Captain Sarah L. Martin, incoming commanding officer of Pensacola Naval Hospital. Photo credit: Pensacola Naval Hospital.

The former chief of staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center will take command of Pensacola Naval Hospital on Aug. 21.

Capt. Sarah Martin, Nurse Corps, will assume command of the hospital from current head Capt. Maureen Padden, Medical Corps. The ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. at the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

Martin’s last assignment was at Walter Reed in Bethesda, Md. She was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy in 1987. She has previously served at Naval Hospitals Yokosuka, Japan; Bremerton, Wash.; and Camp Lejeune; N.C.

She earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Gustavus Adolphus College and a master's degree in nursing from the University of Washington.

Capt. Maureen Padden, Medical Corps, will move on from Pensacola Naval Hospital at a change of command ceremony on Aug. 21.

Padden has served as the commanding officer of the Naval Hospital since 2012, and she will report to Commander Navy Surface Forces Pacific, Coronado, Calif., to serve as their fleet surgeon.

During her tenure as commanding officer of NHP, Padden has overseen several significant changes including the conversion of the emergency room to an urgent care center following the CONUS Hospital Study, the integration of pediatrics and family medicine into a single clinic and the construction of the satellite pharmacy to provide beneficiaries an additional location to fill prescriptions.

Under her command, the hospital received the 2012 Department of Defense Patient Safety Award for Primary Care Manager Continuity and was the first naval hospital to be named a Top Performer by The Joint Commission.