journal 072414

Vol. 26 No. 29 www.cnic.navy.mil/bethesda/ July 24, 2014

By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Public Affairs

staff writer

Joyce Jones, who works inthe Department of Occupa-tional Health at Walter ReedBethesda, said she attendsthe medical center’s quarter-ly Prosperity Fairs because“there’s a lot of good informa-tion, family-wise as well aswork-wise.”

Jones added that in gen-eral, work environments canbecome stressful and the Pros-

perity Fairs offer resourcesand information which can behelpful to de-stress at workand at home. “I find [the fairs]very beneficial,” she said.

Last week’s Prosperity Fairwas the third held at the medi-cal center this year to supportWalter Reed Bethesda Direc-tor Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Jeffrey B.Clark’s Prosperity Plan forstaff, initiated in January.The general explained thatthe plan, which he success-fully implemented at his pre-vious commands, is designed

to strengthen the well-beingof staff and is fundamental tomission success.

Clark added that WalterReed Bethesda does threethings – “fulfill the mission,take care of each other andtake care of families.” Themedical center’s ProsperityPlan and fairs are importantin accomplishing the three, hesaid.

More than 35 organizationsand departments participatedin last week’s Prosperity Fair,according to Cmdr. Dwayne L.

Buckingham, service chief forResiliency and PsychologicalHealth Service, and Dr. JoanY. Gordon, program managerfor the service. Both describethe event as “a huge success.”

“We made contact with over1,000 service members, civil-ians, contract employees, vol-unteers and family members,”Gordon said.

“We were able to showcasean array of resources andhelping agencies while alsopromoting the importance ofteamwork and unity as we

strive to accomplish our mis-sion,” Buckingham added. Hesaid the fairs emphasize theimportance of taking careof each other and those whoattend them can receive “awealth of educational and life-enhancing information” to bet-ter equip them to meet theirpersonal, professional, spiri-tual and relationship goals.

“It’s important to partici-pate in activities that boostmorale and create positive

Prosperity Fairs Offer Information for a Total Healthy Lifestyle

Photos by Bernard S. Little

Reiki, a meditative practice that promotes stress relief, balance and self-healing, was one of a number of activities offered at last week’sProsperity Fair at Walter Reed Bethesda, held to provide staff, beneficiaries and visitors a variety of information to achieve their per-sonal, professional, spiritual and relationships goals.

See HEALTH Page 3

2 Thursday, July 24, 2014 The Journal

DOD Enterprise EmailMigrationWalter Reed National

Military Medical Centeremail users will transi-tion to a Department ofDefense Enterprise Email(DEE) servicemanaged bythe Defense InformationSystems Agency (DISA).The migration will takeplace Aug. 19 throughAug. 22. There are pre-and post-migration stepsusers need to performin order to make emailmigration successful.For more information,contact Luis Lopez [email protected].

Young Adults andCancerIf you are a young adult

(age 18 to 39) affected bycancer and want to meetand talk with othersyour age who are dealingwith cancer, the John P.Murtha Cancer Center atWalter Reed Bethesda ishosting a meeting foryoung adults and theirfamilies onAug. 6 at noonin the America Building,third floor, Rm. 3558,and Aug. 20 at 11:30 inthe Physical TherapyDepartment, AmericaBuilding, first floor, Rm.1018. For more informa-tion and to RSVP, emailMeghan Fitzgibbons [email protected].

Bethesda Notebook

I hope that you all are having a fun, relax-ing, safe and enjoyable summer. In this week’scolumn, I’d like to talk about ‘ownership.’ Notownership in the sense of something is mine oryours, but ownership in the sense of somethingis ‘ours.’ I’m talking about ownership in thecontext of stewardship and responsibility.Merriam-Webster defines stewardship as

“the conducting, supervising, or managing ofsomething; especially: the careful and respon-sible management of something entrusted to one’s care(stewardship of natural resources).” Merriam-Webster alsodefines responsibility as “the state of being the person whocaused something to happen: a duty or task that you arerequired or expected to do: something that you should do be-cause it is morally right, legally required, etc.” It is our senseof community stewardship and responsibility. You may beasking yourself, “Where is he going with this?”

