WRNMMC, Bethesda, MD  –   Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) announced Maria Garcia earned Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s 2022 Junior Civilian of the Year (CoY) – Clinical/Direct Care, during the WRNMMC’s monthly town hall meeting Jan. 10.
A dental hygienist, Garcia works in Primary Care Dentistry at WRNMMC.
“The [CoY] award honors employees whose dedication, competence, and exemplary performance increase WRNMMC’s efficiency, enhances agency pride, and increases employee morale,” according to Ivan Jones, Civilian Awards Program manager at WRNMMC.
The nomination for Garcia to receive the award states that for two quarters [of the year 2022], she received the most positive customer comments in her department, which includes 20 providers. She is credited with providing care for approximately 850 patients and completing more than 4,200 dental procedures for the year. One comment from a patient states that Garcia provided the “best cleaning [one patient] received [during the patient’s] 25 years of service.” A second patient stated, “I appreciated the time Ms. Garcia spent teaching me about the importance of oral hygiene and impact on my health.”
Garcia has “great working relationships with dental assistants, other hygienists, and dentists, which helps improve the morale and the quality of care provided at the clinic,” her nomination also stated. “Her obvious enjoyment of her job creates a positive environment that rubs off on others. Ms. Garcia is always willing to see the extra patient, or step in when a colleague is sick or running late.”
In addition, a poster Garcia designed and led the PCD team in creating was submitted in the WRNMMC 2022 Patient Safety Fair poster contest and earned first place. “This accomplishment embodies her focus on not only providing excellent dental care, but with high focus on patient safety,” her nomination added.
“Her willingness to squeeze in extra patients reduced unfilled appointments, which helped our clinic meet and maintain access to care benchmarks of 21 days for hygiene appointments on a consistent basis throughout fiscal year 2022,” the nomination furthered.
“Ms. Garcia’s dedication to patient care and dental readiness enables Primary Care Dentistry to continuously maintain above 95 percent dental readiness for active-duty personnel assigned to WRNMMC. Her continued focus on patient safety ensured that the Universal Protocol checklist is properly used for 6,000 patients per year,” the nomination shared.