New Army Medical Center Groundbreaking

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 14, 2011

* * * * * Media interested in attending this event should R.S.V.P.

with the CRDAMC Public Affairs Office by noon,

Monday, July 18, for meeting time and location. * * * *

FORT HOOD, Texas – An opening ceremony for the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Soldier Art Show titled, Unspoken: Overcoming Struggles of Combat through Art,” will be held from 3 – 5 p.m. Monday at the III Corps Headquarters building east atrium.

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, features more than 25 original pieces created by Soldiers from across Fort Hood who have deployed in support of combat operations, Col. Patrick Sargent, CRDAMC commander, said.

“We encourage our friends, neighbors and community members to come and experience the Soldier Art Show,” he said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with our Soldiers in a very deep and personal way.”

Art has long been recognized as a way to express emotions or reactions to events that can sometimes be difficult to verbalize because it provides distance from the experience allowing the artist to view it with a certain degree of objectivity.

The collection showcases a wide range of art mediums including photography, poetry, drawings, paintings, ceramics and sculptures. All submissions are anonymous, but pieces will be individually numbered and visitors will be able to respond to the artists by leaving comment cards. 

Guests will also have an opportunity to participate in a sketch table, meet CRDAMC Department of Behavioral Health social work providers and enjoy refreshments.

The exhibit will be available for viewing July 18 – 19 at the III Corps Headquarters and July 20 – 22 in the CRDAMC main lobby.

All artwork has been assessed for appropriate content prior to exhibition.

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By Patricia Deal,

CRDAMC Public Affairs

FORT HOOD, Texas – Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center officially opened its new Women's Health Clinic at a ribbon cutting ceremony here May 6.

The new 44,000 sq. ft. facility built adjacent to the main hospital is designed to better serve approximately 39,000 women of childbearing age in the greater Fort Hood area.

“We’re here today because of them,” Col. (Dr.) Steven Braverman, CRDAMC commander, said in his opening remarks. “As hospital commander, I have an interest to ensure everybody gets the best care possible. As a father of three high school- and college-age daughters and as a husband of nearly 25 years, I also have a personal interest in making sure that what we’re doing here is what’s best for everybody.

“This new facility is just one of the many ongoing and planned construction projects at the  medical center that demonstrates the Army’s commitment to building trust in Army medicine,” he added. “We made a promise in the health care covenant that we’re going to provide the best care possible. This ribbon cutting ceremony today allows us to move from ‘promise-making’ to ‘promise-keeping.’”

While the new center features many desirable amenities such as more space, latest technology and state-of-the-art equipment, Braverman said it’s really more about “comfort” for patients and staff.

“It’s not about improving the quality of care, as we always provide the best quality of care. Our goal is to enhance the quality of the experience so our patients are comfortable, happy and appreciative of the care they receive here,” he added.

In his address to the audience, Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell, Jr., commanding general for III Corps and Fort Hood said that the concept of the new facility fits well with his very simple philosophy, “if we have a happy family, we have a happy soldier.”

“The addition of new facilities such as this fulfills the Army Family Covenant that provides for increasing accessibility to health care,” he said. “It helps build trust, discipline, fitness and readiness of our Soldiers and Family members as we show we are doing the very best we can to care for you in time of need.”

Many, many military moms have trusted Darnall to be the delivery center of choice, as the hospital had approximately 16,000 births in the last six years. Nine months after Fort Hood Soldiers return from deployment, there’s typically a surge in births. The new facility allows the medical center to increase its monthly deliveries from 220 a month to about 250.

The $19.9 million contract to build the women's center was awarded March 2008, and construction began two months later, but the idea for a new inclusive women's health center was first formulated more than 10 years ago, according to Col. (Dr.) Elizabeth Spooner, chief, Obstetrics and Gynecology. She said there's been a demand for more rooms, more space and a more home-like environment for quite a while.

One Fort Hood mother who has probably had the most experience with Women’s Health services at Darnall, said she was impressed with the new facility’s hominess and its many amenities.

Linda Grab, 34, delivered all 13 of her babies at Darnall with baby 14 due in July. She had her first child in May 1995 when women’s health services were on the third floor of the main hospital. Grab will now be among the first women to deliver in the new facility.

