JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-Lackland, Texas –
The 59th Medical Wing celebrated the opening of the new Reid Health Services Center facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 13 on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
The new two-story clinic includes 19 departments such as medical processing, a pharmacy, clinical labs, and radiology. Personnel from the 559th Medical Group will serve approximately 86,000 patients per year.
“It incorporates functions of four buildings into one,” said Col. Rebecca Blackwell, 559th MDG commander. “[This] improves the opportunity for teamwork by simplifying communication and increasing patient centeredness with a one-stop service.”
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the new clinic was sited in a vacant lot adjacent to the existing clinic and located on the south edge of the new Basic Military Training Complex, allowing easy pedestrian access by the trainees.
Upon completion of the construction, the clinic staff transitioned into the new facility over two weekends, avoiding disruption to the medical services.
In addition to supporting basic and technical training members, the 559th MDG delivers primary and operational healthcare services to more than 130 units on JBSA-Lackland, including students from around the world studying at the Defense Language Institute English Language Center and the Inter-American Air Forces Academy.
“We are honored to re-dedicate the new Reid Health Services Center to Senior Master Sgt. David B. Reid as it now bears the original bronze plaque from the 1994 dedication,” said Blackwell.
Originally built in 1967, the Reid Health Services Center, located at the former Building 6612, was dedicated to SMSgt David B. Reid in 1994.
SMSgt Reid was serving as a First Sergeant at today's 20th Medical Group at Shaw Air Force Base when he and all on board tragically lost their lives in a C-130 crash in 1985, en route to Honduras, to care for troops a temporary duty location there. Prior to becoming a First Sergeant, SMSgt Reid was a "908", a veterinary technician, a Public Health technician in today's Air Force.
It is particularly fitting that the Military Treatment Facility that is home to the Air Force's largest Public Health flight is named for him. By all reports, SMSgt Reid loved serving with and serving Airmen, a true servant leader and the ideal namesake for a clinic whose mission is to deliver operational health and resilient warriors who will go on to become heroes of the future, serving a mission and calling, just as SMSgt Reid did.