USAG RED CLOUD, Republic of Korea - For the first time since their arrival to Area I, the U.S. Army Garrison Red Cloud and the Camp Stanley Troop Medical Clinics will undergo renovations on their facilities as they marked the beginning of the construction process with a ground breaking ceremony March 3 and 5 at the USAG-RC and Camp Stanley TMCs. Renovations will be finished as early as December.
Col. Jeffrey Clark, 65th Medical Brigade commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Miguel Guante-Rojas, 65th Medical Brigade command sergeant major, asked the Surgeon General to upgrade the medical facilities in Area I and throughout the peninsula to bring them up to current standards. The USAG-RC clinic was built more than 40 years ago, but other than paint, some new furniture, and major roof repairs, there have been no significant changes. The only changes made to the Camp Stanley TMC were cosmetic.
Approving the colonel and command sergeant major's request, the Surgeon General gave more than $40 million to Area I to begin renovations. Dental clinics and veterinary clinics were included in the budget.
"The $40 million from the US Army Surgeon General has been given to the 65th Medical Brigade to do one thing and that is to renovate our health clinics, our medical clinics and our veterinary clinics for the Soldiers we support," said Lt. Col. Michael Smith, I68th Multi-Functional Medical Battalion commander. "That is no small task. It is a great amount of money. It could not be done without the Surgeon General's support with Clark and Guante-Rojas."
It is going to be a lot of work for our clinic, but I think we are going about it well, said Pvt. Ashley Smith, Camp Stanley TMC combat medic. The next couple of months are going to be tough, but we have everything set up so it's good for the Soldiers. There will not be any changes that will hinder our care.
Clark asked for the St. Mary's Hospital staff to be present at all the ground breaking ceremonies telling everyone in attendance how important their role is to the Area I community. Other parties in attendance were the American Red Cross, physicians, nurses and combat medics working in the respective clinics and representatives from the chain of command who use the clinics on Red Cloud Garrison and Camp Stanley.
"This project is part of our patient friendly access to quality health care commitment embedded in every 65th Soldier," Smith said. "If you ask anyone they will tell you our mission: to take care of Soldiers, to take care of our beneficiaries and to take care of our Families. There is no greater honor for our Soldiers than to serve those who he serves with, so it is important in our life and in our way of life that we have the upgraded facilities."
There will be four phases during the renovation process for the Red Cloud TMC. The first piece of work being done will be a new paint job on the facility followed by work on the ceiling. The next phase will be Gypsum board work and lastly the TMC will undergo work on its floors. During the construction, the Corps of Engineers and Red Cloud Garrison Directorate of Public Works designed a plan to move the X-ray room to another location in the facility. Other rooms that might get in the way during the construction process will be moved.
"It is a simple renovation compared to the other clinics," said Capt. Vinay Pai, officer in charge of Camp Stanley TMC about the renovations in the Stanley facility. "Camp Stanley is different because our Soldiers are all active duty Soldiers; we rarely see dependents or children, but I think the improvements we are making will allow better care."
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