TRICARE benefits available at local SA facilities

Military family members and retirees in the San Antonio area are invited to enroll for primary care at their local military treatment facility.

As part of a market-wide campaign, San Antonio Military Health System is reaching out to TRICARE beneficiaries ages zero to 64 who receive their primary care in the community asking them to consider "coming home" to military health care, said Maj. Gen. Jimmie O. Keenan, market manager for SAMHS.

"It gives me great pleasure to invite military families to our world-class military treatment facilities for all of their health care needs," Keenan said.

SAMHS provides management and oversight of all military treatment facilities located in the San Antonio area and comprises Army and Air Force units that include Brooke Army Medical Center and the 59th Medical Wing.

In total, SAMHS provides primary care for nearly 140,000 beneficiaries at 13 clinics located throughout the San Antonio area, Keenan said, noting there's room for about 8,500 more active-duty service members, military retirees and their family members to enroll. The San Antonio area has a total of more than 240,000 military beneficiaries who are eligible for care.

"We'd like to provide our high-quality, patient-centered care for as many of our beneficiaries as possible," said Col. Kyle Campbell, commander of Brooke Army Medical Center. "We consider it a tremendous privilege and an honor to care for these most-deserving patients."

Throughout its facilities, SAMHS embraces a patient- centered medical home model that fosters a partnership between patients and medical teams to meet preventive, routine and urgent needs, Keenan said. As an added benefit, patients are able to securely email their Primary Care Manager via a secure system called Relay Health or MiCare.

"We are committed to providing exceptional, world class health care for U.S. service members, retirees and their families," said Maj. Gen. Bart O. Iddins, commander of the 59th Medical Wing at nearby JBSA-Lackland. "Consequently, we will continue to improve customer service and access to health care services. Moreover, we are equally determined to improve health care quality and patient safety with cutting-edge research and innovation across all spectrums of military medicine."

Retired Army Col. Edward Taylor and his wife, Rose, both SAMHS patients, said they're impressed by the military's quality of care.

"I'm amazed every time I go to any of the clinics or offices or operating rooms; they're absolutely magnificent," Taylor said. "My wife and I are very fortunate to be able to come in here for our medical care."