Housed within the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and staffed by the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps officers, the Office of Health Services (OHS) is charged with directly supporting all personnel within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The OHS portfolio consists of five medical programs committed to the occupational health, safety, and readiness of all people diving, flying, and sailing utilizing OMAO platforms and facilities around the world. With the responsibility and authority for the administration and delivery of high-quality occupational health care services, OHS’s primary population focus is on federal employees and contractors, NOAA Corps officers, and professional wage mariners. OHS is also the TRICARE point-of-contact for the NOAA Corps and beneficiaries within the agency.
NOAA medical officers work to maximize deployment readiness and minimize medically related disruptions to fleet, aircraft, and diving operations. OHS programs assess and promote mental and physical readiness within their operational medical discipline. Given the austere and geographically remote operational environments OHS supports, our officers are also responsible for preventing and containing disease in operational environments as subject matter experts in travel medicine.
Our medical officers utilize their expertise, specialized training, and experience in the assessment, prevention, and treatment of urgent and emergent medical problems that individuals might encounter in high-risk operational environments located in domestic and international areas of operation. Most importantly, our officers are dedicated to advocating for the physical and mental health and safety of individuals in all settings. NOAA medical officers are well trained and experienced in making medical readiness recommendations for individuals and to key leadership in operational environments by incorporating current evidence-based data, medical best practices, and a thorough understanding of the operational environment.
Aviation Medicine
The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center’s (AOC) Aviation Medicine Clinic is staffed with Advanced Practice Providers assigned as Flight Surgeons who are specialists in aerospace medicine. They diagnose, prevent, and manage the various stresses and problems resulting from the extreme conditions under which pilots and crewmembers work while performing duties in flight. They also perform required physicals for aviation candidates, periodic health assessments, and referrals for specialty care. Flight Surgeons advise the chain of command on issues regarding the ability of flight personnel to perform their duties as affected by injuries or illnesses. For more information about the Aviation Medicine Clinic's services, please contact health.services@noaa.gov.
Behavioral Health & Wellness
The OHS Behavioral Health and Wellness (BH&W) program is dedicated to supporting all beneficiaries -- OMAO, National Weather Service and NOAA Fisheries personnel, and their dependents -- through the following two missions:
- Mental Health: Ensuring that everyone who experiences signs and symptoms of mental health and/or substance use issues has access to high-quality services in a supportive culture that encourages treatment.
- Wellness: Promoting the wellness of the workforce as a whole by identifying opportunities to improve well-being (decreasing stress, increasing morale, etc.) and responding with best-fit interventions.
BH&W resources for NOAA employees may be found in the BH&W section of the OMAO intranet. For more information about BH&W, please contact health.services@noaa.gov.
Marine Medicine
The NOAA Office of Health Service’s Marine Medicine Branch (MMB) consists of USPHS Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, and Registered Nurses. MMB is dedicated to supporting the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations' seafaring vessels. Our focus is to improve and maintain professional mariner medical readiness and general wellbeing by performing medical screenings, physical exams and implementing preventative/surveillance medical programs. Additionally, USPHS Medical Officers deliver urgent and emergency medical support either remotely or in person for NOAA ships with medical officers on board.
For Marine (Maritime) Medical specific questions, clearance to sail inquiries and submission of documents for clearance to sail, please use either moa.health.services@noaa.gov or mop.health-services@noaa.gov.
NOAA Corps Medical Affairs
The NOAA Corps Medical Affairs Branch (MAB), is embedded within the Commissioned Personnel Center. Medical Affairs is the primary medical program within OHS that exclusively serves former and current officers within the NOAA Commissioned Corps. We are dedicated to advocating for the health and well-being of all officers to ensure a safe and successful career within the Corps.
The MAB team supports the operational readiness of OMAO, by managing the individual medical readiness of all NOAA Corps officers to ensure a safe, healthy, and efficient force. One of the Branch’s pertinent functions, is to provide oversight and administration of the medical records program which includes managing and maintaining the individual health records of the NOAA Corps officers. Our office looks forward to continuing our commitment to provide excellent health services that protect and promote the health and readiness of the NOAA Corps. For more information about NOAA Corps Medical Affairs, please contact noaacorps.medical@noaa.gov.
Diving Medicine
The NOAA Diving Program (NDP) has a full-time Diving Medical Officer (DMO) from the U.S. Public Health Service on staff at its headquarters in Seattle, Washington. The DMO provides training in basic first aid as well as diving-specific maladies and hyperbaric chamber treatments to Diving Medical Technicians and DMOs who work in the field. The DMO is available to NOAA divers and diving supervisors to provide advice and recommendations, as well as physical exams for divers when in Seattle. The DMO actively monitors the diving physicals and annual updates of all NOAA divers to ensure every diver is fit to dive. DMOs and NDP instructors educate and prepare divers and support personnel for diving emergencies. Rapid rescues and appropriate emergency responses are an important part of the NOAA diver’s basic curriculum and is included throughout all of the diving courses. For more information about the NOAA Diving Medical program please contact dmo@noaa.gov.
Please note that the Office of Health Services, NOAA, and OMAO are not responsible for providing health-related recommendations to the public.
For more information about federal government health programs, please visit the Department of Health and Human Services website: www.hhs.gov.
United States