General Recognizes Red Hill Clinic Personnel for Medical Support After 2021 Fuel Release [Image 1 of 6]

U.S. Air Force Maj. Isabel Hung Wan, left, receives a challenge coin from U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Bill Soliz on June 6, 2024, at Red Hill Clinic, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, for providing medical support following a November 2021 jet fuel release that exposed members of the community to contaminated water. Hung Wan is a physician assistant with 15th Medical Group, 15th Wing; Soliz is the director of Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Hung Wan immigrated with her parents in 1989 at the age of 10 and now calls Los Angeles home.

Hung Wan appreciated assistance from the clinic support staff and was glad to help patients worried about water contamination. “Patients that came into the clinic were concerned about their exposure to the water contamination and how that exposure has affected them and can affect their health in the future. As a medical provider, I treated the patients’ symptoms, referred them to see specialists and do further tests, if needed. That is a typical job of a medical provider, but patients were mostly happy that there was this specific clinic set up for someone to hear about their medical concerns and provide overall reassurance. This taught me to be more compassionate and I will use this moving forward.”

U.S. Navy Cdr. Kayla Horton, left, receives a challenge coin from U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Bill Soliz on June 6, 2024, at Red Hill Clinic, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, for providing medical support following a November 2021 jet fuel release that exposed members of the community to contaminated water. Horton is a family nurse practitioner and serves as the primary care provider at Red Hill Clinic, in addition to her duties as the director of health services for Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Pearl Harbor. Born in Seoul in the Republic of Korea, Horton was adopted and raised in Catlin, Illinois. Soliz is the director of Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific.

Horton said, “I think the Red Hill Clinic plays an important role in rebuilding trust with the community. My role is to listen and acknowledge their experiences in the wake of Red Hill and facilitate access to specialty care if needed. Most patients I’ve seen in the last two months just want to ensure that the exposure is documented in their health record and that they are in a long-term registry so they and their families will continue to have medical support in the future, especially as they prepare to (transfer) off island.”

U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Nan Nankivil, left, receives a challenge coin from U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Bill Soliz on June 6, 2024, at Red Hill Clinic, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, for providing medical support following a November 2021 jet fuel release that exposed members of the community to contaminated water. Nankivil serves as the primary corpsman at the front desk and has played a pivotal role in greeting, checking in patients, providing direct care with Red Hill Clinic providers. The Cocoa Beach, Florida, native said, “I feel that I helped quell a lot of anxieties especially with nonactive-duty patients, in relation to the Red Hill water situation. I am happy to calm anxious patients and to educate patients in relation to the situation and health effects.” Soliz is the director of Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific.