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Leaders sign agreement for future military structure in San Antonio

  • Published
  • By Linda Frost
  • 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  A year of positive transition is ahead as a new era of military medical care is established in the San Antonio area, as mandated by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Law.

Air Force and Army Chiefs of Staff have signed an agreement that establishes the San Antonio Military Health System, or SAMHS, which activates Sep. 15, 2011.

SAMHS will serve as the office that provides oversight for clinical, educational, and business operations for all military treatment facilities in the San Antonio region and will be led by Air Force and Army general officers.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Byron Hepburn, commander of the 59th Medical Wing, has been named the first director of SAMHS and Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Caravalho, Jr., commanding general of Brooke Army Medical Center, will serve as deputy director. The positions will rotate Services every two years.

"SAMHS will be dedicated to high quality, patient-centered care with a clear focus on safety and customer service, while providing first-rate graduate medical education and training, state-of-the art research and maintaining a first-class global readiness mission," said Maj. Gen. Hepburn, who will oversee the healthcare for 227,000 beneficiaries in the San Antonio metropolitan area.

Within this system, the current facility known as BAMC will be renamed the San Antonio Military Medical Center, or SAMMC, providing inpatient services, while Wilford Hall Medical Center will be renamed the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, or WHASC, and emerge as one of the Department of Defense's largest ambulatory surgical centers providing outpatient services.

While both military treatment facilities will be staffed with Air Force and Army personnel, SAMMC and WHASC will continue to be commanded by an Army and Air Force general officer, respectively.

"Our expectation for SAMHS is a higher level of functioning. By working collaboratively across Service component lines, we can achieve tremendous educational, staffing, and resourcing efficiencies. These, in turn, will enhance our already world class healthcare services both at home and during deployments," said General Hepburn.