JASPER — A military Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) officially named Mission: Ozark Wellness will be coming to Jasper and Kingston school campuses this summer. Officers of the US Army Reserve who will be leading the mission met with key community leaders from Newton County at the Jasper School Cafetorium Wednesday afternoon, May 8. They came to explain the scope of the mission and ask that the information be spread to the public so people in need of the services can benefit from them.
The mission is being provided through a grant application made by Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District Community Development Coordinator Tina Cole. She was instrumental in getting missions scheduled in Baxter, and Searcy counties in 2017 and in Marion County in 2023. This will be the first mission to be based in Newton and Madison counties.
Maj. Daniel Lavorgna, IRT program manager for the US Army Reserve, spoke to about a dozen community stakeholders including Jasper municipal and school district officials, local health care providers and representatives from the county's three community health, safety and welfare coalitions.
This medical mission to be carried out at the schools July 14-27 will provide training opportunities to about 100 personnel from Army Reserve medical units while providing incidental benefits to local residents via no-cost healthcare. Services to be offered will include health exams, optometry services, dental services, public health education, behavioral health care and (at the Jasper campus) veterinary care for dogs and cats. Care will be delivered by credentialed healthcare providers and no one will be turned away. Neither insurance nor identification documents are required. Any information collected from patients will be returned to them after services are rendered.
Lavorgna said the mission will be self-sustaining. Personnel will be fed by the US government. "We won't need any assistance for meals while we're here. We don't want to be taking back food that we brought with us. There is no expectation that anything be provided in way of meals while we are here. We want to mimic a deployment environment."
Community volunteers can help with line control, patient flow, parking and translating as well as transportation.
Services to the public will begin with a soft opening on July 16 from 1-5 p.m. Thereafter service hours will be from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. with patient intake ending at 4 p.m. Providers will continue seeing patients through the 25th. Sunday, July 21, will be a half day and the final day, July 25, will be a half day, said Maj. Tanee Nimsakont, operations/planner from the 325th Field Hospital out of Independence, Missouri.
As patients come to the clinic they will be met at the front door by clinic staff who will guide them through processing. This includes collecting medical information and prioritizing the services for each patent.
The same procedure will be followed by the veterinary staff.
Dental and optometry are the most utilized services.
Services are provided on a first come, first serve basis at no cost.
Maj. Gordon Armstrong is a veterinarian for the Army Reserves. He said there will not be any cat vaccines available at the clinic, but they have the capabilities for sterilization procedures.
Normally the veterinarians care for large military working dogs.
Armstrong said they won't be seeing farm animals during the clinic.
Members of Newton County Animal Welfare were present and offered assistance primarily by supplying kennels if needed.
Animals will not be kept overnight.
No rabies vaccine will be available at the clinic due to the inability to comply with every state's laws regarding rabies documentation requirements.
Dental services will have three dentists at each campus. There will not be any hygienists. Extractions and fillings will be carried out, but teeth cleaning will be minimum.
Behavior health counseling will include services for children as well as screening and recommendations for follow-up. Privacy is a priority.
A similar meeting was held the previous day at Kingston.
Due to the rural and isolated nature of the areas surrounding the two school campuses, transportation is seen as possibly being the greatest obstacle to the mission's success. Cole said North Arkansas Transit System (NATS) is being counted on to help bring patients to the campuses. Other transportation options might include school buses or community ride sharing efforts.
Reaching the people who need these services is also important.
Informational fliers will be distributed. Social media, newspaper, television and radio will be utilized.
A child care room would be good to have to watch children while their parents get the services they need.
A resource room will be available where local service agents can distribute information for follow-up care or services.
A food pantry would also be welcome to distribute food, Cole said.
The meeting lasted about an hour.
The mission leaders met with Madison County stakeholders on Tuesday.
