From left, Senior Airman Sierra Long, Airforce Airman 1st Class Hannah Wolverton, 2nd Lt. Bernadette Rivera, and Staff Sgt, Yao Cai pose for a photo in the Saipan Southern High School cafeteria.
Danny Aquino, special assistant to the governor for military affairs, reminds the public that the Innovative Readiness Training Wellness Mission 2024 ends on June 28.
DANNY Aquino, special assistant to the governor for military affairs, reminds the public that the Innovative Readiness Training Wellness Mission 2024 ends on Friday, June 28.
The wellness mission is a no-cost service in partnership with the U.S. military that provides healthcare exams, optometry, dentistry, veterinary care and behavioral and general health public education on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
On Saipan, healthcare exams, optometry, dentistry and education services are provided at Saipan Southern High School in Koblerville. Veterinary care is available at Koblerville Elementary School and at the Saipan Humane Society Office in Garapan.
On Tinian, healthcare exams, optometry, dentistry, and education are available at Tinian Jr./Sr. High School, while veterinary care is provided at the Tinian Dog Control facility in Marpo Heights.
On Rota, all services are available at Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Jr./Sr. High School.
The wellness mission has been operating since June 10 and has mostly provided all-day services to island residents.
Aquino said the mission will only run on a half-day schedule on June 28, its final day, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.
Services are on a “first come, first served basis,” Aquino said.
“Please don’t wait until the last day, which is Friday. Start coming early because it’s a first come, first served basis. We don’t want to see people come here on a Friday when it’s only a half day for Friday,” he said.
Residents wait at SSHS to receive medical care as part of Innovative Readiness Training Wellness Mission 2024.
Ronald Bell, of the 807th Medical Command, handles the public affairs of the wellness mission. He said residents who want medical services do not have to bring any insurance or documents with them.
On Saipan, residents must line up at the registration desk and fill out a registration form indicating the medical service they are seeking. Afterward, medical staff will take their vitals in the school cafeteria, and the resident will wait to be taken to a different part of the campus where the service is offered.
There is a cap on the number of patients that can be seen per service, per day, Bell said.
“Around noon we reassess; can we fit more people in or are we at what we can do for the rest of the day? [Medical staff] only have so much speed they can work with and can only see so many types of people a day, so unfortunately that’s where that first come, first served basis comes in,” he added.
Gen Camacho is a teacher at Saipan Southern High School who is volunteering with the mission. She also made time to be seen by an optometry professional.
“Most patients go for dental and optometry services,” she said. “Some patients are here as early as seven, some have been here at like five in the morning. It’s usually busy in the morning from 8 a.m. [onward].”
With services set to end this week, Aquino is thankful for the military and community partners.
“I just want to give my sincere appreciation to the IRT team that are here, that sacrifice their time away from the family,” he said. “This is a historic…mission because it’s an extended mission. Normally, it’s seven to ten days, but this one was from the 10th to the 28th.”
He is also glad for the help of the CNMI Public School System.
“We’re very grateful to the education commissioner and his team as well as the PSS transportation office for everything they’ve done.”
Aquino said it can be “tough” to complete the wellness mission in the CNMI due to the level of coordination it takes to deliver medical care to three islands.
He said that for this year’s wellness mission, the arrival of the plane carrying medical supplies was delayed, so he and other partners “improvised” to deliver supplies to Tinian and Rota by boat.
“In the CNMI, this is one of the toughest places to execute a training mission because of Tinian and Rota in that mix. We don’t want to leave them out. The governor and lt. governor want to make sure that all islands are included and the people are well served and benefit from this mission,” Aquino said.
He said data from the mission is being tracked and compiled to help them evaluate how to run future wellness missions.
