WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. - Airmen with the 131st Medical Group completed Operation Healthy Delta, an Innovative Readiness Training exercise for service members from across the Defense and Health and Human Services departments.
The June 9-23 exercise provided free health care to people in Southern Missouri and Illinois and valuable training for service members.
“The 131st Medical Group was selected to be the lead team for this mission, but it’s a total team effort that we were able to deliver this successful mission to provide excellent care to people who need it,” said Lt. Col. Cristina Fenwick, officer in charge of the operation.
More than 290 service members served a combined 25,000 hours of training caring for patients in Anna, Illinois, and Poplar Bluff and Sikeston, Missouri. About 2,300 people took advantage of the dental, optometry, medical, diet and nutrition, and emotional wellness services valued at more than $1.8 million.
Airman 1st Class Jaycee Davis, a dental technician with the 131st Medical Group, said she assisted with almost 50 patients.
“We all worked together well as a team, and we really helped these communities out,” said Davis. “We had one patient who came in almost every single day until she got all of her treatment done. She was one of the first in line every day, and she was so sweet.”
The 131st Medical Group has been participating in Healthy Delta for many years, but the overall success hinges on partner organizations in the communities. Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation and Shawnee Development Council were the exercise’s lead community partners in Missouri and Illinois, respectively.
“Our vision and our goal is to work with individuals to provide services they cannot always get on their own. This made a huge impact in our area, saving people from driving many, many miles to get these services individually,” said Denna Williams, Shawnee Development Council executive director. “We’re proud to be a partner with all the service branches involved in this operation. This is an amazing event that’s brought to southern Illinois.”