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

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

BAMC nurses: ‘It’s us against COVID’
July 27, 2020 — With the recent surge in COVID-19, the beds are quickly filling in the intensive care units at Brooke Army Medical Center, a sprawling military hospital and Level I Trauma Center in the heart of San Antonio at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston... MORE

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

‘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

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

No effort spared to bring home seriously wounded Soldier
October 2, 2019 — Over four days, three aircraft, 18 medical specialists, including from the 59th Medical Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, more than 24,000 gallons of fuel, and 100 liters of blood were committed across an 8,000-mile journey to a single goal – saving the life of one Soldier... 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

59th Medical Wing evacuates El Paso patient
June 26, 2018 — Members of the Acute Lung Rescue Team from the 59th Medical Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, perform an Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation procedure on a patient in El Paso, Texas, June 10. The team is the Department of Defense's only medical evacuation team with ECMO capabilities. ECMO enables the team to safely transfer critically ill patients with severe heart and lung issues across long distances for further treatment... MORE

59th Medical Wing executes five missions at once
May 1, 2018 — The 59th Medical Wing orchestrated five air transport missions simultaneously during the week of April 16-2o... MORE

Leadership Federal Executive Board members tour BAMC
February 15, 2018 — Army Col. Booker King explains the life-saving advances provided by the adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, program to federal participants in the Leadership Federal Executive Board during a tour of Brooke Army Medical Center Feb. 14 in San Antonio... MORE

Local Air Force Reserve doctor leads life-saving medevac mission
December 21, 2017 — A week before Thanksgiving, a Navy explosive ordnance disposal technician clung to life in a Baghdad hospital after an roadside bomb he was clearing left his body in tatters... MORE

BAMC’s adult ECMO program receives national recognition
October 30, 2017 — Brooke Army Medical Center has received national recognition for its lifesaving heart-lung bypass program. BAMC’s adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, program has received the Award for Excellence in Life Support from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization. The recognition designates BAMC as a National ECMO Center of Excellence. ... MORE

59th Medical Wing goes to great lengths to bring patient home
March 24, 2017 — On the morning of Feb. 16, 2017, a patient was loaded into an ambulance and rushed to the San Antonio Military Medical Center. He was admitted and tended to by doctors, nurses and technicians just like any other patient. But this patient’s journey to the hospital was unlike any other that day... MORE