My point is this: We all have a greater responsibilitybeyond self and beyond what is mine or yours. I ask thatyou think and act as it relates to caring for the place whereyou work, the people you work with, and the installationwhere you serve.I want to ask you to think about a few scenarios and

how the above definitions and descriptions fit in to how youwould act or respond.Every time someone parks where theyare not authorized to park, that has an adverse impact onour installation community. When someone passes theirhang tag or proximity card on to a co-worker, instead of re-turning it, it impacts your community. It impacts becausethe co-worker who should have received it doesn’t get oneand it allowed another to circumvent the system. Who hasthe responsibility and stewardship to do what is right? Weall do. The person who gave away the hang tag and proxim-ity card and the person who took it are equally responsibleand aren’t being good stewards.Let’s talk about the physical condition of spaces.Who has

the responsibility and who has the stewardship to put ina trouble ticket for the malfunctioning sink or faucet in acommunity restroom?We all do.When someone just chang-es sinks and walks out assuming someone else will do it,they’re not being responsible or a good steward.They aren’tcaring for their community.This isn’t limited to the commonspaces.This also applies when one doesn’t take care of theirworkspace. If someone works in a new space, whether thatis remodeled or new construction, does it look new? Is it be-ing kept to look like new? A good and responsible stewardwould.

When someone decides to smoke somewhere other thanan authorized smoking area, is that being a good and re-sponsible steward? If one walks by someone smoking in an

area other than an authorized smoking area, is thatbeing a good and responsible steward?Who shouldact?We all should, both the smoker and the passer-by, if we are beinggood and responsible stewards.By keeping the risk of second-hand smoke to desig-nated areas, we are making our community betterand caring for those around us.If we are in a situation where we witness some-

one making a poor choice, are we being a goodand responsible steward? When that poor choiceimpacts another individual in addition to the in-

dividual making the poor choice, are we being a good andresponsible steward? I would suggest that we aren’t. By pro-viding bystander intervention, we can keep the individualfrom making the poor choice, we can save the other indi-vidual from being negatively impacted and we canmake ourcommunity a better place.

I picked these examples because they are straightfor-ward. There is the right thing to do (responsibility) andthere is doing nothing (lack of good stewardship). They arefairly clear. Each and every day, we all have the ability tomake small but positive differences in people’s lives and inour community.There are a number of other examples: pick-ing up the piece of trash on the ground; putting trash in atrash can and recycle material in recycle bins; not throw-ing trash in the barriers, recycle bins, and flower pots; be-ing courteous to pedestrians in the crosswalk; pedestriansutilizing crosswalks; and many more. You are a differencemaker.We all are.

The point of the column today is that I am asking foryour help. I need you to get on board. I need you to pitchin. I need you to get interested. I need you to care. I amasking for you to be responsible and a good steward in or-der to make OUR community a better place to visit, work,live, relax and enjoy. Together we can make a difference.Together we can be responsible. Together we can stewardthe installation resources provided to us to meet our mis-sion, care for our patients, educate our students and sup-port our staff.Together we canmake our commands and ourinstallation the example for others to emulate. If we bandtogether, it doesn’t take a lot of extra effort or much morework. If we each do a little piece, our little piece, the sum ofthose pieces will bond together to make a huge impact. Youhave that power.We have that power. It’s our command, ourcommunity and our installation. Let’s make a difference.Thank you for what you will do, and thank you for whatyou do every day.

All ahead flank,Capt. David A. BitontiCommanding OfficerNaval Support Activity Bethesda

Commander’s Column

Published by offset every Thurs-day by Comprint Military Publi-cations, 9030 Comprint Court,Gaithersburg, Md. 20877, a pri-vate firm in no way connectedwith the U.S. Navy, under ex-clusive written contract with theWalter Reed National MilitaryMedical Center, Bethesda, Md.This commercial enterprise news-paper is an authorized publication formembers of the military services. Contentsof The Journal are not necessarily the of-ficial views of, nor endorsed by, the U.S.Government, the Department of Defense,or the Department of Navy. The appear-ance of advertising in this publication, in-cluding inserts or supplements, does notconstitute endorsement by the Departmentof Defense or Comprint, Inc., of the prod-ucts or services advertised. Everything ad-vertised in this publication shall be madeavailable for purchase, use or patronage

without regard to race, color, re-ligion, sex, national origin, age,marital status, physical handi-cap, political affiliation or anyother non-merit factor of thepurchaser, user, or patron.Editorial content is edited,prepared and provided bythe Public Affairs Office, Naval

