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JBSA News
NEWS | Jan. 30, 2017

Patients, staff the stars at Center for the Intrepid 10th anniversary celebration

By Lori Newman BAMC Public Affairs

More than 500 people attended the 10th anniversary celebration of the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Jan. 27.

The stars of the day were the patients and staff members, both past and present. Several former patients, including motivational speaker and author retired Army Staff Sgt. Shilo Harris, retired Staff Sgt. Turned comedian Bobby Henline and many others were on hand for the event.

“Ten years ago today really makes me feel a bit emotional,” Harris said. “I’ve been struggling for words most of the morning.”

“Thank you for being here on this special day to reflect on the accomplishments of the alumni patients, the former and current staff members and the generosity of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund who gifted the Center for the Intrepid to the Army 10 years ago,” said Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Johnson, BAMC commanding general.

Arnold Fisher, honorary chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, reflected on the fact the center was built with 100 percent of the funds donated by 600,000 Americans.

 “The work that is being done here is incredible,” Fisher said. “The advances that you have made in helping rehabilitate the men and women who have served our country is fantastic. It is very heartwarming to come back here and see the progress that has been made by the medical profession and the therapists that have worked here.”

Fisher said when the center was built; he had hoped that someday it would no longer be needed.

“Apparently that’s not going to happen,” he said. “It’s important for centers like this to stay open and keep abreast of all the current technology.”

Fisher highlighted the other Intrepid sites throughout the United States for service members with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress, which were also built by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

“I’ve been lucky in my life to be an American and living in this country,” he said. “You just can’t take from this country, you have to give back. That’s what I want to do. I want to do it because I’m an American. No word means more to me than that word.”

Lt. Col. Joseph Alderete, CFI medical director, recognized the former directors and program managers of the CFI by having them stand so everyone could applaud the work they had done.

“We thank you for your years of service to our country and for your dedication and compassion to our war wounded,” he told them. “You truly set the bar.”

Alderete said, despite the decline in the number of combat wounded patients, the CFI continues to serve those with limb amputation, limb trauma and complex orthopedic patients.

“Last year we had more than 35,000 patient visits to the Center for the Intrepid,” Alderete said. “Our patients continue to challenge us. We take a piece of every patient with us. We are grateful for what they teach us and most importantly, we are honored to participate in every struggle. They help us stand firm in readiness for our next conflict.”

Lt. Col. Kathleen Yancosek, CFI director, explained the holistic approach the CFI uses to help their patients rehabilitate.

“We operate under a sports medicine paradigm called POWER, an acronym for performance optimization warrior enhanced rehabilitation,” Yancosek said. “This is a place where high expectations are set by our staff and met by our patients. We remain in the business of restoring patients to the highest level of function possible.”

Col. David Duplessis, chief of the department of rehabilitation medicine, highlighted the importance of the research being done at the CFI.

“In the past decade, the Center for the Intrepid has accomplished significant scholarships through 99 research protocols, 82 publications and 175 national and international presentations, in addition to countless awards and accolades,” Duplessis said. “We are committed to cutting-edge research efforts, which have shaped prosthetic and orthotic design, surgical intervention and individualized therapy for severely wounded patients over the last decade.”

“We are here to celebrate the enormous contributions the Center for the Intrepid has made for our nation’s wounded warriors,” Johnson said, praising the staff members for creating new and innovative treatments, which advanced the field of rehabilitative medicine.

“Through the established leadership at Brooke Army Medical Center and the intrepid spirit of past and present patients and the dedication of staff members, the center remains in a steady state of readiness to care for severely wounded patients, both today and in the future,” Johnson said. 

Johnson closed his remarks by reading a letter from former president George W. Bush praising the CFI staff for the care they provide service members.

Following the formal ceremony, guests were invited to tour the facility. A new logo and mosaic in the lobby were also unveiled.

Karen Johnston, a guest who attended the ceremony, said she has seen a video about the CFI but was grateful for the opportunity to tour the building.

“The building itself is impressive, but the state-of-the-art equipment and the innovations for amputees is really impressive,” she said. “I’m so glad I had the chance to see it first-hand.”

“This is the best facility with the best patients and it’s a family,” said 1st Lt. John Arroyo, a patient at the CFI. “We just want to say ‘thank you’ to America.”