Joint Base San Antonio > News

From the battlefield to the football field: Air Force surgeon’s skills knows no bounds
February 7, 2023 — On Jan. 2, when many football fans were watching the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Lt. Col. Valerie Sams, an Air Force surgeon, was on call at UC Health’s University of Cincinnati Medical Center not knowing what she was about to face... MORE

59th MDW: Life-saving ECMO program hits milestone
February 25, 2022 — Since the adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program began at Brooke Army Medical Center more than a decade ago, the integrated teams of Airmen, Soldiers and civilian medical personnel have completed more than 200 transports... MORE

Critically ill COVID-19 patient delivers baby while on heart-lung bypass
January 7, 2022 — A Marine Corps spouse and mother of five was 28 weeks pregnant when she caught a “mild case” of COVID-19 in June 2021... MORE

Critically ill COVID patient delivers baby while on heart-lung bypass

BAMC offers ‘last line of defense’ against COVID-19
August 10, 2020 — Brooke Army Medical Center is expanding its use of a highly specialized treatment many consider the “last line of defense” for critically ill COVID-19 patients... MORE

Nurses tend to a patient on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, in a COVID-19 intensive care unit at Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, July 17, 2020.

San Antonio Military Health System expands COVID-19 critical care capabilities
July 14, 2020 — The San Antonio Military Health System is expanding its ability to care for critically injured and ill community members to help ease the COVID-19 burden on the local healthcare system... MORE

Members of the 555th Forward Surgical Team rush a simulated trauma patient to surgery during training with the Strategic Trauma Readiness Center of San Antonio, or STaRC, at Brooke Army Medical Center.

‘Game-changing’ virtual health care saves Soldier’s life
June 23, 2020 — A specialized team from Brooke Army Medical Center virtually supported a heart-lung bypass on the West Coast, saving a Soldier’s life and marking a first for this lifesaving program... MORE

Air Force Col. (Dr.) Phillip Mason, medical director, Brooke Army Medical Center Adult ECMO Program, and other BAMC personnel instruct medical staff on proper extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, cannulation technique at Naval Medical Center San Diego, Dec. 11, 2019.

U.S. Army Medical Department Board tests extracorporeal life support
March 5, 2020 — The U.S. Army Medical Department Board, U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, performed a test at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis Feb. 18-20 that could dramatically improve battlefield survivability... MORE

Cancer survivor shares emotional reunion with BAMC ECMO team
April 3, 2019 — A cancer survivor recently had an emotional reunion with some of the members of an elite team of medical providers at Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston and saw the machine that helped save her life... MORE

Rita Ibanez hugs Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Matthew Read, acting Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation medical director, at Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, March 22. Ibanez met with Read and other members of the ECMO team to thank them for the care she received in 2015.