 Confused about your benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill?
The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association (IAVA), a fellow member of The Military Coalition, has developed an online calculator to help service members determine their exact benefit under the Post 9/11 GI Bill and has made this tool available for free on their website.
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Welcome to the website of the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service. COA is dedicated to improving and protecting the public health of the United States by addressing unmet health needs and providing support for more than 7,000 members.
Top Ten Reasons for Including PHS Officers in GI Bill 'Transferability' We are posting COA's own Top Ten Reasons for Including PHS Officers in GI Bill 'Transferability.' Feel free to use any or all of them as you write to your own U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative. Click here for our letter-writing tips and sample letters. Click here for earlier posts, to see what you may have missed. Here is reason #6: Active-duty USPHS officers want to be included in transferability. COA members have made this clear. Thus, COA has sought corrections to the Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (GI Bill) extending the full entitlements contained in this law, including transferability, to members of the USPHS and NOAA Commissioned Corps who have served on active duty since 10 September 2001.This has been the top legislative priority for COA for more than a year and a half. |
Surgeon General Announces Search for Deputy; Shakes up OSG |
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02/03/2010 - This afternoon VADM Regina Benjamin for the first time exercised her authority as Surgeon General and commander of the PHS Commissioned Corps. In a letter to the Corps announcing the beginning of a process to select a new permanent Deputy Surgeon General, Admiral Benjamin revealed that she has "asked individuals within the Immediate Office of the Surgeon General to resume the official duties of the billets they encumber." In that regard, RADM Robert Williams will step down as Acting Deputy Surgeon General and resume his permanent duty as the Office of Surgeon General (OSG) Chief of Staff. Admiral Williams will be replaced as Acting Deputy SG by RADM David Rutstein who has been serving as Director, Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD). Admiral Williams has been Acting Deputy SG since August, 2006. Captain Carol Romano, who has been the Acting Chief of Staff for almost three years, will retain what had been a concurrent assignment as Director, Office of Reserve Affairs. Captain Daniel Beck will take over as OFRD's acting director.
It comes as no surprise that VADM Benjamin selected RADM Rutstein to be her deputy since they are long time friends having been medical school students together. But the rank inversion of a one-star deputy and a two-star chief-of-staff is, at best, curious for a uniformed service. RADM Rutstein is more than well qualified to serve as Deputy Surgeon General. In fact, his name was put forward as a candidate for Surgeon General to the Obama Administration by several sources last year.
COA salutes RADM Bob Williams for his more than three years of service as the Corps' deputy. Admiral Williams was, quite literally, the glue that held OSG and the Commissioned Corps together during a prolonged and difficult period of transition. COA also salutes CAPT Carol Romano for her service as acting Chief of Staff. At one point, CAPT Romano held three huge jobs at the same time - OSG Chief of Staff, Chief Nurse, and Director of ORA!
We wish RADM Rutstein all the best as he takes up his new responsibilities and we offer COA's unstinting support.
Read the full text of VADM Benjamin's letter to the Corps...
02/01/2010 - For a limited time, NEW MEMBERS joining COA for the first time can enjoy FREE membership for 4 months through the payroll deduction method!
Fill out the New Member Application available at http://www.coausphs.org/wwejoincoa.cfm. Under Payment Options, select Payroll Deduction & type in "FREE" in the signature line. You will receive a Payroll Deduction form which must be completed and returned to COA within 30 days to obtain membership.
To take advantage of this offer, you MUST type "FREE MEMBERSHIP" in the email subject line!
Starts: February 15, 2010
Deadline: March 15, 2010
01/27/2010 - The Junior Officer Advisory Group (JOAG) is requesting nominations for three awards - Junior Officer of the Year Award, JOAG Excellence Award, and VADM Richard H. Carmona Inspiration Award - to be presented at the annual USPHS Scientific and Training Symposium to be held in San Diego, CA, from May 24-27, 2010.
Deadline: COB on February 15, 2010
Click here for the details.
01/20/2010 - The United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Professional Advisory Committee for Nursing (N-PAC) is seeking nominations for the Minnegerode Awards for Nursing Excellence (MANE) and for three Publication Awards. These awards recognize and honor contribution(s) by Commissioned Corps, Civil Service, and Tribal Direct hire nurses of outstanding and sustained nature, which have had a substantial impact on the mission of the USPHS.
Deadline: March 5, 2010
Click here for the full details.
