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BAMC recognized as 'meritorious' military hospital
February 12, 2020 — This year, 88 hospitals reached meritorious distinction based on strong scores. Risk-adjusted data from the July 2019 ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Semiannual Report was used to show which hospitals had the best outcomes. Hospitals in the survey were recognized for “high-risk” cases, as well as “all cases.”... MORE

Surgical care within the Military Health System helps build and maintain a ready medical force. Results from the adult ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program assist the MHS in creating policy and verifying surgical skills throughout the enterprise's military hospitals.

BAMC hosts tobacco cessation program for beneficiaries
February 4, 2020 — The Brooke Army Medical Center Pulmonary Tobacco Cessation Team at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston is helping beneficiaries reduce and eliminate their dependence on a variety of tobacco products... MORE

An Airman vapes in an authorized smoking area during a break. As of Oct. 29, 2019, more than 1,800 lung injury cases and 37 deaths have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the only commonality among all cases being the patient’s use of e-cigarettes or vaping products.

BAMC observes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 23, 2020 — Staff, patients and family members observed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Jan. 22 at Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston... MORE

Brooke Army Medical Center Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Oates speaks at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day observance at BAMC, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Jan. 22. The event celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. King and highlighted the Army's value of service.

Air Force surgeon general speaks to JBSA medics
January 14, 2020 — U.S. Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Dorothy A. Hogg spoke to medics during a Jan. 9 visit to Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston... MORE

U.S. Air Force Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Dorothy A. Hogg speaks to doctors, nurses and technicians Jan. 9, 2020 during a visit to Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. Airmen from BAMC and Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center gathered for a town hall to hear Hogg’s perspective on the future of military medicine and ask questions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Katherine Spessa//Released)

Main BAMC Outpatient Pharmacy implementing new system to reduce wait time
January 9, 2020 — The Main Outpatient Pharmacy at Brooke Army Medical Center will implement a two-ticket system in February to improve the customer experience and reduce wait times... MORE

Huy Nguyen, pharmacist, dispenses a prescription in the main pharmacy at Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.

BAMC training helps Landstuhl nurses care for critically ill patients
January 7, 2020 — A two-week long training session at Brooke Army Medical Center provided a pair of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center critical care nurses with hands-on training operating and troubleshooting dialysis equipment used in continuous 24 hour-per-day therapy... MORE

Army Maj. Julie Duffy (right), clinical nurse specialist, Intensive Care Unit, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, prepares a cycler used for Continuous Renal Replacement Therapies as Petra Wine, critical care nurse, provides instruction during CRRT training at LRMC's ICU Dec. 19, 2019.

BAMC welcomes first baby of new decade
January 3, 2020 — Brooke Army Medical Center rang in the New Year by welcoming the hospital’s first baby of 2020. The 7-pound, 9-ounce, 19.5-inch-long baby girl was born at 1 a.m. Jan. 1... MORE

Brig. Gen. Wendy Harter, Brooke Army Medical Center commanding general, presents a gift basket from the BAMC Auxiliary to Airman 1st Class Anna Tritley and her husband, Sean, Jan. 3, 2020 to congratulate them on the birth of their daughter, Cora Noel. The 7-pound, 9-ounce, 19.5-inch-long baby girl was BAMC’s first baby of the new year, born at 1 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2020.

BAMC hosts live chat with Army’s first doctor in space
November 29, 2019 — With the holiday season at hand, the first Army doctor in space expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve his nation as a Soldier and a NASA astronaut during his live, in-flight interview with more than 250 staff members, patients and family members Nov. 27 at Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston... MORE

Col. Andrew Morgan, formerly assigned to BAMC as an emergency physician, arrived on the International Space Station July 20, 2019, the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Morgan will spend more than six months conducting about 350 science investigations. “It is an honor to have Brooke Army Medical Center, the gold standard in military trauma and burn care, aboard the International Space Station with me,” said Morgan, who then displayed an organization T-shirt and set a BAMC coin spinning in zero gravity to huge cheers and applause.

Pilot lands plane blind after bird strike
November 25, 2019 — Todd Unruh never believed he was going to die. Even covered in glass, in pain and flying blind, the pilot felt a sense of calm... MORE

Pilot Todd Unruh shares the story of his emergency landing after a bird strike temporarily blinded him while recovering from his eye injuries at Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Nov. 4, 2019.

Breast cancer diagnoses leads to friendship, desire to help others
November 25, 2019 — A diagnosis of breast cancer is a scary thing, especially when your life is already in disarray, but that’s the news a 32-year-old active duty Airman received last summer... MORE

Bianca Rodriguez (left), a breast nurse navigator at Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, talks with breast cancer survivor Air Force Staff Sgt. Desiree Mora Mundt Oct. 31. As a breast nurse navigator, Rodriguez serves as an advocate for her patients, arranging surgery, acting as a go-between for the patient and their provider and even coordinating transportation to and from appointments.

