NMCSD Civilians Realign to DHA, Appreciation Expressed

Aug. 5, 2022 - At Naval Medical Center San Diego’s (NMCSD) auditorium, Civil Service personnel attended a town hall Aug. 5, designed to communicate the key principles and objectives of the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) Realignment of Personnel, Property and Systems (RePPS) to administratively transfer 1,900 NMCSD civilian team members from the U.S. Navy to the DHA.

The town hall, which included virtual attendees, DHA human resources specialists, and NMCSD leadership, was also an opportunity to express the appreciation for civilian employees.

“Our people are our most important resource and what you do every day matters” said Captain Kim Davis, NMCSD Director. “During the past year of my time as your Director, you have been crucial to our ongoing pandemic response, support of the mission while 1,000 of our Active Duty personnel deployed, and contributions to highly successful quality inspections, including our recent highly successful Joint Commission, College of American Pathologists, Safety and Occupational Health Management Evaluation, and Radiation Safety.”

DHA’s aim of such realignment is for Military Medical Treatment Facilities (MTF) to become more effective by eliminating duplication and to standardize clinical and business processes.

“NMCSD’s civilian staff is rather large as they support us in roles ranging from patient relations and administrators to medical providers, and everything else in between,” said Cmdr. Ryan Jarmer, Human Resources Office department head. “We recognize this realignment may cause concern as it would by synonymous for someone like me to be Navy today and tomorrow…say a United States Marine. This is why we remain committed to open, timely communication and reassurance that not much is going to change for our civilians.”

The transition of MTF administration and management activities from the military departments to the DHA under a market construct is also designed to increase overall access to care for beneficiaries; improve coordination, and permit dissemination of best practices across the Military Health System.

Personnel transfer can take 90-120 days to complete. During this time, officials at NMCSD will continue to communicate and attempt to make the process as seamless a possible.

“With having a Fulfilled Staff being one of the key DHA priorities, we trust that our civilian workforce can continue to take the helm and remain focused on our health care mission, confident that their human resource needs are being met in the background,” said Davis.

Active Duty military personnel are not part of the manpower transition.

Benefits specialist from the Army Benefits Center are available for questions Monday – Thursday, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST at Toll-Free 877-276-9287 or DSN at 520-2222.