There are no military health care facilities in
Valdez. Therefore, the majority of your medical needs will be handled
at the local Valdez Medical Clinic. The medical care in Valdez is
limited to general health care; however, there are excellent emergency care
services.
The nearest military health care facility (Elmendorf AFB
Hospital) is located in Anchorage, approximately 305 miles from
Valdez. Elmendorf AFB Hospital can handle most specialty care needs
and has a full-time assigned Coast Guard Liaison. The current medical
Coast Guard Liaison is Health Services Chief Petty Officer Les
Clark. He can be reached at (907) 271-6745. He is
available to assist you with any concerns you may have regarding Elmendorf AFB
Hospital. There is also a TRICARE Service Center located at Elmendorf
Hospital. They can be reached at 1(800) 242-6788.
Local
Medical Appointment: How do you contact the clinic if you or family
members are ill? Simply call the Valdez Medical Clinic at 835-4811
and make an appointment. Be sure you take your TRICARE card (if you
have one) and your military ID card. The clinic will bill Tricare
directly and there should be no co-pay or payment due at time of
service.
Specialty Care: Most specialty care is provided in
Anchorage and, with prior approval through your command, the Coast Guard can
reimburse certain medical travel expenses. In order to receive
specialized care you must obtain a medical referral from the local
doctor. This referral must contain the specific medical problem, name
of patient, suggested treatment and it requires the doctor s signature on clinic
letterhead. You will then be entitled to travel to Anchorage on
Medical TAD orders. You are still free to use Elmendorf AFB without a
referral; however, travel and lodging will be at your expense.
Eye Exams:
You and your family are entitled to eye exams at Elmendorf
AFB. Active duty personnel are entitled to annual eye exams and
dependents are entitled to eye exams every 2 years, unless they wear corrective
lenses and the doctor requires more frequent visits. To make an
appointment, simply call the Central Appointments Desk at Elmendorf AFB at
1-800-255-2778 or 907-580-2778 and make your appointment(s). Please
note that your entire family is required to perform this travel all at
once. Once you have made your appointments, simply fill out the
Medical TAD Worksheet and turn it in to HS1 Chute. You will receive
TAD orders and a travel claim will be required upon your
return. Important: If dependents travel, you must save
food receipts and submit a Statement of Actual Expenses with your travel
claim.
Pharmacy: You have 2 options to meet your
pharmaceutical needs. However, the only Coast Guard contract pharmacy
in town is Village Pharmacy at 835-3737. Active duty prescriptions
are no-cost by showing your ID Card and signing for the
prescription. For dependent prescriptions, the pharmacy will bill
Tricare directly and you will pay your co-pay upon receipt of your
medication. Dependent prescriptions are $3.00 for generic brands and
$9.00 for name brand products. If you have long
term prescriptions (i.e. birth control pills, allergy medicine, etc.)
you can use the Mail Order Pharmacy. HS1 Chute has the package to
start your account with the Mail Order Pharmacy
Program. To begin the Mail Order Pharmacy Program a new prescription
is needed. Being enrolled in this program will allow you to receive 3
months of the long term prescriptions at a
time. Prescription charges are the same as above.
Dental
Care: Dental care in Valdez is somewhat limited. When you
transfer to Valdez PCS, please be sure to verify your enrollment in the TRICARE
Dental Plan (United Concordia) by phoning their customer service line at 1(800)
866-8499. The most important feature of our dental plan is its
preventive services. Regular check-ups help to avoid more costly
procedures in the future and are normally covered at 100% (no cost to
you). Check your TRICARE Dental Benefits Booklet for
details. Where do you go for local dental care and how is it
billed? Dr. Silveira is our contract dentist and can be contacted by
calling 835-4940. He will bill United Concordia for dependents and
MLCPAC for Active Duty. He will normally inform you, in advance, if
there will be any out of pocket expenses for dependent dental
care.
Emergency MEDEVAC: Serious injuries are normally
transported via commercial MEDEVAC to Anchorage through Aeormed. If a
MEDEVAC is needed, the local hospital (doctor) should contact Aeromed directly
at 1-888-283-7220 or 907-677-7501 to schedule an emergency flight to
Anchorage. Please contact the Health Benefits Advisor, the unit's
Command Duty Officer, or the Executive Officer if there are any problems
regarding emergency flights to Anchorage.