Spotlighting the Career of CDR J. Slade Flitton

February 2021

                                                                                              CDR J. Slade Flitton

CDR J. Slade Flitton initially earned his bachelor’s degree to pursue a career as a physical therapist. Upon more reflection, he decided to go back to school for nursing. He liked the variety of opportunities in nursing and the ability to work with different patient populations. CDR Flitton thought nursing would give him the chance to stay engaged and never become bored. After he graduated nursing school, he took a home-based health department position at the Southcentral Foundation within the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, AK. During this time, he worked alongside USPHS officers and learned more about USPHS opportunities. His brother in-law commissioned into the USPHS, and in 2007, CDR Flitton also decided to commission to be able to deploy for USPHS missions and serve his country and underserved populations in a unique way.

After 4 years at Southcentral Foundation, CDR Flitton took a public health nurse position in Whiteriver, AZ on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. His main duties included educating and training the Native American community. Specifically, he administered CPR training and the sexually transmitted infections (STI) program. He stated that he was “flagged down” in his car many times because he was known to have information, contraception methods, and treatment for STIs. CDR Flitton really enjoyed this position because he was able to work with and teach community members of all ages. Currently, CDR Flitton is Chief Nurse Executive Officer at Fort Duchesne, UT at the Uintah and Ouray (U&O) Service Unit. His normal duties include supervising nurses and health technicians, providing infection control and public health oversight, and ensuring policies and procedures are being followed. However, since March he has served as the COVID-19 response Incident Commander at the U&O Service Unit. His entire PHS career has been within Indian Health Service, which he believes has helped him progress in his career, as he gained a strong clinical background, took positions throughout the country, and served an underserved population.

CDR Flitton has deployed nine times. His most recent deployment in February included working with Customs and Border Protection on the border between Tijuana and San Diego. He helped set up policies and procedures to identify and interview travelers coming into the U.S. with any connection to China. Once these travelers were identified, they were interviewed, screened for symptoms, and educated to self-monitor for 14 days. CDR Flitton also mentioned that his favorite deployment was to Saipan after the typhoons. Although Saipan is a U.S. territory, he stated it was fun and rewarding to travel to another part of the world where the medical unit needed interpreters in 14 different languages to support the diverse patient population.

Balancing work and home life are also very important to CDR Flitton. He has been married for 19 years and has five children. CDR Flitton enjoys coaching and playing hockey and spending time at the lake with his family. He stated that his family has a “strong play ethic” which helps him balance the workload in his career. He also mentioned that it is important to him to leave work at work. He stated, “there is always work to be done and you never feel finished when working for the federal government, but I think I use my family time as a release and opportunity to build memories.”