Support Activity Bethesda, Md.News copy should be submitted to

the Public Affairs Office, Building 17, firstfloor, across from PSD, by noon one weekpreceding the desired publication date.News items are welcomed from all instal-lation sources. Inquiries about news copywill be answered by calling 301-295-1803.Commercial advertising should be placedwith the publisher by calling 301-921-2800.Publisher’s advertising offices are locatedat 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md.20877. Classified ads can be placed by call-ing 301-670-1700.

Naval Support Activity (NSA) BethesdaCommanding Officer: Capt. David A. BitontiPublic Affairs Officer: Ron InmanPublic Affairs Office: 301-295-1803

Journal StaffStaff Writers MC2Ashante Hammons

MC2 Christopher KruckeSarah MarshallKatrina SkinnerJulie SmithSharon Renee Taylor

Managing Editor MC2BrandonWilliams-ChurchWRNMMC Editor Bernard Little

NSABethesdaFleet And Family Support Center 301-319-4087

Walter Reed National Military Medical CenterOffice of Media Relations 301-295-5727

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Michelle Herrera 240-370-5421

Sexual Assault Response

Coordinator Hotline 301-442-2053

Visit us on Facebook:Naval Support Activity Bethesda page:

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Walter Reed National Medical Center page:

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National-Military-Medical-Center/295857217111107

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Uniformed-Services-University-of-the-Health-

Sciences/96338890888?fref=ts

The Journal Thursday, July 24, 2014 3

Photo by Bernard S. Little

More than 35 organizations and departments participated in lastweek’s Prosperity Fair at Walter Reed Bethesda, offering staff, ben-eficiaries and visitors a variety of information to achieve their per-sonal, professional, spiritual and relationships goals.

synergy,” Buckingham continued. “To-gether, we can create a caring and pos-itive environment in which individualscan prosper personally, professionally,spiritually and in their relationships.Resilient people find solutions in prob-lems. In contrast, troubled people findproblems in every solution. Facilitat-ing quarterly Prosperity Plan Fairs isjust one way to help enhance individ-ual resiliency and let staff know whatwe do matters.”

Some of the organizations, depart-ments and services that participatedin last week’s Prosperity Fair includedthe Department of Pastoral Care; Fleet& Family Support Center; EmployeeAssistance Program; Morale, Welfareand Recreation; Bethesda Area ChiefPetty Officer Association; OutpatientClinical Nutrition Services; Resilien-cy and Psychological Health Service;Public Health-Preventative MedicineDepartment; American Red Cross;Army Education Services and NavyCollege; Reiki (a meditative practicethat promotes stress relief, balanceand self-healing); and others.

“I think it’s important for people tocome and participate because it reallyis a good opportunity for them to be

exposed to different areas of growth,”said Walter Reed Bethesda chief chap-lain, Army Maj. John. C. Lim, who wasat the event providing information toattendees.

“We as chaplains cover the spiritualcomponent, and I think that’s impor-tant, but you also have the physical,personal, professional and other ar-eas for people to take a look at, whichmakes this more comprehensive foroverall health and well-being,” Limadded.

The next Prosperity Fair is plannedfor October, Buckingham said.

For more information about theProsperity Fair or WRNMMC Prosper-ity Plan, call Dr. Joan Gordon at 301-319-3817.

HEALTHContinued from pg. 1

Photo by Erin Raderstorf

American Red Cross volunteersserve ice cream to attendees dur-ing Walter Reed Bethesda’s Pros-perity Fair in Building 9, July 18.

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Photo Story by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ashante Hammons

The Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Department hosted a luau June 17 at the Warrior Cafe in Building 62. MWR, along withthe Warrior Cafe, put together a luau themed menu, a variety of festive decorations, and tropical smoothies.

