Florida Veteran Health Heroes

Page 8 DR. DANIEL BOWER The Florida Department of Health salutes our veterans for their hard work and dedication. Following his graduation from Asbury College, Dr. Daniel Bower started his military career as a United States Marine, earning accolades such as honor man and honor graduate. Before continuing his military career with the Navy, Dr. Bower attended the Southern Illinois School of Dental Medicine where he obtained his doctor of medicine in dentistry degree. He then returned to the military and practiced dentistry at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Camp Pendleton, California, and at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Guam before attending the Ohio State University Medical Center as an oral and maxillofacial surgery resident. Following his residency, Dr. Bower worked as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at three different naval hospitals including the U.S. Naval Hospital in Guam where he also served as department head. During his time in Guam, Dr. Bower also received the Naval Hospital Guam Customer Service Wall of Heroes Award in 2013 for exceptional care and customer service as evidenced by numerous comments from patients. He has been known to treat patients as if they were members of his own family and has been praised for his compassionate bedside manner, advocacy and his willingness to both teach and listen. Dr. Bower continued his practice at Guam until entering the private sector in 2015. After his time in Guam, Dr. Bower worked to transition back in to the civilian work force but said getting licensed in a state can be difficult for his profession. Fortunately he was able to utilize the Department’s armed forces health care licensure support services and said it has made all the difference. “The license that I got helped me out so much,” said Dr. Bower. “My mom and dad live in Georgia, so I wanted to live near them. The VALOR system provided the perfect opportunity for me to practice in Florida. This helped me out tremendously.”