Operation: Ozark Health ends Thursday

JASPER — The end of the no-cost medical services provided to the community through Mission: Ozark Wellness, will end Thursday, July 25, at both the Jasper School and Kingston School campuses.
Also known as an Innovative Response Training (IRT) the US Army Reserve, working in partnership with the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District and community stakeholders, is delivering optometry, dental, medical, and veterinary services at both the Kingston and Jasper schools campuses.
There are approximately 100 Army Reserve soldiers on ground split between the Jasper and Kingston locations.
LTC Kristin Porter, US Army Reserve, the public affairs officer for the Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission, said the significance of IRT missions is two-fold. First, these missions are primarily done by military Reserve units (Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, or Navy and Marine Reserve) as their two-week annual training (AT) requirement. Often, AT consists of going to the field and training on medical simulators. But in the IRT missions, licensed and credentialed healthcare providers work with real patients, further enhancing their medial skills. Coming to an IRT location also simulates a mobilization with medical logistics, personnel movement, setting up a clinic in an austere site and not falling in on an established medical clinic. For the DOD to approve the IRT match, the mission must show soldiers are being trained – on mobilization, medical professional development, military skills, cross-training skills, etc.
The second part of the IRT mission is the significant benefit to the community. All services are provided at no cost to the community or anyone receiving services. There is no requirement for ID or insurance. There is no sign up online as that could possibly disadvantage other people, and the services are provided to assist as many as possible with a need.

"As Reserve Soldiers, our healthcare providers many times do the same or similar jobs in their civilian positions. Our veterinarians, dentists, optometrists, behavioral health specialists, and family medicine doctors often come from private practice clinics, bringing both military and civilian medicine experience. Coming to an IRT mission is one of the most coveted AT missions for our Soldiers as they further train in their military medical specialties, but it’s primarily the feeling of helping a community that keep soldiers volunteering for IRT missions. I’ve heard more stories than I can count from dentists helping a patient who has had a toothache for years and are finally without pain, and people bringing in their beloved pets for vaccines or spay/neuter, but my favorite was an optometrist talking about an elderly woman who cried when she was finally able to see when she received a new pair of glasses," Porter said.
In the past 3 years, the 807th MC(DS) has participated in IRTs as the lead military element and as a partner with other military services in Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Texas, Montana, California, Hawaii, Alaska, and Saipan.
The NWAEDD partnered with the Delta Regional Authority to conduct an IRT in 2019 and again in 2023.
Last year, the IRT in Yellville provided over $700,000 worth of no-cost medical and veterinary care to more than 1,500 patients. For this year’s mission, the NWAEDD submitted the IRT request as an individual 501c3 entity, as part of their territory falls outside of the Delta region.