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By Sarah MarshallWRNMMC Public

Affairs staff writer

As part of continuedefforts to enhance pre-paredness at WalterReed Bethesda, a codeyellow exercise will takeplace at the medical cen-ter July 31.

Code yellow is acti-vated when there is anundetermined threator any incident thatcould directly impactthe safety and securityof patients, visitors andstaff, said Chris Gillette,emergency manager forWalter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Center(WRNMMC). It couldbe in response to a num-ber of scenarios, suchas a hazardous mate-rial event, a chemicalor biological incident orif an unauthorized per-son gains access to theinstallation, Gillette ex-plained. Next week’sdrill is expected to lastabout an hour, he added,and will have minimalimpact on patient care.

According to Gillette,during an actual codeyellow, the medical cen-ter would be placed onlockdown and no onewould be allowed in orout of the facility. Desig-nated entry points would

be set up to establish aperimeter and controlaccess. During the ex-ercise, the medical cen-ter will not actually beon lockdown. Staff willbe expected to carry outtheir department’s lock-down plan and get intoplace at their designatedcontrolled access points.Evaluators will observestaff to see if they re-spond appropriately andin a timely manner. Theywill also ask staff ques-tions to see how wellthey know their role inthe event of a code yel-low.

“We need to have per-sonnel be able to respondquickly to those key en-try points and establisha perimeter,” Gillettesaid. “Those [incidents]may never happen, butcould happen tomorrow… and that’s why we[conduct such an] exer-cise, because you neverknow.”

The exercise will alsotest how effectively staffmembers are notified ofan emergency situation— either, via a desk-top alert, overhead an-nouncements, phone call,text message or email, headded.

Melissa Knapp, pro-gram manager for Emer-gency Management

Plans, Training and Ex-ercises at WRNMMC,said it’s also importantstaff understand codeyellow’s response is thesame as code pink, whichis activated in the eventof a reported missing orabducted infant or child.

“It’s continuous readi-ness,” Knapp said. “Wewant staff to know whatto do if [a crisis] happenstomorrow.”

Next week’s exercise

will involve several staffvolunteering as evalua-tors, and the Emergen-cy Management teamhas been preparing forthe exercise for severalmonths, she added.

Throughout the year,their team plans emer-gency training regularly,ensuring staff under-stand the purpose of theemergency codes and howto respond. WRNMMCconducts approximately

one emergency code drillper quarter, in additionto the two large-scaleemergency exercises re-quired each year per TheJoint Commission, whichaccredits and certifiesmore than 20,500 healthcare organizations in theU.S. to ensure safe andeffective care across allsettings. The EmergencyManagement team alsoprovides refresher train-ing sessions through-

out the year, and offerstraining to departmentsupon request.

“We will continue tohave these exercises andhope that staff takesthem seriously,” Gillettesaid.

For more informationabout Emergency Man-agement at WRNMMC,call Chris Gillette at301-295-3115 or MelissaKnapp at 301-319-4906.

Code Yellow Exercise Scheduled for July 31

Photo by Sarah Marshall

Staff members will be tested on their knowl-edge of emergency code response next weekduring a Code Yellow July 31.

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By Julie SmithNSAB Public Affairs

staff writer

Transportation officials atNaval Support Activity Bethes-da (NSAB) are encouragingbase employees to utilize a freeparking garage outside the in-stallation’s gates as a commut-ing option for those who havenot been issued a base parkingpass but still prefer to drive towork.

The parking garage is lo-cated at 6720 Rockledge Drivenear the Westfield Montgom-ery Mall in Bethesda, NSABTransportation Manager RyanEmery explained. NSAB com-muters using the garage wouldthen take the J2 Metro bus linefrom the bus stop on FernwoodRoad adjacent to the garage tothe Medical Center MetrorailStation at a roundtrip cost of$3.40 per day. According to theJ2 Metro bus line timetable,the bus trip takes approximate-ly 20 minutes each way.

“We have a significant popu-lation that is coming from fur-

ther away, so this is really anopportunity for them,” Emerysaid. “We thought we had uti-lized all of the available spaces(in the parking garage), butwe’ve come to find that we havesome more openings.”