BAMC receives national recognition for surgical quality
November 15, 2019 — The American College of Surgeons recognized Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2018, ranking the hospital among the top 10 percent of participating hospitals for surgical care... MORE

The American College of Surgeons recognizes Brooke Army Medical Center for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2018, ranking the hospital among the top 10 percent of participating hospitals for surgical care. BAMC is one of 88 ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program participating hospitals across the nation that have achieved meritorious recognition for surgical patient care. Additionally NSQIP recognized 72 hospitals on its “All Cases” list and 72 hospitals on its “High Risk” list. As a further distinction, BAMC was among only 56 hospitals recognized on both meritorious lists.

BAMC hones wartime mission, community response skills
November 13, 2019 — Brooke Army Medical Center recently participated in two major exercises to test the organization’s ability to handle a significant amount of casualties using two different scenarios... MORE

Soldiers offload a simulated casualty from an Air Mobility Command C-17 aircraft after arrival at Joint Base San Antonio-Kelly Airfield as part of a U.S. Army Forces Command Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise Nov. 4. The exercise tested Brooke Army Medical Center staff’s ability to receive and provide definitive care to wartime trauma victims, as part of its Role IV wartime mission.

BAMC Veterans Day ceremony honors ‘unbroken chain of patriotism’
November 8, 2019 — Brooke Army Medical Center honored the nation’s “unbroken chain of patriotism” during a Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 1... MORE

Guest speaker retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Juan Ayala praises veterans, past and present, for sustaining an “unbroken chain of patriotism” during the Veterans Day ceremony at Brooke Army Medical Center Nov. 1.

Retirees get special treatment at JBSA
October 31, 2019 — Joint Base San Antonio gave a segment of the community some special treatment during its annual Retiree Appreciation Day, hosted by Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Oct. 19... MORE

U.S. Air Force Capt. Derrick Wells, executive officer, Department of Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center (right) hands out information brochures to patrons during Joint Base San Antonio’s Military Retiree Appreciation Day Oct. 19, hosted by BAMC.

Honduran readiness exercises provide invaluable surgical, training opportunities
October 25, 2019 — Brooke Army Medical Center personnel participated in two separate medical readiness exercises in Honduras recently... MORE

(From Left) Army Spc. Abdiel Santos-Soto, Air Force Maj. Julia Nuelle and Air Force Capt. Tayt Ellison harvest bone to perform a fibular bone graft Sept. 19 during a Medical Readiness Exercise in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. A team of 19 military medical personnel from Brooke Army Medical Center and other military treatment facilities completed 128 procedures from Sept. 14-27.

Mountain cedar allergy season right around the corner
October 10, 2019 — It's that time of year again, when people start sneezing and coughing and they don't know if it's from allergies or a cold. One of the most common allergens in central and south Texas is mountain cedar... MORE

Army Col. (Dr.) Kirk Waibel, allergist/immunologist, prepares to give a mountain cedar allergy test to Army Sgt. Javier Pacheco in the Allergy/Immunology Clinic at Brooke Army Medical Center Oct. 8. Mountain cedar is one of the most common allergens in central and south Texas.

Soldier self-amputates leg to aid battle buddies
October 4, 2019 — A year after his accident and the loss of his leg, Spc. Ezra Maes is still amazed at the circumstances that led to his survival. If you ask, he’ll credit his survival to a uniform belt, smart phone and “shockingly good” cell service. What the 21-year-old Soldier fails to mention is the sheer force of will it took for him to stay alive. ... MORE

Candace Pellock, physical therapy assistant, guides with Spc. Ezra Maes at the Center for the Intrepid, Brooke Army Medical Center’s cutting-edge rehabilitation center on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Oct. 2, 2019.

BAMC honors Fisher House founder
September 30, 2019 — Brooke Army Medical Center staff, patients and beneficiaries took to the field just outside two of BAMC’s Fisher Houses at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston to hold a Founder’s Day Celebration Sept. 20 to honor Zachary Fisher, who initiated the Fisher House program in 1990... MORE

Brooke Army Medical Center’s Color Guard posts the colors at the BAMC Fisher House’s 26th Annual Founder’s Day Celebration at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Sept. 20. The celebration is held every year to honor Fisher House founder, Zachary Fisher.

BAMC provides comprehensive resource for recovering stroke, brain injury patients
September 26, 2019 — Air Force 1st Lt. Jason Hibbetts sits in front of a mirror practicing his salute. This simple action that used to come so naturally now requires much more concentration because the cyber warfare operator, husband and father of two young children suffered a stroke in October 2018... MORE

Air Force 1st Lt. Jason Hibbetts sits in front of a mirror practicing his salute Aug. 13 at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service at Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. The BIRS provides comprehensive out-patient neurorehabilitation for service members, family members and military retirees who are recovering from a stroke or other brain injuries.

BAMC staff helps train Department of Defense doctors
September 11, 2019 — Critical Care staff from Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston helped conduct two days of validation training for military doctors from around the country during the first week of September... MORE

U.S. Army Capt. Mary Truitt, an internist from Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia, performs a survey on a simulated trauma patient at Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Sept. 4. Military doctors from around the country attended training at BAMC for validation training for the Army’s Individual Common Task List and the Air Force Comprehensive Medical Readiness Program requirements.