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Since its establishment in October 2013, the Defense Health Agency has been dedicated to delivering quality health care to service members, veterans, and their families. The Defense Health Agency's annual birthday celebration, hosted Oct. 1 at DHA headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia, brought together leadership and employees to commemorate seven years of service.
“It’s a moment to reflect on where we’ve come from, recommit to our focus on the mission, and reenergize ourselves to the vital tasks that lie ahead – knowing that our work matters to a lot of great Americans who are serving or have served their country,” said DHA Director, Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place.
In honor of DHA’s seventh birthday, Place participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, and then hosted a birthday event at DHA Headquarters in Falls Church that featured a cake-cutting led by Army Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Gragg.
Here are seven ways DHA has ensured the Department of Defense has a ready medical force, and a medically ready force to best respond when called upon:
1. DHA begins the largest transformation in military health to improve standardization of care.
DHA assumed administration and management of all military hospitals and clinics in the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico Oct. 25, 2019, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017. This change redefined the roles of DHA and the military departments. Other ongoing transformation efforts are focused on organizational, infrastructure, and manpower changes within the Military Health System. The goal of transformation is to improve the readiness of operational and medical forces to meet their missions around the world while providing safe, high-quality care to patients. For more information on the transformation of military health care, visit Health.mil.