Transportation to and fromthe garage is not covered by thegovernment employee transitbenefit program, Emery stated.But it could be a cost savingsfor some employees who arepaying more to use Metrorailsince transit benefits decreasedfrom $245 in 2013 to $130 in2014. There is also a $5 chargeper day to park at a Metrorailstation.

There are open slots at theRockledge parking garage stillavailable for NSAB employees,who can visit the NSAB Passand ID office to obtain a park-ing pass and key fob for accessto the garage. The garage is se-cure and has plenty of lighting,Emery said.

“With folks coming and go-ing here on the installation, it’salways important to remindthem of the opportunities out

there,” Emery said. “The hospi-tal and installation are work-ing together to accommodateas many people as we can. Dueto our current parking restric-tions, this is a good opportunityfor those folks coming from fur-ther away to have their vehicleclose.”

Those restrictions are eas-ing a bit with a new 500 to 600— space parking garage that

will soon be under construc-tion between the Navy Lodgeand the Child DevelopmentCenter. Another new parkinggarage near Sanctuary Hall isalready in use with an officialribbon-cutting ceremony com-ing sometime in August. TheSanctuary Hall parking garagewill be open to all individualswith colored parking hangtagswith enforcement to begin in

early August, Emery added.With a staff population of

11,600, NSAB’s future goal isto have one parking space forevery three employees. Parkingmay not always be required off-site, Emery said, but that couldchange, too.

“As we go on, we’re workingin the right direction,” he said.“We’re continuing to go up fromhere, so that’s good news.”

Off-site Parking Available to NSAB Employees

Courtesy photo

By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Public Affairs

staff writer

The John P. Murtha CancerCenter of Excellence at WalterReed Bethesda recently playedhost to three students fromthe Space Medicine SummerAcademy July 18.

The students, who attendBuck Lodge Middle School inAdelphi, Md., were able to seephysicians and specialists atWalter Reed National MilitaryMedical Center (WRNMMC)in action in dermatology, ra-diology, pulmonary medicineand clinical cancer researchfacilities of the Murtha Can-cer Center. The students alsoreceived hands-on experiencein the WRNMMC’s high-techsimulation center.

Dr. Henry C. Stevenson-Perez, an oncologist who waspart of the cancer medicalteam at the former NationalNaval Medical Center, andnow volunteers at WRNMMCworking on immunotherapycancer projects, coordinatedthe students’ visit to the medi-cal center. He also volunteers

for the program, which ex-poses middle-school studentsto medicine and science. Ste-venson-Perez added the freethree-week enrichment campchallenges sixth, seventh andeighth-graders to considerthe skills they would need tosurvive if they were propelled

into outer space.“We teach middle school

students how to make theirminds bigger than the world ofscience [and] how to get rap-idly engaged in after-schoolinternships and research so

Impacting the FutureCancer Center Hosts Middle Schoolers from Space Medicine Summer Academy

Photos by Bernard S. Little

Retired Navy Capt. (Dr.) Ralph Jones, a general sur-geon, surgical oncologist and surgical endocrinologistat Walter Reed Bethesda, demonstrates to studentsfrom the Space Medicine Summer Academy visitingthe medical center, how the use of a work station inthe Simulation Center assists surgeons in sharpeningtheir manual dexterity and skills.

Navy Capt. (Dr.) Jeffrey Lenert, a surgical oncologistat WRNMMC, teaches Andres Gonzalez, 13, how totie a special knot to improve his manual dexterityduring a visit by students in the Space Medicine Sum-mer Academy to Walter Reed Bethesda July 18.See CANCER Page 10


By Sarah MarshallWRNMMC Public

Affairs staff writer

Though she’s onlybeen a staff memeber atWalter Reed NationalMiliary Medical Center(WRNMMC) for a shorttime, Hospitalman AimeeWalton is making a posi-tive impression, accord-ing to her colleagues onthe surgical ward.

July 16, Walton re-ceived the DAISY Award,presented monthly atWRNMMC to nursingstaff exhibiting extraor-dinary care. The DAISYFoundation was createdin 1999 by Mark andBonnie Barnes in mem-ory of their son, Patrick,who died at age 33 froman autoimmune disease.The award is presentedin more than 1,700 hos-pitals worldwide as away to continue thank-ing nurses, said ArmyCol. Ray Antoine, direc-tor of nursing services atWRNMMC.

