Buzz. Buzz. Swwwwaaaaaarm. SPLAT! These familiar sounds are a reminder that summer—and even more bugs—will arrive soon. To educate and inform the military community about illnesses transmitted by bugs and how to prevent bug bites at home or while deployed, the Military Health System is holding Bug Week, June 10-17. The week will also demonstrate the good things bugs can do for us.

While traveling overseas, the rules for getting care depend on your sponsor status, your health plan, and your location. Learn your options for accessing care overseas, as well as what you’ll need to do when you return home.

More than 150 dental professionals from across the Department of Defense participated in the 2023 Area Dental Laboratory Symposium May 23-25 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

It’s important for all women to get their recommended preventive services. TRICARE covers all clinical preventive services with no out-of-pocket costs to you if you use a TRICARE network provider. But if you’re age 65 or older and you have TRICARE For Life, follow Medicare’s rules for getting preventive care.

Our mental, physical, and emotional well-being can affect many aspects of our health. Taking a holistic approach allows us to achieve wellness in all faucets of life. “It is a disservice to isolate mental health from physical health because they influence one another,” said Capt. Samuel Alex, a 59th Medical Operations Squadron mental health provider. “Taking care of your mental health requires the same level of attention many people give to their physical fitness.”

The TriService Nursing Research Program is the country’s first and only Department of Defense program that supports and fund armed forces nurses to conduct operationally relevant military nursing research and EBP that improves the quality of care provided to service members. TSNRP held its annual Research and Evidence-Based Dissemination Course April 4-6, 2023, in San Antonio, Texas. The course serves as an opportunity for military nurse scholars to come together to discuss ongoing and past research, as well as plan future research efforts. Collaboration among all military nurses and military nurse retirees is essential for fostering innovative nursing science solutions and relies on every member to contribute to the overall success.

It was a beautiful, breezy afternoon with the sun high in the sky. Stephanie Essomba was about 15 years old in Yaoundé, Cameroon in Central Africa, walking in the city with her mother. The roadside was bustling with restaurants and traffic from nearby businesses and embassies when a car she’d never seen before drove past them. The license plate was different. It had a flag hanging on the front. Essomba asked her mom “Why is that car so different?” and she responded “It’s a diplomat’s car.” In that moment, the desire to become “that person” was triggered. Airman 1st Class Stephanie Essomba, a dental laboratory technician at the 59th Dental Support Squadron, began learning about policy processes, decision making and the impact those policies could have on people’s lives and fell in love with it.

On January 2nd, when many football fans were watching the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Lt. Col. Valerie Sams, an Air Force surgeon, was on call at UC Health’s University of Cincinnati Medical Center not knowing what she was about to face.

Defense Health Agency leaders and staff show their support for military children worldwide by wearing purple in April, the Month of the Military Child.

We could all use a refresher every now and then. Watch this video on the 2023 pharmacy changes.

The Defense Health Agency inTransition program is a free, confidential program that offers specialized coaching and assistance for active-duty service members, National Guard members, reservists, veterans and retirees who need access to mental health care when: relocating to another assignment; returning from deployment; transitioning from active duty to reserve component or reserve component to active duty; preparing to leave military service; any other time they need a new mental health provider or need a provider for the first time.

The easiest way to access your medical records is through Military Health Systems (MHS) Genesis. Update all your contact information on DEERS before logging into MHS Genesis, if not it can cause a delay or issue with claims, referrals, or delivery of home prescriptions. Learn more at www.health.mil/MHSGenesis