Health Awareness Expo educates Team Edwards about Medical Clinic services Published Oct. 25, 2011 By Diane Betzler Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The 95th Medical Group held its annual Health Awareness Expo here Oct. 12. Representatives from several health organizations educated Team Edwards about services available to support their medical needs. "Our purpose for today is to get the word out to the base population about the different services available to them at the medical clinic," said Capt. Gladys Estolas, 95th MDG health care integrator. On hand to greet visitors and discuss health options were representatives from several health care organizations including Physical Therapy and Family Advocacy. Lisa Steisslinger from Valleywide Dental Group talked to people about proper oral health and the services Valleywide has to offer, including orthodontics and cosmetic dental needs. "The Physical Therapy Clinic offers classes on the causes and treatment of lower back pain," said Master Sgt. Tonya Freeman, a physical therapy technician at the 95th MDG. Freeman said researchers are finding improper shoes are one cause of lower back pain, and the class goes into detail on how to purchase the right shoes for your specific needs. "It starts with the feet. That's the key to success," she said. Other services offered at the PT clinic include a sick call/walk-in clinic that is open to active duty personnel, and a stretching and strengthening workshop. The sick call/walk-in clinic is only available to active duty servicemembers, but the classes are open to anyone with base access. Each class averages eight to nine people, but Freeman said they could take up to 14. Anyone interested in the PT classes can call the clinic at 277-3891 for more information or to sign up for a class. TRICARE and the Third Party Collection Program, which is a program that allows the Department of Defense military treatment facilities to bill private health insurance carriers, also sent company representatives to answer questions about how their insurance programs work and what they offer. All active duty personnel and their dependants, as well as retirees with TRICARE are eligible to use healthcare services available at the base medical clinic. Dieshike Ellis, Third Party Collection Program manager, explained how her program works. She said all military personnel and their dependent family members are automatically covered by TRICARE, but some military spouses carry additional healthcare coverage through their employers. "It's my duty to gather that information and bill private health insurance carriers such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna, etc., for the cost of medical care furnished," Ellis said. Ellis said health care is expensive and costs are continuously rising, therefore military treatment facilities are required by law to recover some of those costs if a patient is covered by a civilian insurance company. All the money the TPC program gets back is used for improving the on-base medical facility, she said. "Each improvement made to our facility helps us better serve our patients," she said. Amber Schwall, health promotion coordinator for Civilian Health Promotion Services, also known as CHPS, talked about the 30 different classes CHPS offers to anyone with base access who is interested. The classes range from what to do about high blood pressure to dealing with breast cancer issues. Elaine Estacio from the Family Advocacy program talked about the many stress-management and related classes that program has to offer. These classes help active duty members through lessons on parenting and how to deal with anger. The classes are free and open to anyone with base access. Master Sgt. Richard Mathuren, a base paramedic recommends the parenting class to all new parents. "That class offers so much information about good parenting and proper handling of car seats," Mathuren said. He said in his line of work he sees a lot of mishandling of car seats. A list of services and clinics available at the 95th Medical Group follows: · Primary Care · Pediatrics · Gynecology · Optometry · Mental Health · Physical Therapy (Active Duty only) · Radiology (basic X-rays, mammography, ultrasound) Individuals who need more information can contact health benefits advisors at 277-6969 or 277-2662.