PHS Commissioned Corps "Activated" for Haiti Relief; Corps Officers Begin Deploying |
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01/14/2010 - The Assistant Secretary for Health on 13 January "activated" the PHS Commissioned Corps for Haiti earthquake relief operations and the Office of the Surgeon General/Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD) is fielding multiple requests from all echelons of DoD for Commissioned Corps support. A Public Health Advance Team, consisting of three PHS officers is embarked in USS Bataan (LHD 5), underway on 14 January for Haiti. Bataan, a large-deck amphibious assault ship will be accompanied by two other amphibious warships. PHS officers have extensive deployment experience in this class of ship as a result of three previous years of health diplomacy deployments in similar ships. OFRD is also working with the Navy and the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) to determine the size of the PHS detachment to be embarked when Comfort gets underway from Baltimore for Haiti on 16 January. The Corps' pre-configured Ready Response Teams have been alerted to stand by for deployment orders. OFRD is also supplying Corps officers to staff the Secretary's Operation Center (SOC) and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Emergency Operations Group in the SOC. The SOC and ASPR teams will monitor the Haiti relief operations. A particular strength (one among many) of the PHS Commissioned Corps in operations such as the one now unfolding is the Corps' diversity. Some 25 Creole speaking officers have already been identified. Cultural sensitivity and linguistic ability will be important factors in providing effective public health relief for the devastated country. COA has received inquiries from Inactive Reserve Officers about activating for Haiti relief operations. Inactive Reserve officers interested in supporting this mission should contact the OSG Office of Reserve Affairs.
Vice Admiral Regina M. Benjamin, Formally Sworn into Office as the Nation's 18th Surgeon General |
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01/12/2010 - Vice Admiral Regina M. Benjamin, USPHS, was formally sworn into office as the nation's 18th Surgeon General in an elaborate ceremony in front of several hundred family members, colleagues, former patients, and PHS Commissioned Corps officers at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, DC on Monday afternoon, January 11th. The ceremony included a brief change-of-command during which 16th Surgeon General David Satcher, and 17th Surgeon General Richard Carmona presented the new VADM Benjamin with the Great Seal of the PHS Commissioned Corps - the Anchor and Caduceus - symbolically passing command of the Corps to Admiral Benjamin. Administration of the PHS Commissioned Corps is the only function of the Surgeon General mandated by law in Title 42 of the US Code. The ceremony was presided over by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Deputy Secretary William Corr, and Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh. In her remarks, VADM Benjamin committed to raising the profile of the PHS Commissioned Corps and increasing awareness of the critical role the Corps has in protecting the nation's public health - goals the COA shares and strongly endorses.
Click here to watch VADM Regina Benjamin's interview on ABC's Good Morning America just prior to her public swearing in as the 18th Surgeon General.
50 Year History of the Indian Health Service, "Caring & Curing" has Been Published! |
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10/07/2009 - The PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation's third book has been published!! Caring & Curing: A History of the Indian Health Service is written by James P. Rife, a senior historian with History Associates, and CAPT Alan J. Dellapenna, Jr., USPHS of the Indian Health Service. This thoroughly researched volume chronicles the history of Indian Heath Service (IHS) from its earliest beginnings, as part of the Department of the Interior, through multiple reorganizations including the 1955 transfer to the U.S. Public Health Service. Focusing upon the intense, often shifting political, tribal, and healthcare dynamics; Caring & Curing traces IHS's evolution over time. The book follows the agency through myriad trials and triumphs in its long-running fight to elevate Indian health to a level comparable to that of the rest of the nation. Brought to life through compelling personal stories, a crisp narrative, and archival imagery, the book not only looks at past successes and failures of Indian health care, but keeps an eye towards the future and the remaining work to be done by the agency in consultation and cooperation with American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Caring & Curing is hardcover, with 170 full color pages, and measuring 8 ½ x 11 inches. Place your single book orders for a retail price of $34.95. If you are interested in purchasing wholesale, 22 or more copies, you will always receive 15% off per book ($29.71). Please keep in mind, the shipping cost and a $2 handling charge will be added to all orders under 10 copies. For 10 or more copies, the handling price will go up to $25.
Click here to order.
09/23/2009 - PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation for the Advancement of Public Health (COF) has been approved to participate in the 2009 Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area (CFCNCA).
The designation (catalog) number assigned to the Foundation is 42884. Please keep COF in mind when you support the 2009 Combined Federal Campaign.
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New COA Membership BenefitsAVIS and BUDGET Rental Discounts Click on the AVIS or BUDGET logo below to find out about the available discounts.
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COA Affiliations:
HOSA is a student organization whose mission is to promote career opportunities in health care and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people, and is interested in partnering with COA local branches around the country to promote the Corps to HOSA members. There are also opportunities for Corps officers to participate with HOSA as judges in competitions, guest instructors, role models, etc. This is an excellent activity for COA local branches to promote careers in the PHS Commissioned Corps to motivated youngsters interested in a career in health professions. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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