FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Sept. 9, 2011 -- The Brooke Army and Wilford Hall Medical Center integration soon will be completed, and the move-in has begun into BAMC's new 760,000-square-foot consolidated tower. This initiative was directed by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure law and marks a new era in military medicine and history.
"This integration will bring talented staff from both units and each others' best practices to create an integrated health system that is the envy of military and civilian healthcare organizations across the nation," said Maj. Gen. M. Ted Wong, commanding general of BAMC and the Southern Regional Medical Command. "Almost 2,000 Air Force personnel are moving to BAMC and we welcome them all."
On Sept. 15, the two medical facilities will undergo historic name changes, marking the start of a new era in San Antonio military medicine. The medical center currently known as BAMC will transition to San Antonio Military Medical Center, or SAMMC, and Wilford Hall Medical Center will change its name to Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, or WHASC.
SAMMC will become the largest inpatient hospital in the Department of Defense. It will remain an Army hospital under the command of Brooke Army Medical Center, which will provide governance to other Army medical facilities in San Antonio such as the Center for the Intrepid, the Fort Sam Houston Primary Care Clinic, the Taylor Burk Clinic at Camp Bullis and the Schertz Medical Home.
SAMMC services will include:
• 425 staffed inpatient beds (116 ICU beds, 309 ward beds)
• 32 operating rooms for inpatients and ambulatory surgery
• Level 1 Trauma/Emergency Room
• Medical, pediatric and surgical subspecialty clinics
• Primary care
• Labor/delivery/recovery ward
• Adult, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units
• Bone marrow transplant unit and hematology/oncology clinic
• Cardio-Vascular, Maternal-child, Battlefield Health and Trauma Centers of Excellence
"Patients are our top priority and the reason for our existence and purpose. Our mission is to provide quality care with compassion, respect and skill, and to maintain our patients' trust and confidence," said Wong. "To all staff and our patients, thank you for being tolerant and understanding over the past 18 months, as we worked to build the best military medical center possible."
The WHASC will be the DOD's largest ambulatory surgical center under the command of the 9th Medical Wing. The 59th MDW will also provide governance to all other Air Force medical facilities in San Antonio such as the Randolph, Kelly, Reid and North Central Federal Clinics.
The WHASC will offer:
• Primary care
• Outpatient surgery
• 24/7 urgent care for trainees and beneficiaries
• Medical, pediatric and surgical subspecialty clinics
• Diabetes, Hearing and Eye Centers of Excellence
• Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility
"The 59th Medical wing is dedicated to high quality, patient-centered care with a clear focus on safety and customer service," said Maj. Gen. Byron Hepburn, 59th MDW commander. "We are also committed to providing first-rate graduate medical education and training, state of-the-art research and capable teams for our global readiness mission."
BAMC and the 59th MDW will fall under the San Antonio Military Health System, or SAMHS, a new oversight organization that will have rotating Air Force and Army general officers as director and deputy director. General Hepburn will be the first director and General Wong will serve as the first deputy director.
The objectives of the SAMHS are to provide health improvement and healthcare services for the DOD beneficiary community, sustain the readiness skills of the medical force, support Graduate Medical Education and other education and training, and support basic and clinical biomedical research.
"The collaboration and cost advantages we achieve in combining our efforts allow us to leverage our resources and expertise in a way that we were not able to before," said Hepburn. "We are forming a broader team and going to a greater place of efficiency and effectiveness."
For more information, click on http://www.bamc.amedd.army.mil/brac.asp or call 210-916-4141 for BAMC locations of departments or clinics. For more information about Wilford Hall, go to http://www.whmc.af.mil or call 210-292-7412.
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