“All my experiences at Darnall have been good and the care has been excellent. I’ve seen many changes over the years, but this new facility is just wonderful,” she said. “It has such a homey-atmosphere and is so much more spacious. My mother also comes to my every delivery and we’ll be less crowded in the new facility’s bigger rooms. 

New larger and more family-friendly suites on the second floor offer a comfortable environment with each of the nine new labor and delivery rooms boasting approximately 400 sq. ft., a window, large bathroom, personal storage area, and a large sleep area for expectant mothers and their guest.

This design allows patients to stay in the same room for labor and delivery, and for babies to stay with mothers. Special equipment like warmers in the rooms enhances newborn care.

Wireless internet access is available in each room, so pictures or videos of the birth can be shared in real time with spouses who may be downrange or families back home. Patients will need to bring their own laptops and cameras.

In addition to providing more room for labor and deliveries, Spooner said the new facility gives more space to take care of patients and possibly alleviate some of the wait times for routine visits.

There will be 37 exam rooms in the new facility and 10 exam rooms will remain in the current Women’s Health Center allowing providers to have their own exam rooms. The increase in exam rooms will also allow staff to see about 30 more patients each day for routine checkups.

Whatever their wait-time might be for routine check-in procedures, patients will receive a pager so instead of having to stay near the desk to hear their names to be called, they can wait outside on the new patio or in the bright and airy waiting room. A special children’s play area in the lobby also helps enhance the check-in and waiting processes.

The new center has about 100 employees, including 21 midwives who oversee about 70 percent of the births at the hospital. Physicians, midwives, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and certified nursing assistants will form teams and be assigned to each patient and will follow her through her entire pregnancy.

The providers focus on health education, preventive and self-care, and offer genetic counseling, care for normal and high-risk pregnancies, a centering pregnancy program, lactation services, prenatal care, childbirth preparation, ultrasounds and preconception counseling. The majority of OB/GYN services, including labor and delivery, will move to the new facility; however infertility, perinatology, genetics and non-stress testing will remain in the current location.

“Quality of care is important to our patients. Our quality of care statistics at Darnall are as good or better in all areas compared to civilian and military facilities. Knowing that, on a routine basis, we are compared to other facilities and that our quality of care is as good as or better than our civilian counterparts is comforting to our patients and their families,” Spooner said.

In the past, when Darnall did not have sufficient resources, patients were transferred to other facilities for prenatal care, for delivery when the unborn baby or mother is at risk, or for newborns.  The design and additional space helps eliminate transferring women in labor to other hospitals and currently no patients are being deferred to the network for delivery. 

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The Fort Hood and surrounding communities were invited to attend the ribbon cutting for the official opening of Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center's Women's Health Center May 6. (U.S. Army photo by Daniel Cerno, For Hood Sentinel)

Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell, Jr., (center), commanding general for III Corps and Fort Hood, Linda Grab (left), Col. (Dr.) Steven Braverman, CRDAMC commander and Pfc. Lisa Crichlow, 206^th MI Battalion, cut the ribbon at a ceremony here May 6, signifying the official opening of  Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center’s new Women's Health Clinic. Also participating are Sgt. 1^st Class Falls (far left), noncommissioned officer in charge of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Col. (Dr.) Elizabeth Spooner, chief, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Joseph Grab (far right) and the 13 Grab children who were all born at Darnall. (U.S. Army photo by Patricia Deal, CRDAMC Public Affairs)

Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbel, Jr.,  (right), commanding general for III Corps and Fort Hood, and III Corps Command Sgt. Maj. Arthur L. Coleman Jr. (second from left) tour a labor and delivery room at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center’s new Women's Health Clinic during its official opening ceremony here May 6. Also pictured are Maj. Dorene Owen (left) and Col. (Dr.) Elizabeth Spooner from CRDAMC’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. (U.S. Army photo by Patricia Deal, CRDAMC Public Affairs)

Mrs. Linda Grab, mother of 13 children born at Darnall, left, Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell, Jr., commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, center, and Pfc Lisa Crichlow, right, 206 Military Intelligence Battalion, representing active-duty women, cut the ribbon to open the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Women's Health Center May 6. (U.S. Army photo by Daniel Cerno, Fort Hood Sentinel)

Children from the Grab family enjoyed refreshments provided by local bakeries and grocery stores and served up by staff from the CRDAMC Women’s Health Center. (U.S. Army photo by Patricia Deal, CRDAMC Public Affairs).

