Provider care teams align to new squadron structure

Senior Master Sgt. Queen Aric presents the new 88 Healthcare Operations Squadron flag with assistance from Senior Master Sgt. Benjamin Seekell while Col. Christian Lyons, 88th Medical Group commander, and Lt. Col. Cang Bui, squadron commander observe Oct. 1. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Senior Master Sgt. Queen Aric presents the new 88 Healthcare Operations Squadron flag with assistance from Senior Master Sgt. Benjamin Seekell while Col. Christian Lyons, 88th Medical Group commander, and Lt. Col. Cang Bui, squadron commander observe Oct. 1. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Under the Air Force Medical Reform model, dedicated provider care teams of the 88th Medical Group at Wright-Patterson Medical Center aligned to a new squadron structure Oct. 1.

The Aerospace Medicine Squadron (AMDS) is now the Operational Medical Readiness Squadron (OMRS), focused on proactively treating Total Force Airmen and improving their availability to support the warfighting mission.

Originally designated as the 74th AMDS, part of the 74th Medical Group on October 1, 1994, the Aerospace Medicine Squadron strives to prevent disease, promote health and optimize performance.

The new 88th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron is a 252-member team comprised of 10 specialties in seven flights. Those include Active Duty Primary Care (The Warrior Operations Clinic/WOMC), Audiology, Bioenvironmental Engineering, Flight Medicine, Health Promotion, Mental Health, Occupational Medicine, Optometry, Physical Medicine and Public Health.

The squadron’s top priority is providing a medically ready force to execute the Air Force mission in both garrison and deployed locations.

The Medical Operations Squadron (MDOS) is comprised of separate provider teams aligned to care for non-active duty patients, primarily families of service members and retirees under the new name of Healthcare Operations Squadron (HCOS).

The 88th MDOS originated as the 74th Medical Operations Squadron, also in 1994, and was redesignated to the 88th Medical Group in 2004.

Comprised of over 650 medics, eight flights, 24 specialties, 13 clinics and six graduate medical education programs serving more than 58,000 beneficiaries, the new 88th Healthcare Operations Squadron is the Air Force’s largest medical squadron.

The squadron executes a multi-million-dollar operating budget, delivers 82,000 tele-consultations and 261,000 outpatient visits annually and supports not only homeland defense but deployment operations.

Under this new redesignation, the 88th HCOS will be comprised of Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Medical Specialties and Pediatrics.

The 88th Medical Group is one of many medical treatment facilities across the Air Force that has undergone a reorganization to ensure trusted care is provided equally to its beneficiary population.

The overall intent is to improve and sustain medical readiness of the active-duty population. The realignment will also improve beneficiaries' access to care, lower the total management cost of the military health system and ultimately provide better health outcomes.

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