Maj. Gen. Adams is also Commander of Pacific Regional Medical Center and the first woman and nurse to lead this command. She also heads the VA/DOD telehealth operations in the Pacific Health System, which serves the medical needs of 750,000 active-duty military and other Pacific Island beneficiaries.
Her presence on The Hill is to apprise Congress of current military efforts to provide optimal health care via virtual technology. Maj. Gen. Adams will be speaking to the Congressional Ad Hoc Steering Committee on Telehealth about the VA/DoD partnership. The federal partnership is entitled "Emerging Technology and Medical Research Hui." (Hui is a Hawaiian word meaning partner or group.)
"The Hui" is the first and only VA/DOD collaborative partnership that focuses solely on telehealth, clinical research, and technology initiatives where geographic and distance boundaries are irrelevant.
The primary goal of the Hui is to institute a "Pacific Health System without Walls."
Maj. Gen. Adams has been recognized as both a military and medical leader in the research, development, direction and coordination of the military's initiative to explore and innovate technological solutions for public/private health care delivery.
"Being responsible for delivery of healthcare to a region as big as the Pacific requires me to use and support the development of technology tools that transcend time, distance and barriers," says Maj. Gen. Adams.
"These technological tools and clinical capability offer tremendous opportunities for reuse by other federal agencies as well as transferability to private sector agencies," she adds.
"It is incumbent that the Department of Defense work collaboratively to afford responsive health care services, and this challenge can only be addressed with innovative technology and telecommunication solutions," she explains.
"With the continued advance of technology, we have really become a test bed for operationally-oriented technology," she says.
"We are tasked with creating a global revolution for delivering health care and the responsibilities involve multi-disciplinary teams to support public and private sector customers, partners and stakeholders in a geographically complex patient care environment in the Pacific," she concluded.
Goals of the Hui are to help clinicians assess, diagnose and treat patients in the Pacific; support remote theater locations for readiness posture in peacetime; facilitate tele-education and leadership, and promote collaborative and strategic relationships.
Maj. Gen. Adams will update and acknowledge the Congressional leadership and recognize support from Sen. Kent Conrad (D.ND) and Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), Rep. Larry Combest (R-TX) and Rep. Earl Hilliard ((D.AL). Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) has also been a force in the Pacific telehealth program.
Major General Nancy R. Adams was born and raised in Rochester, N.Y. Her baccalaureate degree is a BS in Nursing from Cornell University, New York Hospital School of Nursing.
She received her MS in Nursing from Catholic University of America. Her military education includes completion of the Command and General Staff College and graduation from the U.S. Army War College. Maj. Gen. Adams is serving concurrently as the Commander of Tripler Army Medical Center, the Commander of the Pacific Regional Medical Command, United States Army Pacific Surgeon; and the Professional Filler Commander of 18th Medical Command, Korea. Her military career began in 1967.
For more information: Visit The Pacific Regional Program Office Homepage:
prpo.tamc.amedd.army.mil