General Recognizes Red Hill Clinic Personnel for Medical Support After 2021 Fuel Release [Image 4 of 6]

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.”