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	MG Patricia D. Horoho

by Jerry Harben

The United Service Organizations (USO) of Metropolitan New York honored MG Patricia D. Horoho as Woman of the Year during ceremonies on April 7. Also honored was Stephanie George, executive vice president of Time, Inc.

Horoho is commander of Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis, Wash., and of the Western Regional Medical Command which includes Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Nevada. She also serves as the chief of the Army Nurse Corps.

The USO of Metropolitan New York seeks to recognize women who have demonstrated their commitment to supporting service members and their Families. Both of the women honored were extremely successful in their professional paths as well as dedicated to serving others through community or military service.

"I know how USOs boost the morale of service members worldwide and understand how they serve as a link between the service member, their Families and the American people," Horoho commented. "I've seen firsthand the tremendous impact programs such as Operation Enduring Care, Operation Heal, Road 2 Recovery, and Operation USO Care Package have on our service members and their Families."

She noted that Soldiers survive wounds in the current conflicts at a higher rate than any previous war, but that this means more face long recoveries from serious injuries.

"The Army is fully committed to providing the best care possible to these heroes and their Families as they use all of their energy and strength to heal. USO volunteers partner with us to reach out and touch the hearts and minds of our wounded service members throughout every phase of their recovery," Horoho said.

As the head nurse of the emergency department at Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, N.C., on March 23, 1994, Horoho organized triage and care when an airplane crashed into a group of Soldiers on the Green Ramp of Pope Air Force Base, killing 24 and injuring more than 100. She also was one of the first medical personnel to respond during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, setting up first aid care and triage for the wounded.

She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a Master of Science degree as a clinical trauma nurse specialist from the University of Pittsburgh as well as a Master of Science degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Honors she has received include being named a University of Pittsburgh Legacy Laureate in 2007, being among 15 nurses honored as "nurse heroes" by the American Red Cross and Nursing Spectrum in 2002, and being selected as one of the top 100 nurses in North Carolina in 1993.

For immediate release, April 16, 2009.