For about four years,the medical center hasbeen presenting theDAISY Award to nursingstaff, and does so “because

we know what a wonder-ful job our nursing staffdoes,” the colonel said.

Staff, patients or theirfamily members cannominate a nurse for theDAISY Award and once awinner is chosen, nursingleadership travel to thewinner’s unit to presentthem with the award infront of their peers. Thewinner receives a pin anda hand-carved ‘Healer’sTouch’ statue, symboliz-ing the caring relation-ship that forms betweena nurse and a patient,Antoine added. Duringthe presentation, DAISYnominees from that unitare also recognized.

Antoine read the nomi-nation for Walton, sub-mitted by a staff mem-ber: “This team memberis exceptional … neverhas to be prompted to aidwith patient care, striprooms or complete tasks.This person pre-emptive-ly does all appropriatetasks, and then some.”

The staff member de-scribed Walton as a nursewho consistently asksothers if they need help,and actively checks fornew patient admissions,so she can help stock

their rooms and checktheir vitals. The nomina-tion also stated Waltonhas a “great attitude andis very professional withstaff ” and “is an exampleto all others.”

“A lot of what [nurs-es] do, we do behind thescenes, and we don’t do itbecause we seek the rec-ognition,” Antoine noted.“We don’t expect recogni-

tion because it’s who weare, and it’s what we do.”

When the colonel an-nounced Walton as theDAISY Award winner,Walton said she couldn’tbelieve what she washearing.

“I couldn’t believe I ac-tually won,” she said.

The hospitalman beganworking at WRNMMC,her first duty station, in

January. Prior to joiningthe U.S. Navy about ayear ago, she worked at afacility that provides 24/7care to individuals withmental and developmen-tal disabilities.

“I really just love thereaction on their faceswhen they have the carethey need,” she said, ofworking with patients.

Though early in hercareer, Walton is addingto her list of accomplish-ments: she has been ac-cepted into the Army’s 68Charlie/Licensed PracticalNurses (LPN) course. Theprogram teaches practi-cal nursing specialists toperform preventive, ther-apeutic and emergencynursing care, and was re-cently made available toSailors for the first time atWRNMMC. After complet-ing the year-long courseand passing a national li-censure exam, she will becredentialed as an LPN.

The hospitalman plansto continue enhancing herskills, and wants to even-tually become an Inde-pendent Duty Corpsman,also known as an ‘IDC.’IDCs are essentially the“best of the best,” Waltonsaid. These Sailors are

the ‘subject matter ex-perts’ for the corpsmanrating and are trained tofunction independent ofmedical officers, accord-ing to the Navy’s web-site. They work in a widerange of medical environ-ments and are trained towork in various locationsunder a myriad of circum-stances.

Hospital Corpsman3rd Class Nde Che saidhe sees great potentialin this junior Sailor, hav-ing worked with her sinceshe arrived at WRNMMC.Che is Walton’s first linesupervisor, as the unit’sassistant leading pettyofficer.

“I wish words could ex-press the kind of personshe is. She’s professionalas a nurse and as a corps-man,” Che said.

He also noted Waltonis proactive — she askshim each day what needsto be accomplished, andwhat she can do to meetthat mission.

She is a corpsman“through and through,”Che said, and she up-holds the core values ofevery U.S. Navy Sailor —honor, courage and com-mitment.

Corpsman Awarded for ‘Exceptional’ Care, Professionalism

Photo by Sarah Marshall

Army Col. Ray Antoine, director of nursingservices at WRNMMC, presents HN AimeeWalton this month’s DAISY award. Waltonis a 4 Center staff member, and was nomi-nated by another staff member, who statedon the nomination, that Walton, “... alwayshas a great attitude and is very professional... This nursing team member is an exampleto all others.”

By Julie SmithNSAB Public Affairs

staff writer

A class offered by Na-val Support ActivityBethesda’s (NSAB) Fleetand Family Support Cen-ter (FFSC) provides prac-tical tips and advice forhelping individuals withhome organization.

‘Organizing Your Life’is offered every othermonth by Life Skills In-structor Caitlin Mullins,who designed the work-shop.

