Tropic Care Is Back — Free Medical, Dental, Optometric Services

Optometrist Maj. Tina Burr was deployed in Tropic Care Kaua‘i 2014, and assisted with free eye exams. This year from June 20 to 29, Tropic Care Kaua‘i 2016 will provide dental, medical, and optometric services including sports physicals, optometry exams, eyeglass production, adult health exams, tooth extractions, dental exams, and minor fillings. U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. Kevin Kim/Released

Tropic Care Kaua‘i 2016, a Department of Defense Innovative Readiness Training operation, is an initiative that provides military reservists with real-world, rapid-deployment training, while simultaneously providing medical support to underserved American communities.

The Hawai‘i Department of Health’s Kaua‘i District Health Office, in collaboration with the Kaua‘i Office of the Governor, successfully applied to the Pentagon for IRT medical deployments to Kaua‘i in 2012 and 2014, which were christened Tropic Care Kaua‘i 2012 and Tropic Care Kaua‘i 2014, respectively.

During these missions, medical professionals serving in the military reserves collectively provided over 32,000 routine health procedures to address a range of significant unmet health care needs of Kaua‘i residents, all free of charge.

Kaua‘i was selected for a third mission, and Tropic Care Kaua‘i 2016 will take place Monday, June 20 through 29. Clinics will be at the ‘Ele‘ele Elementary School, Kapa‘a Middle School and Kaua‘i Community College. Clinic hours will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday, except Sunday, June 26, when clinics will close at noon.

Dental, medical, and optometric services will be offered, including sports physical exams, optometry exams, eyeglass production, adult health exams, tooth extractions, dental exams and minor fillings.

Clinic loads are expected to be heavier during the latter part of the mission. Therefore, we strongly recommend that clinic visitors come early in the day as well as early during the mission.

Thanks to the generous support of Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and the County of Kaua‘i, everyone is invited to ride the Kaua‘i Bus on any route free of charge during Tropic Care Kaua‘i 2016.

A capable crew of Air National Guard engineers is responsible for the tent city deployed to shelter the Tropic Care Kaua‘i 2016 mission. In addition to managing the sheltering systems, Air National Guard (ANG) IRT Program Manager Lt. Col. Troy Cramer empowered the engineers to direct their teams’ expertise towards a community benefit construction project.

Since 2001, the County of Kaua‘i and thousands of committed government and community members have devoted untold hours to a long-range project conceived to enrich our island home. This ambitious construction project is a spectacular coastal path system that serves people who walk, run, and ride bicycles on Kauai’s East Side, and is called “Ke Ala Hele Makalae,” which means “The Path That Goes by the Coast.”

Tommy Noyes

During this brief 2016 medical mission, the ANG engineering team will build a critical component of new path that will connect the island’s most populous residential district to the coastal path system via the soon-to-be-built elevated boardwalk.

On behalf of our island’s residents, all the dedicated medical, support and engineering personnel in this training mission have our sincerest gratitude for improving health on Kaua‘i.

Email tckauai2016@gmail.com or call HDOH at 808-241-3555 for more information. Take advantage of this excellent opportunity for Kaua‘i residents.

• Tommy Noyes is Kaua‘i Path’s executive director, a League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructor and active with the Kaua‘i Medical Reserve Corps.