Originally created Thursday, February 22, 2007
NH Jax honors some of Navy medicine's best
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At the end of each year, the hospital names Senior SOYs, Junior SOYs and Blue Jackets of the Year for the hospital core facility and its seven Branch Health Clinics (BHCs) located at NS Mayport, NS Key West, NAS Jacksonville, NAS Atlanta, MCSC Athens, Ga. MCLB Albany, Ga. and NSB Kings Bay, Ga.
Hospital Senior SOY realizes dream in Navy Medicine Naval Hospital Jacksonville's overall Senior Sailor of the Year is HM1(FMF) Jerrie Echon. He was first selected as the core hospital facility's Sailor of the Year.
Echon said that medicine was always his first choice. "I've always had an interest in the medical field, specifically in nursing," he said. "When it came time to join and decide on a rate in the Navy, I requested a job in the medical field. The recruiter told me, 'You can be a corpsman then.' I remember, had they offered me any other jobs at the Military Entrance Processing Station, that I would have not signed up until they had a guaranteed billet for HM 'A' School."
As the leading petty officer for the Naval Hospital Jacksonville Education and Training Department, Echon superbly leads seven junior Sailors and manages 18 hospital staff development programs to meet the diverse training needs of 2,500 personnel at the hospital and its seven BHCs.
As the advance life support program manager, for the hospital, Echon provides oversight for course administration and handles coordination and logistics for the Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Neonatal Resuscitative Program courses. He manages more than 60 instructors and ensures their adherence to current American Heart Association and Military Training Network guidelines.
Echon is a proactive command member, who serves on the critical care committee tasked with evaluating overall command compliance with life support protocols. He also serves on the operational readiness committee where he co-created and implemented the Trauma Combat Casualty Care Course for hospital corpsmen and Tactical Medicine Courses designed to increase awareness and confidence of Sailors deploying in support of the global war on terrorism.
While serving as a member of the command assessment team, Echon assisted with the command's climate assessment survey and conducted Navy Rights and Responsibilities Training for all newly reporting personnel.
Echon is recognized within his work center and throughout the command as an innovative, creative and hard-charging shipmate who demonstrates an impeccable work ethic. He has received numerous awards including Naval Hospital Jacksonville Sailor of the Quarter, third Quarter, 2006, the hospital's First In Service Award and the We Care Award for providing outstanding customer service. His military bearing, demeanor and impeccable appearance makes him a standout among his peers.
This young petty officer is an extremely valuable asset for Naval Hospital Jacksonville and Navy medicine. Fortunately, Echon is continuing his stellar career in Navy medicine. "I recently got selected for the Seaman to Admiral-21 Officer Program," he said. "Right now my goal is to go through it and finish my nursing degree. In the future, I plan on specializing either in anesthesia or critical care."
Hospital Junior SOY to serve at White House
CS2(SW/AW) Sonny Lalatag
In addition to his recent selection as the Naval Hospital Jacksonville Junior SOY, he was just selected for a duty assignment at the White House in Washington, DC.
His accomplishments have earned him a reputation among his supervisors as a top-notch and multi-talented go-getter who displays innovative expertise in all facets of his rating. As the department's purchasing agent and supply petty officer, Lalatag adeptly identifies material requirements of the hospital galley and has procured $120,000 of new galley equipment. Further, he ensures all equipment remains fully operational.
Lalatag was a driving force behind numerous special events held at the command including the 2006 command picnic, a Surgeon General of the Navy staff luncheon, a TRICARE network provider collaboration breakfast and the Navy birthday meal.
He is an active member of the Second Class Petty Officer Association and participates in community projects including Habitat for Humanity and the Adopt-a-School program for the Central Riverside Elementary School. As a proven leader and a creative pacesetter, Lalatag exemplifies Navy values with his strong moral character, esprit de corps, and continued stellar performance.
Lalatag is excited about working at the White House. As he's never even been to Washington, DC, or the White House he said, "I'm a little nervous but I'm going to give it a shot." He said he looks forward to meeting the current president and the next one as well.
Lalatag described the selection process as very involved. He said it takes six to nine months and involves a review of service records, interviews by the command master chief from the White House Navy unit and a detailed background check by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. He was proud to have been selected on his first time to apply as many people who eventually made it applied up to three times.
Lalatag said of his selection as the hospital's Junior SOY, "One of the greatest joys of being a Sailor is the opportunity to get recognized on what you do in your command. The award means a lot to me because it represents my work and also the type of leadership that I have in my department as well as the whole naval hospital leadership. The award is a culmination of my hard work and dedication to my job in the Navy and all my volunteer work outside the Navy."
As to long-term goals, Lalatag hopes to either make master chief petty officer or become an officer.
Lalatag grew up in Possaic, N.J. He and his wife CS2 Estella Lalatag, also a culinary specialist who is currently at sea aboard USS Gettysburg, reside in Orange Park. Concluding words of wisdom from Lalatag are, "Always do more than is required of you."
CSSN Jason Daniels
The Blue Jacket of the Year for the hospital is also from the Nutrition Department. CSSN Jason Daniels serves as the patient food service cook on watch.
He said his selection is "really an honor." Daniels demonstrates his love for the culinary arts by making sure every patient receives the highest quality food one would expect in a fine quality restaurant.
Daniels described his job as planning meals for about 30 patients a day, making sure that their specific dietary requirements and medical restrictions are addressed. Working with the hospital dietician and three other cooks he gets the job done. He said it is sometimes challenging to make food taste good when the patient can't eat such things as salt or sugars.
He said the best part of his job is the patient interaction he gets when he delivers the meals. He said he enjoys meeting the patients and talking about their backgrounds, where they're from, etc., just helping cheer them up while they're here.
Beyond his military duties, Daniels teamed up with fellow staff to spearhead the Harvest Food Drive and he works for the Habitat for Humanity and the Clothes Closet-all charitable organizations. He also has helped serve meals at a local church.
Daniels is a superior performer whose accomplishments have set the standard and rightfully earned him the respect and confidence of the entire chain of command.
Daniels plans to cross-rate to the master-at-arms rating and someday become a master chief petty officer.
HM1 Michael DiPietro III
The BHCs Senior SOY is HM1 Michael DiPietro, III, from BHC Jacksonville. DiPietro is the leading petty officer for the Administration and Health Records Departments at BHC Jacksonville. He supervises 11 employees and sets a superb example for others to follow. At the clinic, DiPietro is known to the staff as the "Admin Guru." His expertise has been used for counsel in numerous tasks and initiatives.
This highly lauded sailor also served with the Expeditionary Medical Force in Kuwait from January to March 2006 where he was responsible for the supervision of 19 junior Sailors.
His numerous collateral duties include command financial specialist, career counselor and Web site content designer. He serves as the assistant urinalysis program coordinator for the clinic and has successfully run five command tests.
DiPietro is an energetic self-starter and a proven leader. He has effectively established himself as an exceptional leader who is focused on the development of his military staff. His uncompromising ethics are the standard by which all first class petty officers should be judged. Other overall BHC SOYs included Junior SOY HM2(FM) Nermin Tepic of BHC Atlanta and BHC Blue Jacket of the Year HN Joseph Smith of BHC Mayport.
