The Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center offered a pilot Contraceptive Walk-In Clinic at its Family Medicine Residency Clinic, on the first floor of the hospital, Nov. 17.
The pilot clinic is part of the Defense Health Agency’s efforts to ensure that female service members and beneficiaries have access to reproductive health care. The pilot clinic will help CRDAMC assess beneficiary interests, provider, nursing and physician assistant support needed to open a permanent clinic in January 2023.  
Capt. Logan Havemann, obstetrician gynecologist, CRDAMC, provided a one-hour session on all available long-acting, reversible and permanent forms of contraception while a team of providers and nurses completed procedures for beneficiaries that either decided to change or start a new form of contraception following information they received at the session.
Spc. Meriah Bates, cannon crewmember, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, said that there was a lot of good information and examples in this session, and she [Havemann] definitely knows what she’s talking about.
Bates added that the classroom session was straight forward, to the point and not extremely long. I actually learned more about each form and how effective they are, she said.
Spc. Megan Aumick, combat medic, III Corps and Monroe Health Clinic, CRDAMC, joined the session to learn about the different contraceptives offered and how they are administered.
Aumick stated that the contraceptives are effective, and there was also a lot of information presented on pregnancy and helping to control menstrual cycles.
Havemann described how regular contraception appointments can take two visits to a primary care clinic before receiving an intrauterine device.
She added that such delays are compounded by the staffing shortages which stretch appointment scheduling sometimes four-to-six weeks apart.
“The biggest benefit is being able to take those visits and condense them down to where patients are able to get real, same-day services without barriers or hindrances,” Havemann said. “I also like the group setting. I think it encourages women a lot of times to hear answers to questions that they may not have thought of themselves.”
Lt. Col. Ryan McGill, senior physician assistant, III Corps, talked about how this initiative will help with Army readiness.
 “Our first-term Soldiers don’t really know about these programs,” McGill said. “Like today, our session had a lot of young Soldiers, and that tells you a lot. If they’re making good decisions now, then the Army’s heading in the right direction, and they can make even better decisions and help other female Soldiers when they become senior leaders.”
TRICARE has available information for interested and eligible beneficiaries on contraceptive care and information on reproductive health can be found at Health.mil