| Brooke Army Medical Center | |
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Brooke Army Medical Center |
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| Active | 1946 - Present |
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Type | Hospital |
| Role | Inpatient and Outpatient Services Graduate Medical Education Level I Trauma Center |
| Size | 450 beds |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Sam Houston |
| Motto | "Dedication Duty Service" |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
MG Wong[1] |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |
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Brooke Army Medical Center
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| Location: | San Antonio, Texas |
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| Area: | 30 acres (120,000 m2) |
| Built: | 1937 |
| Architectural style: | Mission/Spanish Revival |
| Governing body: | Department of the Army |
| Part of: | Fort Sam Houston (#75001950) |
| NRHP Reference#: | 01001281 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | November 30, 2001 |
| Designated CP: | May 15, 1975 |
Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC - SAMMC) at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio is part of the United States Army Medical Command. It is a University of Texas Health Science Center and USUHS teaching hospital and contains the Army Burn Center.
The hospital today is a 450-bed Joint Commission-accredited facility, expandable to 653 beds in the event of a disaster. Services include general medical and surgical care, adult and pediatric primary care clinics, 24-hour Emergency department, specialty clinics, clinical services, wellness and prevention services, veterinary care, and environmental health services.
BAMC is a Level I trauma center, the only one in the MEDCOM, and is part of the Southern Regional Medican Command.[2]
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BAMC has a history which dates back to 1879 when the first Post Hospital opened as a small medical dispensary located in a single story wooden building. During the early years the Post hospital was in temporary structures, and it was not until 1886 that the first permanent hospital was built. In 1907 an 84-bed Station hospital was constructed on the west side of the post.
In 1929, Brigadier General Roger Brooke assumed command of the Station Hospital, a position he held until 1933. Brooke is credited with instituting the first routine chest X-ray in military medicine. In July 1936, the cornerstone was laid for the construction of a replacement Station Hospital. By November 1937, the new 418-bed hospital was operational, having cost $3 million dollars. The new hospital was the first in a series of moves which changed Fort Sam Houston from an Infantry to a medical Post.
In 1941, BAMC prepared for an overwhelming flow of casualties from World War II battlefields by converting a 220-person enlisted barracks into additional patient wards. This facility provided care to wounded soldiers and would later become BAMC Headquarters. In 1942, the Station Hospital was renamed Brooke General Hospital in Brooke's honor. In 1944, BAMC converted a Cavalry Battalion barracks into a convalescent unit to accommodate the flow of casualties from the war. This building later became Beach Pavilion. Beach housed a substantial portion of BAMC assets to include patient wards and specialty clinics.
In 1946, Fort Sam Houston was chosen as the new site for the U.S. Army Medical Field Service School. The decision to centralize the Army's medical research and training at one location resulted in the re-naming of Brooke General Hospital to Brooke Army Medical Center. In September 1987, the official groundbreaking took place for the construction of a new hospital.
On July 18, 1995, ownership of the replacement hospital was given to the BAMC Commander by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the key turnover ceremony. On March 14, 1996, the new facility was officially dedicated and on April 13, BAMC opened for business with the transfer of inpatients from the "old" BAMC to the "new" BAMC.
Under BRAC 2005, BAMC will expand its inpatient services as those services are relocated from the 59th Medical Wing, Wilford Hall Medical Center (USAF). The Nuclear Medicine service is one of the first to completely integrate operations, and offers PET/CT, SPECT/CT, and other molecular imaging and therapy services.
To accomplish the realignment of inpatient services and related specialty care from Wilford Hall Medical Center (WHMC) to Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) as presented in the BRAC 2005 scenario, BAMC will undergo the construction of a consolidated tower, a parking facility, a central energy plant, and renovations within the existing facility.
Construction began in March 2009 on the nearly 738,000 sq ft (68,600 m2). CoTo on the east side of the facility adjacent to the clinical building and medical mall. This addition will house administrative space, an Outpatient Pediatrics clinic, an expanded Emergency and Trauma department, SICU, CCU and Psychiatric nursing units, as well as an expansion of the USAISR Burn Unit. SAMMC will serve as a health science center for inpatient and ambulatory care, consisting of Graduate Medical Education (GME) & training, a Level 1 Trauma Center, and the only American Burn Association verified Burn Center within the DoD.
Construction began in March 2009 on a multi-level, 5,000 space parking structure to accommodate the increased capacity at the upgraded medical facility. There has yet to be made any plans to improve surface streets or traffic lights to accommodate for the nearly doubling of staff driving into BAMC daily, resulting in an average of 30 minute wait times outside the gates during peak commuting times.
Due to the size increase in the BAMC facility, additional heating and cooling capacities are being provided with a 22,400-square-foot (2,080 m2) central energy plant, which is under construction.[5]
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Brooke Army Medical Center - SAMMC-North".
"Hospitals At Fort Sam Houston" Fort Sam Houston Museum, 2006, a public domain work of the United States Government.
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