By Christie Vanover
CRDAMC Public Affairs

FORT HOOD, Texas – A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Dec. 13 for the new $534 million Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center that will be constructed to replace the current 45-year-old building.

Officials from the Department of Defense, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Army Medical Command, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Fort Hood turned sand at the 70-acre site, signifying the start of the construction project.

“It’s been over 47 years since we broke ground on the initial hospital here, Darnall Army Community Hospital,” said Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, U.S. Army surgeon general and commander, U.S. Army Medical Command.

“In the private sector, with the dynamism of health care today, we average a turnover of a major medical facility like this on the order of every 21-24 years. In Army medicine over the last two to three decades, because of an inability to invest in our infrastructure, we have been reduced to turning over our hospitals on a 40-50 year cycle,” he said.

At 947,000 square feet, the new medical center will be 60 percent larger than the current building and will include a six-story hospital tower, three out-patient specialty clinic buildings and three parking garages. It is the largest Department of Defense contract funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the stimulus package.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects that approximately 1,000 workers will be on site at the peak of construction, many from local small businesses.

“The purpose of the Recovery Act was to preserve and create jobs for Americans, promoting economic recovery by investing in projects that would not just make work, but would move America forward,” said the Honorable Mike McCord, principal deputy under secretary of defense (comptroller).

McCord, who led the Recovery Act program for the Department of Defense, represented President Barack Obama’s administration and the Department of Defense at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“Across the department, we have funded more than 80 construction projects and more than 4,400 repair and renovation projects for DoD facilities. I am most proud of these two new hospitals, here and at Camp Pendleton, not just because they’re our two largest Recovery Act projects, but because they will benefit more people than any of our other projects,” he said.

“It will provide a quarter of a million people in the Fort Hood community with a state-of-the-art facility that is able to supply them with the care they need and deserve,” he added.

While the current hospital has provided that care for decades, it reached a milestone in 2006, when it was redesignated as a medical center.

Col. (Dr.) Steven Braverman, the medical center’s commander, said over the past four years, they’ve increased medical education programs, added more partnerships with research and academic institutions and expanded medical care, especially in the areas of behavioral health and traumatic brain injury.

“While this facility will serve as the capstone of that transformation from a MEDDAC [Medical Department Activity] to a medical center,” he said, “it’s really about the people. It’s really about the outstanding medical staff that we have and the Soldiers, families and retirees and their families in the local community at Fort Hood and the surrounding areas whom we serve.”

“It gives us the opportunity to mold together a top-notch staff, superb medical care and a brand new, state-of-the-art medical facility, and I can’t think of a better way to continue to meet our goal of inspiring trust in Army medicine,” he said.

Braverman said Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center serves as a hub to the network of care provided through a series of clinics in and around Fort Hood. The Surgeon General echoed those remarks.

“Today, we stand on this cold, hard ground of an empty field. In 2015, this site will be Fort Hood’s home for Army medicine—the hub of the medical network that’s designed to promote health and to deliver world class health care,” said Schoomaker.

“This medical center isn’t the only commitment that we’re making to Fort Hood,” he added. “While the tractors are turning the dirt here, we’re deeply involved in the next phase of increasing access to care. Within the next six months, we’ll have three community-based primary care clinics, opening in Killeen, Harker Heights and Copperas Cove, moving health care closer to where families live and work.”

Schoomaker thanked Congress, and specifically, U.S. Representatives Chet Edwards and John Carter for “passionately and effectively” advocating for the new medical center.

“Their support, combined with that of the president and the Department of Defense, demonstrates the nation’s commitment to an investment in military health,” he said.

Carter, who represents the 31^st District of Texas, said he has met with wounded Soldiers across the globe, and they all have told him they want to heal and return to their units. He said it’s because of those dedicated Soldiers that he fought hard for this military construction project.

“We’re going to be watching as it [the medical center] springs up out of the prairie of Texas, and we’re all going to be very proud of what is going to be available for those young fighting men and women that we owe so much to,” he said.

Although the crowd offered a standing ovation to Edwards for his commitment to this project, the Congressman who represents the 17^th District of Texas, humbly said it was a team effort that will make a difference in the lives of thousands of Soldiers and their families for decades to come.

“I believe our nation has a moral obligation to respect our service men and women and their families, not just with our words, but with our deeds, fulfilling that morale responsibility is what this new hospital is all about,” he said.

