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Husband-and-wife care coordination team LCDR Brian Hower and Jessica Hower attended the recent Recovery Care Coordintor training, hosted by the Office of Warrior Care Policy.
For the past two years, LCDR Brian Hower has worked closely with Recovery Care Coordinators in his role as the Chief of Community Outreach with the U.S. Special Operation Command’s Care Coalition. But there was still a lot he didn’t know about these non-medical care coordinators and the role they play in a recovering Service member’s transition. LCDR Hower decided to learn more by joining dozens of other Recovery Care Coordinators (RCCs), Advocates and Non-Medical Case Managers at the quarterly RCC training, held from February 4-8 at the Navy Yard, and sponsored by the Office of Warrior Care Policy.
“There’s a lot I didn’t know that I thought I knew,” LCDR Hower said about half-way through the training. “Just the overall role of an RCC, that’s a big job. It’s hard to write a job description for that.”
During the week-long training event, attendees learned about the roles and responsibilities of RCCs and other non-medical case managers in supporting wounded, ill and injured Service members throughout the phases of recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration, and received briefings from agencies, organizations and programs that can assist them in providing resources to the Service members and families they support.
“These guys are going through a difficult transition,” LCDR Hower said. “It’s not just a medical transition, it’s a life transition. RCCs can make that a little easier, even if they don’t know everything.”
And, when an RCC has questions, there are plenty of people to reach out to, thanks to the network of support attendees build with each other during training, said Jessica Hower, LCDR Hower’s wife, who also attended this month’s training. Jessica works for a national non-profit called Hope for the Warriors, and provides case management support similar to that provided by RCCs.
“The information I’ve received from this training will help me meet the changing needs of our wounded Service members and their families,” she said, adding that she was anxious to get back to Tampa, Fla. and share the things she learned with her co-workers. “This class has really helped me put the pieces together.”
Congratulations to all the graduates of February’s training, and best of luck!