“This class is fun for mebecause I love organizing,and I think it’s really im-portant for keeping yourstress level down,” Mull-ins said. “There are ben-efits to de-cluttering.”

According to Mullins,those benefits includeadded convenience, sav-ing time, a sense of con-trol, greater efficiency

and less anxiety.The class is based on

the right-brained ver-sus left-brained theoryof the mind that sug-gests each hemisphereof the brain has its ownmethod for processingdata. Most people have adominant side that influ-

ences the way they takein information, Mullinsexplained.

“(Being right-brainedor left-brained) doesn’tdefine you, but in certainareas of your life you’remore like one than theother,” she said. “Some ofus prefer one or the oth-

er, usually in learning orwhen our personalitiescome out.”

That’s true for orga-nization, Mullins stated,and has a substantialimpact on how individu-als approach orderlinessin their homes and lives.Workshop attendees tooktwo brief quizzes to helpthem determine whichmode of thinking theyprefer.

The tests suggestedright-brained people likebright colors, have emo-tional responses, candeal with several prob-lems at once, often usetheir hands in conversa-tion and have a difficulttime with schedules.They are creative, enjoythe arts and ask ‘why’more often than ‘how.’Left-brained individualsare analysis driven, getmotivation from struc-ture, make lists, pay at-tention to details and are

creatures of habit. Theyenjoy reading, numbersand ask ‘how’ before‘why.’

In terms of organiza-tion, right-brained peo-ple might create a spacewhere items are storedin fun or whimsical con-tainers out in the open,whereas left-brainedpeople like to keep thingsout of sight in matchingboxes, explained Mullins.Once you know and un-derstand your personal-ity and the personalitiesof those you live with,organizing your homeand keeping it that wayshould become easier,she said.

Walter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Centeremployee Aneesa Sharp-er enjoyed the exerciseand said it explained alot about the differenc-es between her and herhusband. Sharper tookpart in the workshop to

learn tips about how toorganize her closet.

“I wanted to learnhow to get my closet or-ganized to get more con-trol over my time in themorning,” she said.

Mullins recommendedthe “in and out rule” tohelp Sharper with closetorganization. The tech-nique advises donatingor getting rid of one ar-ticle of clothing whenbuying a new wardrobepiece.

“One thing comes inand one thing goes out,”Mullins said. “It worksfor toys and other things,too.”

Another approach tocloset organization in-cludes hanging clotheson backwards-hanginghangers. As you wearthings, put them back onthe hanger and turn thehanger the correct way.

Workshop Offers Help for Staying Organized

Photo by Julie Smith

Life Skills Instructor Caitlin Mullins providestips for home organization during an Orga-nizing Your Life workshop at the Fleet andFamily Support Center July 16.

See HELP Page 8


The clothes that are left on the backwards-hang-ing hangers after a few weeks or months should betossed out or donated, Mullins said.

Mullins also provided information about organizingfiles and personal documents and offered helpful sug-gestions about kitchen organization and meal plan-ning.

Finally, Mullins said when thinking about what tothrow away and what to keep when organizing yourhome, remember the acronym SHED, which standsfor separate your treasures, heave the trash, embraceyour identity from within and drive forward.

“If you’re not using it, then there’s no need to storeit,” she said.

For more information about the Organizing YourLife workshop offered at the FFSC, call 301-295-2709or email Mullins at [email protected].

HELPContinued from pg. 7

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NEX Bethesda Supports NMCRS Fund

Naval Support Activity Bethesda Commanding Officer Capt. DavidA. Bitonti (middle), NEX Bethesda Store Manager Robin Dale andNEX Bethesda General Manager Rick Pimentel gave a ceremonialdonation check to the Director of The Navy-Marine Corps ReliefSociety Gillian Connon (far left) and Master-at-Arms 1st Class Ray-mond Herrera (middle left) for the month of June.

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they can get started in actual STEM(science, technology, engineering andmath) skills,” Stevenson-Perez ex-plained.

He added Buck Lodge Middle Schoolscience teacher Margie Arreglo Fatserves as “a bridge builder” betweenthe school and scientists and physi-cians in the community, such as thoseat WRNMMC’s Murtha Cancer Cen-ter. She explained the Space MedicineSummer Academy allows studentsto participate in an engaging andfun, scientifically rigorous programthrough hands-on experience in mod-ern science.