Construction will officially begin in the spring and the Army Corps of Engineers projects that the new Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center will open for patient care in the summer of 2015.

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Officials from the Department of Defense, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Army Medical Command, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Fort Hood turned sand at the 70-acre site of the new Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Texas, signifying the start of the $534 million construction project.

Pictured left to right: Major General Michael R. Eyre, deputy commanding general (Reserve Affairs), U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers; Sandra Richardson, deputy under secretary of defense (Resource Issues); the Honorable John Carter, U.S. House of Representatives, 31st District of Texas; the Honorable Mike McCord; principal deputy under secretary of defense (Comptroller); Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, U.S. Army surgeon general and commander, U.S. Army Medical Command; the Honorable Chet Edwards, U.S. House of Representatives, 17th District of Texas; Maj. Gen. William F. Grimsley, commanding general, Fort Hood and Brig. Gen. Joseph Caravalho, Jr., commander, Southern Regional Medical Command. (U.S. Army Photo by John O. Brown, Fort Hood DPTMS – Visual Information)

U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, 17th District of Texas; U.S. Rep. John Carter, 31^st District of Texas and Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, U.S. Army surgeon general and commander, U.S. Army Medical Command, await their turn to address a Fort Hood crowd at the groundbreaking for the new Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Dec. 13. (U.S. Army Photo by John O. Brown, Fort Hood DPTMS – Visual Information)

Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, U.S. Army surgeon general and commander, U.S. Army Medical Command, addresses a Fort Hood crowd at the new Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center groundbreaking ceremony, Dec. 13. “Today, we stand on this cold, hard ground of an empty field. In 2015, this site will be Fort Hood’s home for Army medicine—the hub of the medical network that’s designed to promote health and to deliver world class health care,” he said. (U.S. Army Photo by John O. Brown, Fort Hood DPTMS – Visual Information)

The Honorable Mike McCord; principal deputy under secretary of defense (Comptroller), addresses a Fort Hood crowd at the new Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center groundbreaking ceremony, Dec. 13. McCord, who led the Recovery Act program for the Department of Defense, represented President Barack Obama’s administration and the Department of Defense at the groundbreaking ceremony. (U.S. Army Photo by John O. Brown, Fort Hood DPTMS – Visual Information)

Shovels rest in the sand after officials from the Department of Defense, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Army Medical Command, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Fort Hood broke ground at the 70-acre site of the new Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Texas, signifying the start of the $534 million construction project.  (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Catherine Talento, 11th Public Affairs Detachment)

FORT HOOD, Texas – Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center leaders will host the groundbreaking ceremony for the new $534 million medical center at 9 a.m. Dec. 13 at the site of the old Fort Hood Stadium.

At 947,000 square feet, the new medical center will be 60 percent larger than the current building and will include a six-story hospital, three out-patient clinic buildings and three parking garages. This is the largest Department of Defense contract financed with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds and the largest design-build project in the Department of Defense medical construction program.

The following dignitaries are scheduled to speak: Honorable Mike McCord, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller); U.S. Representatives John Carter and Chet Edwards; Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, Army Surgeon General and Commander, U.S. Army Medical Command; Maj. Gen. Michael Eyre, Deputy Commanding General (Reserve Affairs), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Maj. Gen. William Grimsley, Commanding General, Fort Hood.

Media interested in covering the event should register at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Press Center at www.forthoodpresscenter.com/go/survey/3439/4979. Media must register by 10 a.m. Dec. 10.

Media should meet public affairs representatives at the Fort Hood Visitor Center south side parking lot at 8 a.m. Media desiring to bring live satellite trucks on post will need their trucks to arrive by 7 a.m. at Fort Hood's Clarke Gate, which is further west on U.S. 190 toward Copperas Cove, Texas.  

For more information on the new medical center and for artist renderings of the new facility, visit the groundbreaking press center at www.forthoodpresscenter.com/go/doc/3439/953479.

(REVISED)

By Patricia Deal and Christie Vanover
CRDAMC Public Affairs

FORT HOOD, Texas – Groundbreaking for Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center's new hospital is scheduled for Dec. 13, signaling the start of a $534 million project that will consolidate services and enhance access to medical care for thousands of Fort Hood Soldiers, family members and retirees.

