increase readiness and patient care, as well as focus on affordability. It supports two lines of effort in the National Defense Strategy: increasing lethality and reforming the department for greater…
