NH Pensacola Commander nominated for flag rank

President Bush has nominated Naval Hospital Pensacola Commanding Officer, Capt. Matthew L. Nathan, for appointment to the rank of rear admiral (lower half).

The Navy Medical Corps officer reported to Pensacola on July 7, 2004, as the 70th commanding officer of military medical facility which has historical roots in Northwest Florida dating back to 1826.

The majority of his primary and secondary education was located in Northern California. Nathan received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Georgia Tech in 1977 in Applied Bioengineering with a concentration track in Computer Sciences. He was accepted into medical school on a Naval Health Professions Scholarship at The Medical College of Georgia and graduated with his M.D. in 1981. His internship and specialty residency in Internal Medicine was completed at the University of South Florida Affiliated Hospitals in 1984.

His operational duties have included frequent augmentation as battalion/regimental medical officer on 1st Marine Division deployments.

"Captain Nathan is by far the finest CO I've served with in nearly 18 years of Navy Medicine," said Cmdr. Eric Bower, director of medical services, and a member of NH Pensacola's Executive Steering Council.

"His willingness to engage in patient care established clinical credibility with staff physicians and gave us the assurance that he could personally understand and appreciate our concerns," continued Bower.

"His leadership has been one of those rare instances where the initial 'Intel' on how good he was turned out to be an underestimate," the internal medicine specialist said.

Among some of his more memorable accolades as Commanding Officer of Naval Hospital Pensacola:

.On March 30 in Chicago, he was awarded the 2005 American Hospital Association's Federal Health Care Executive Award for Excellence.

.On January 30 at the annual TRICARE conference in Washington, NH Pensacola was named the No. 1 Department of

Defense (DoD) medium-size, community hospital in the nation for patient satisfaction.

In his typical management style, Nathan praised the staff and the Pensacola community's support for each of the awards.

The staff of the Naval Hospital is what makes the award possible, Nathan indicated.

"It is a real testament to our staff and crew, considering that our command has the highest percentage of (personnel) deployed in the Global War on Terrorism," he continued.

NH Pensacola has about 13 percent of its staff deployed compared to the overall average of 4 percent for the rest of Navy Medicine. The hospital has personnel deployed in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, Cuba, and ships at sea.

Under his leadership, NH Pensacola:

.Opened its 'Nurse Call Center' advice line and collocated it with Central Appointments. The advice line places patients into direct contact with a Registered Nurse for healthcare information 7 days a week.

.Began a third round of combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnostic assessments and group therapy sessions for active duty and recently-demobilized Reservists and National Guardsmen and families.

.Became the first military treatment facility, and Florida hospital of any kind, to implement a unique anesthesia information management system into its operating rooms that integrates with an IV medication system to help decrease medical errors and increase patient safety.