Construction of the 947,000 square-foot facility is slated to begin in April just south of the current medical center on the site of the old Fort Hood stadium. It is expected to be open for patients in late summer 2015.

“We’re excited to see the project begin as it brings us one step closer to providing increased access to care and more health care services in line with the 21^st century warfighter,” said Col. (Dr.) Steven Braverman, CRDAMC commander.

The original Darnall hospital opened in 1965 to serve 17,000 Soldiers, with an addition in 1984 added to serve 39,000 troops. Today, the hospital serves roughly 45,000 Soldiers, as well as nearly 125,000 family members and retirees within a 40-mile radius. 

At 600,000 square feet, the current facility is undersized for the amount of services it provides, said Braverman. Each day Darnall averages 4,622 outpatient encounters, 202 emergency room visits, 26 surgeries, 26 admissions, seven births and 4,500 prescriptions filled.

The new medical center will be nearly 60 percent larger than the current facility and will include a six-story hospital, three out-patient clinic buildings and three parking garages.

“We have worked hand-in-hand with the architects and designers from Balfour Beatty/McCarthy-HKS/Wingler & Sharp to create a modern campus that is both capable of meeting today’s health care needs and is a comfortable place for patients to receive medical care,” said Lt. Col. Michael C. Williams, project manager, U.S. Army Health Facility Planning Agency.

As patients enter the new facility, they will be welcomed by bright, natural light that engulfs the lobby through two-and-a-half story windowpanes. The natural light continues along a central concourse that makes navigating the hospital much simpler than the current design.

“In a facility this size, people can get lost very easily,” said Williams. “This hospital is organized very simply with multiple entrances and a clear, circulation pattern.”

On one side of the concourse, patients will check in through the designated reception areas, and on the opposite side, waiting areas overlook a courtyard and outdoor gardens. The natural concept continues throughout the medical center all the way to the upper levels.

From the third, fourth and fifth floors, patients have a view of rooftop gardens, bringing nature up to the patient level.

An important feature of the new hospital is the approximately 100,000 square feet dedicated for behavioral health services, said Braverman, which will enable the hospital to provide additional mental and physical care for Soldiers suffering from visible and invisible wounds of war.

This area on the third floor will include an outpatient component, a Resilience and Restoration Center, Department of Social Work and Hospital and Administrative Psychiatry. It will be connected through the concourse to the in-patient component of the psychiatric unit, which will also feature an exterior basketball court.

Since the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, military hospitals have seen an increase in the number of Soldiers needing treatment for physical injuries, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. More than 4,200 wounded and ill Soldiers evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan have been treated at Darnall.

“Right now our behavioral health services are spread out amongst many locations. The new hospital will allow us to centralize services to make getting care easier and more convenient for our patients,” said Braverman. “Numerous Soldiers deploy from Fort Hood, and we want to ensure we can handle the medical needs of each and every one of them and their family members.”

The fourth floor of the new medical center will be devoted to women’s services. It will include nine labor- delivery-recovery rooms, two C-section units, a 12-bed neo-natal intensive care unit and a 28-bed mother baby unit.

Up one level, the pediatric unit will have 10 beds and the medical-surgery unit is designed to accommodate 30 beds.

Darnall will continue to provide additional services throughout the facility, such as emergency medicine, physical therapy, family medicine, internal medicine, and more.

Departmental staff are currently reviewing the design plans and offering feedback to the Health Facility Planning Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure the current layout accommodates provider and patient needs.

“This facility was designed with flexibility in mind,” said Williams. “As health care needs change, so can Darnall. The design allows flexibility to accommodate the changing needs of clinics and departments and, in the future, there is room for lateral growth and an additional bed tower, if needed.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded the $534 million contract to Balfour Beatty | McCarthy Joint Venture of Dallas, Texas, in September. The project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 13 at the new medical center site. The event is open to the public, and visitors should enter Fort Hood using the Santa Fe gate. Parking is available at 65^th Street and Railhead Drive.

(Editor's Note: This release has been revised. The groundbreaking was originally scheduled for Dec. 6; however, due to scheduling conflicts among the participants, the ceremony will now be held Dec. 13)

To view and download high resolution images, click on the thumbnail. A new window will pop up. Right click on the image and choose save image to save to your computer. Captions are embedded in the file info. Artist renderings were provided by Balfour Beatty/McCarthy-HKS/Wingler & Sharp.