Stevenson-Perez added that stu-dents compete for slots in the SpaceMedicine Summer Academy after com-pleting 15 hours of after-school sciencetraining in various experiments.

In the Simulation Center atWRNMMC last week, retired NavyCapt. (Dr.) Ralph Jones, a general sur-geon, surgical oncologist and surgicalendocrinologist, and Navy Capt. (Dr.)Jeffrey Lenert, a surgical oncologistat WRNMMC, provided the studentswith hands-on experience in the facil-ity, testing their manual dexterity.

“It’s fun to see their excitement, en-thusiasm and curiosity,” Lenert said.“They have so much potential and wehave to encourage them.”

Ananya Malcha, 14, said she partic-ipated in the Space Medicine SummerAcademy because she wants to be inthe medical field. “I want to be a doctorand I have an interest in radiology.”The middle schooler said she found thehands-on part of her day spent in theSimulation Center very enjoyable. Inaddition, she found looking at cancercells in the Murtha Cancer Center,“really amazing.”

“I’ve participated in the program forabout a year,” said Andres Gonzalez,13. “They accept the top students forthe program and I was lucky enoughto get in. I came here last year and itwas really amazing. I got to meet sur-geons and it’s really fun. I’m learningsomething new every day, so it’s cool.”

He added being in the programmade him realize he wants to be “ahealer, a doctor. I want to make a dif-ference in this world, maybe one dayfind a cure to cancer.”

“It is a pleasure and a privilege tohost these outstanding young studentsand to provide a hands-on experienceand mentoring using the talents andcapabilities of the Murtha CancerCenter,” said Army Col. (Dr.) CraigShriver, Murtha Cancer Center direc-tor. “As future scientists and perhapseven military members, it is wonderfulto allow them access to the world-classcapabilities that our patients benefitfrom every day.”

CANCERContinued from pg. 6

From Navy PersonnelCommand Public Affairs

Navy Personnel Command’s (NPC)Customer Service Center (CSC) is theNavy’s human resource point of contact,providing information and support toSailors and families globally.

“The customer service agents field alarge number of questions from a widevariety of constituents concerned aboutprograms, current policies, pay and de-tailing,” said Fred Chambers, CustomerRelations Management Division direc-tor, CSC. “Our goal is to answer or findresolution to these questions in a timelymanner.”

CSC ensures that every Sailor andfamily member can interact with anagent to provide answers and guidanceon a wide variety of career-related con-cerns in a timely and accurate fashion,no matter where the Sailor is deployed.

The CSC started screening calls fordetailers in early 2010. Their aim was tohelp Sailors get quick answers to theirdetailing questions, while simultane-ously reducing detailers’ call volume.

“CSC points the Sailor to the SubjectMatter Expert who can answer theirquestion so that they can get the bottomline up front; we are the Navy’s human

resource center,” said Chambers.Sailors’ social security numbers may

be required when calling to access Pri-vacy Act records. Providing the socialsecurity number is voluntary; however,failure to do so may result in an inabil-ity to get immediate help with a prob-lem.

The CSC can also be contacted bye-mail at [email protected] for gen-eral inquiry questions and routine cor-respondence, such as record requestinquiries, Fitness Report/Evaluationquestions, detailer and Career Manage-ment System-Interactive Detailing in-formation. DOD policy requires e-mailcorrespondence containing PersonallyIdentifiable Information to [email protected] to be encrypted.

CSC agents are available Mondaythrough Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.(CST) to answer questions at 1-866-U-ASK-NPC (1-866-827-5672). OverseasSailors may wish to email [email protected] or contact via DSN (882-5672),as the Toll Free number is not availableoutside the United States. Sailors mayalso post questions or concerns on theNavy Detailers Facebook page, the of-ficial Facebook page for NPC.

For more news from Navy PersonnelCommand, visit www.navy.mil/local/npc/.

NPC Customer Service Center Helping Sailors

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Declan Barnes

Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyerUSS Kidd (DDG 100) stand watch on the bridge as the ship entersport in Donghae, Republic of Korea.

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