Ms. Jennifer Porter TRO-West - TRICARE Management Activity
2009-06-03

Under the direction of Navy Rear Adm. Elizabeth Niemyer, director of TRICARE Regional Office -West, senior leaders from throughout the region gathered recently for the inaugural West Region Platinum Leadership Council in San Diego.

The council focused on behavioral healthcare stigma and the impact it has on the ability of military forces and their families to remain strong and troops fit for duty.

“Our challenge is to integrate the significant efforts already undertaken across the Military Health System, while sending a clear message that seeking care for behavioral health must be as culturally acceptable as seeking physical health care,” said Niemyer.

“The recommendations and input of our military and civilian partners from across the region helped provide a cohesive understanding of this challenge and our joint need to ‘amplify, simplify and reinforce’ the efforts to markedly decrease the stigma associated with seeking psychological health care,” she said.

The council was comprised of flag officers and senior level representatives from Department of Defense military branches (medical and line), state adjutant general’s offices, the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, TRICARE regional offices (north, south and west), and TriWest Healthcare Alliance - the West Region TRICARE managed care support contractor.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Force Health Protection and Readiness Ellen Embrey and Director of Deployment Health Support Capt. Edward Simmer, senior executive director for psychological health, Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and TBI, addressed stigma related to accessing behavioral and mental healthcare and the impact of any unmet behavioral health needs on today’s military. Through open and candid discussion, the group identified a need to create sustainable mission-ready forces and families by “doing whatever it takes” to prevent psychological health casualties with minimal disruption to the unit and minimal residual negative psychological health impact.

Niemyer followed up the council meeting by hosting a two-day health leadership conference attended by approximately 230 west region leaders from intermediate service commands, regional offices, multi-service market offices, and military treatment facilities.

Attendees had the opportunity to share challenges and identify areas for process improvement and to participate in facilitated breakout sessions with the objective of designing an approach to mitigating stigma associated with psychological healthcare.

Based on the outstanding input from the Platinum Leadership Council, TRO-W identified regional strategic initiatives to carry forward and implement across the region in coordination with the military services and the DCoE, ensuring service members and families learn about the many resources available.

The council meeting and health leadership conference served as the starting point of a focused effort and TRO-W will continue to make the mental well-being of service members and their families a priority.

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