DEPARTMENT: Government and Public Affairs
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jeff Coyle
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Resolution in support of Brooke Army Medical Center and its significance to protection of the military missions in the San Antonio region
SUMMARY:
This resolution highlights the importance of maintaining Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) and its significant role in maintaining military missions in the San Antonio Region.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
BAMC is a certified Level 1 Trauma Center and plays a critical role in providing patient care for wounded military service members and civilian members of San Antonio and surrounding communities, as well as offering graduate medical education and research. Along with other medical institutions, the Center provides support to 22 counties in Southwest Texas, covering more than 26,000 square miles and servicing more than 2.2 million people. Monthly, the Center receives more than 6,000 emergency room visits and is one of the 34 hospitals in the U.S. that holds both Level 1 Trauma certification and accreditation from the American Burn Association. It is important to note that 85% of BAMC's trauma patients are civilians without military medical benefits.
By treating a large number of complex trauma cases from the civilian community whose injuries replicate wartime injuries, the Center trains hundreds of military health professionals. These future medical providers are trained to go to war and include more than 8,800 staff nurses, technicians, and other allied health personnel. BAMC has cared for thousands of Service members who were injured in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and nearly 1,500 medical professionals have been deployed in support of those missions. This high volume of patients is an essential element of the training required for military medical professionals and has a direct impact on the decrease in combat fatalities. In short, BAMC is critical to our nation's de...
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