Wilford Hall takes step forward in BRAC process

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Kimberly Spencer
  • 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNEWS) --  Brooke Army Medical Center and Wilford Hall Medical Center take another step toward base realignment and closure.

Effective March 1, the two medical centers will combine their Travel Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Henry M. Jackson Foundation clinics' outpatient services.
 
The combined services, to be located at BAMC, will be part of the mandated San Antonio Military Medical Center merger. In time, BAMC will become SAMMC North and WHMC will become SAMMC South.

The clinic is the first Air Force internal medicine subspecialty clinic to integrate outpatient services with their Army colleagues across town.

"The integration will co-locate a larger number of physicians, nurses and support staff members, which will bring together a tremendous amount of expertise and research experience under one roof," said Maj. (Dr.) Mark Rasnake, 59th Medical Wing Infectious Diseases Flight commander. 

In addition, the physicians in the fellowship program will have the benefit of a broader education experience, the major said.

Following the merger, Army Col. (Dr.) Duane Hospenthal will be the SAMMC Infectious Diseases Service chief and Dr. Rasnake will be the assistant chief.

"I am looking forward to working more closely with our Air Force colleagues," Col. Hospenthal said. He is also the Surgeon General of Army's Infectious Disease consultant. 

"The integration of the San Antonio military infectious disease services to a single site will allow us to leverage our resources to continue to provide the best possible care to the local military community and those Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Sailors injured overseas," he said. 

"This will enable us to enhance the care we provide to active duty service members, retirees, and their families here in San Antonio while continuing to support the global war on terrorism overseas through the deployment of our staff members," the colonel said. 

Patients, 18 and older,  who will be traveling abroad will visit the BAMC Travel Medicine Clinic for consultation on vaccination requirements for the country the individual will be visiting. Recommendations will be provided to the patient based on their vaccination history and the country's health risks. Following their initial appointment at BAMC, patients can opt to receive any needed vaccinations at BAMC or WHMC's Immunization Clinic. 

The WHMC inpatient infectious diseases service will not be affected. There will still be an infectious diseases physician on-call for inpatient cases at Wilford Hall 24 hours per day. However, some cases may require further outpatient treatment by the infectious diseases clinic where the patient will need to travel to BAMC until their treatment is complete.

The joining of the two Henry M. Jackson Foundation clinics will integrate a $1 million funded HIV research program. Maj. Vincent Marconi, the 59th MDW HIV Research Program director and AF HIV Medical Evaluation Unit director, will be the director at the combined site.

"The integration is a great stepping stone in the effort of merging medical services," said Tech. Sgt. Arwa Conde, the 59th MDW Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine Clinic NCO in charge. "Joint medical care is just another way the military is advancing and modernizing the way we operate. It is even more important today in the military medical community because, when we are out on the field, we work together to save lives as medical personnel, not as Air Force or Army medical members."

The new contact number for the clinic and patient appointments is (210) 916-5554 and will be located on 7E of BAMC.

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