Medical Care
MEDICAL CARE Sheppard's Clinic serves more than 27,000 beneficiaries in the local area. The clinic provides comprehensive health care to include, but not limited to:
• Audiology
• Endodontics
• Exceptional Family Member Program
• Family Advocacy Program
• Family Practice
• Flight Medicine
• General Dentistry
• Immunizations
• Internal Medicine
• Mental Health
• Occupational Therapy
• Optometry
• Oral Maxillofacial Surgery
• Orthodontics (limited)
• Orthopedics
• Outpatient Surgery
• Pediatrics
• Periodontics
• Pharmacy
• Physical Therapy
• Prosthedontics
• Public Health
• Radiology
• Student Health
• Women's Health
FAMILY PRACTICE CLINIC
The Family Practice Clinic is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; closed Saturday, Sunday, holidays, base down days and the first Thursday morning of every month until 12:30 p.m. Patients are seen by appointment only. Family Practice Clinic focuses on comprehensive primary care for our enrolled population. Our primary care managers (PCMs) will see our patients to facilitate their care and coordinate with other medical resources as necessary to ensure proper treatment.
DEPENDENT MEDICAL CARE
Family members have full access to the health resources of the 82d Medical Group Clinic. A parent or legal guardian must be present and give consent before a child under the age of 18 can receive medical treatment.
DENTAL SERVICES
Almost all specialty dental care is available to active duty members. A very limited amount of specialty care may be provided to family members or retirees on a space-available basis. Normal dental clinic hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Priority care is set by public law as follows:
a. Active duty members.
b. Family members of active duty personnel and of military members who died on active duty.
c. Retired military members and their eligible family members.
Patients in category "B" or "C" are seen on a very limited space-available basis. Therefore, enrollment in the family member dental plan is strongly encouraged for family members of active duty while retirees and their eligible family members should seek insurance coverage through the TRICARE Retiree Dental Plan or a third party. Active duty family member enrollment can be accomplished directly with United Concordia Companies Inc. Inquiries concerning application for eligibility, enrollment, change of election coverage/benefits, dental premium payroll authorization, claim inquiries and appeals can be taken care of through the dental contractor at (800) 866-8499, or http://www.ucci.com. For routine dental care, an examination is required before scheduling additional treatment appointments. Active duty members are normally scheduled for examinations by their squadron health monitors in coordination with the dental clinic.
DENTAL EMERGENCIES
Patients with acute oral pain, swelling, bleeding or severe dysfunction may call the dental clinic for an appointment at 7:30 a.m. or 1 p.m. Emergency care is provided to relieve pain and suffering and does not always include definitive procedures such as permanent fillings, denture repairs or walk-in examinations. As a result, additional appointments may be necessary to fully address a patient's dental needs. Non-active duty beneficiaries with family member dental insurance are normally referred to a civilian provider for definitive treatment under the dental insurance plan. Active duty members and those with severe or acute problems have priority. Patients in need of afterhours dental care will call the central appointments phone number (940) 676-1847. All beneficiaries with afterhours dental emergencies should call the number provided for the dental officer on call provided through the central appointment phone number message. Patients will be screened by the dentist on call in order to determine the need for treatment. Emergency rooms do not have professional personnel available to help resolve specific dental needs.
MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS
Patients are seen by appointment only. TRICARE Online (
http://www.traicareonline.com) provides beneficiaries the ability to make appointments on line 24 hours a day. Appointments can also be made by phone through our appointment line at (940) 676-1847. For the immunization clinic please call (940) 676-3757. Non-prior-service Airman in Training (AiT) and TDY personnel are seen by appointment at the Student Health Clinic. Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (AiT only). The student, the student's military training manager or instructor supervisor can schedule appointments.
AFTER-HOURS CARE
Medical concerns may be addressed at any time through our nurse advice line which may be reached through the appointment line at (940) 676-1847. The nurse may advise the patient on self-care or direct the patient to obtain urgent or emergent services based on the assessment of the patient's medical condition. Anyone with a medical, surgical or psychiatric condition that threatens life, limb or eyesight should call 911 or report immediately to the nearest emergency room. Women who are in labor should report to United Regional Health Care System. Patients experiencing cardiac issues should call 911 or report to United Regional Health Care System. Anyone who has an emergency outside of the Wichita Falls areas should call 911 or report to the nearest emergency room.
OTHER BENEFICIARIES
Care for personnel on flying status is by appointment only. Active duty members to the 80th FTW, 97th FTW, 88th FTW, 89th FTW and AMDS are seen in the Flight Medicine Clinic. For more information, call (940) 676-6509. Return to flying status is at 7:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. during night flying. The clinic is closed for training each Wednesday afternoon, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the first Thursday morning of each month.
OUTPATIENT MENTAL HEALTH CARE MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC
Our professional team provides mental health care for adult active duty members, dependents and retirees. Child and adolescent mental health care is provided by child and adolescent trained professionals, when available. For appointments please call (940) 676-6075,Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Services are individualized and include the following:
• Psychological evaluations and testing.
• Psychotropic medication management.
• Individual, couple and group psychotherapy.
• Stress management, anger management and cognitive behavioral training.
• Biofeedback training.
• When appropriate, assessment and referral to civilian TRICARE Mental Health providers for dependents and retirees.
ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
This team of specialists provides prevention, education and treatment services for active duty members with substance abuse problems. Self-referral is recommended. For appointments, call (940) 676-6075.
FAMILY ADVOCACY PROGRAM
Family Advocacy has two components to its program:
• The family maltreatment component provides identiVcation, intervention and treatment for military members and dependents involved in any type of spouse or child maltreatment or neglect.
• The prevention service component includes primary and secondary prevention services. Primary prevention services include the New Parent Support Program offering preventive, in-home services to parents from the point of conception to three years of age. Secondary prevention services include marital counseling, information and referral to community resources and a resource library available to all military members and their dependents located in the clinic.
The Family Advocacy Clinic is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For information and referrals, call (940) 676-6075. For emergency services, please dial 911 for immediate assistance involving any domestic violence issues.
TRICARE
TRICARE is a comprehensive health benefits program supplementing the care available in military treatment facilities to Department of Defense beneficiaries. TRICARE is divided into three basic programs. Two are the most common and account for the majority of DoD beneficiaries. TRICARE Prime is a managed care option. This program has less individual choice, requiring our patients to be seen at the MTF and to follow our referral policies. However, Prime has two major strengths: access standards and cost. You will incur the least amount of out-of-pocket expenses possible, utilizing Prime. Access standards mean that your PCM will manage your case to ensure that the care that you need is met. It is for these two critical reasons that we typically recommend TRICARE Prime for most people. TRICARE Standard is a fee for- service option. The beneficiary has more choice, but will face co-pays and deductibles for care received. Please call (800) 444-5445. The Medical Right Start (newcomers) briefing is held every Friday at 8 a.m. in Military Pay and Finance, Building 402, Room 323.
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