DGMC declares "down day"

  • Published
  • By Jim Spellman
  • 60th Medical Group Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  "Down day." A simple, two-word phrase worth its weight in gold to any military servicemember. 

The staff of David Grant USAF Medical Center will be treated to a rare occurrence Jan. 30. While other base units and military personnel have typically experienced a short-notice down day each year at Travis, a specially-designated down day for DGMC is a welcome respite for medical personnel from their regular work schedule. 

During the week of Dec. 8 through 12, DGMC went through an extensive inspection by the Air Force Inspection Agency's Health Services Inspection and the civilian Joint Commission teams with spectacular results. Out of the five Air Force medical treatment facilities inspected, DGMC received an "Excellent" rating, thereby ensuring its patients are receiving the highest quality of care at the same time medical personnel are also conducting world-wide deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism. 

To recognize the medical staff's hard work and exceptionally high level of sustained performance over the past 36 months -- the time between each inspection and accreditation period -- as well as preparations leading up to the recent inspection, DGMC is curtailing access to routine care for one day. Emergency services and acute care will remain available for those in need by contacting DGMC's Central Appointments line at 423-3000. 

"To reward our folks for their exceptional performance after last month's inspection, I asked for and received the wing's permission to schedule a medical down day toward the end of January," said Dr. (Col.) Lee Payne, 60th Medical Group commander. "In order to plan our scheduling and to get the word out to the community, we proposed Jan. 30 as the date." 

"We will operate DGMC just like our typical holiday schedules, so our hope is not to inconvenience our patients," Dr. Payne said. 

In order to accommodate as many medical personnel as possible but still maintain pharmacy services, the Base Exchange Pharmacy will remain open Jan. 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but close on Saturday, Jan. 31 in observance of the wing-approved down day. 

"The reason we are doing this differently is patients at DGMC typically use our first floor pharmacy, which will be closed on Friday since the clinics will be closed," said Lt. Col. Patricia Welch, DGMC chief of pharmacy operations. 

"The BX pharmacy fills prescriptions from civilian physicians and dispenses refills. Most civilian physician's offices are open on Friday and closed on Saturday, so we believe this will minimize the impact to our patients while allowing our staff two days off," Colonel Welch said. 

Having a down day for DGMC is an extremely rare occurrence for Travis medical personnel since DGMC is the largest Air Force medical facility in the western U.S. and Pacific. Previous wing-designated down days at Travis have typically meant DGMC staff has been unable to participate, due to their continuous support of the medical mission. 

A designated down day allows DGMC personnel to appropriately arrange their schedules while ensuring critical medical services are still maintained at full staffing levels. DGMC staff scheduled to work during the designated down day will have the opportunity to take another day in compensation at a later date.