Working the front desk at the Carl R. Darnall Emergency Department are Irene Heron, left, medical support assistant and Lesia Darley, charge nurse.
Grasslands Clinic, Woodlands Clinic and Wildflowers Clinic. The new medical center and hospital is a Level II trauma center, which also serves as a point of emergency for the general community. “As a Level II trauma facility we can handle community accident victims, and perform life-saving surgery, if that is needed,” Thompson said. “A Level III trauma hospital has holding capacity, but if someone needs life-saving surgery, they can do that, but then they need to transfer out the patient.” Over the years, as the Fort Hood community grew, multiple additions were constructed to the previous hospital. Thompson said after spending $500,000 for hospital space, it was time to think new hospital. Construction for the new facility began in 2010 and its doors opened this year. Thompson said the old hospital across the grounds is in a decommissioning stage and will be converted into office spaces, a women’s health clinic and primary care medicine. 60
AUGUST 2016 | TEX APPEAL
“It’s a very big hospital. There are increased patient areas, space for families, each room has a window and the neonatal ICU has individual patient rooms for each baby where families can be with their babies in privacy.” Col. Mark Thompson, CRDAMC commander “Some places need little renovation, and we will move in at the end of August,” said Thompson. “Other areas will take more time to renovate.” Thompson said they have a three-year occupancy plan for the old building.
New age in medical care The new 21st century medical center is 947,000 square feet with six floors. There are 151 patient rooms, each with its own picture window that seems to bring the landscape of the surrounding hill country into the room. All rooms are private with the exception of the behavior
health floor, where Thompson said having two people to the room can be beneficial. “They have a buddy in there with them,” he said. Six different on-site clinics at Darnall, and three off-post clinics offer families convenience in health care. Behavior health is a critical aspect of care at CRDAMC, and when it comes to treating post-traumatic stress syndrome Thompson said they have created a system to give soldiers access to behavior health doctors. He said several behavior health teams have moved out of the hospital and were imbedded in the “footprints of the units they serve.”