Eisenhower Army Medical Center continues history, mission to care

Eisenhower Army Medical Center continues history, mission to care

The Signal

By DDEAMC Public Affairs Office

02.05.10

The original hospital was constructed on Camp Gordon in 1941. It consisted of 139 separate one-story buildings over 80 acres of land with 9 miles of corridors. The present consolidated building was constructed between 1973-1975. Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center was dedicated April 24, 1975, in honor of the former General of the Army and 34th President of the United States. The 14 story medical center measures 622,661 square feet and occupies another 314,011 square feet in outlying buildings on Fort Gordon. The mission of the medical center is to provide world class comprehensive and compassionate care to our Nation’s warriors, their families, retirees and all other directed beneficiaries, while maintaining unit and personnel readiness to meet the demands of our Nation.

The medical center currently takes care of over 48,400 ben- eficiaries that include 9,100 active duty Soldiers, 13,441 active duty family members, 20,063 retirees and their family members and 5,885 active duty trainees. DDEAMC is also taking care of over 300 Soldiers assigned to the Warrior in Transition Battalion.

A typical day at Eisenhower includes 2,790 visits to our outpatient clinics, 52 inpatients, 13 admissions, 884 radiology procedures, 1,719 laboratory procedures, 140 immunizations and 3,204 prescriptions filled in our pharmacy department. The medical center boasts a 92.9 percent overall customer satisfaction rate by our patients. The workforce of the medical center is 2,843 with 1300 civilians, 1030 active duty Soldiers, 400 contractors and 113 Red Cross volunteers.

DDEAMC offers a wide range of world class medical specialties including cardiothoracic services, vascular services, head and neck, orthopedics, general surgery, surgical oncology, cardiology, clinical research, nuclear medicine, gastric bypass surgery and neurosurgery. The medical center serves as a regional referral center for southeast United States and the Caribbean and is accredited by the Joint Commission.

We recently opened the Army’s only residential treatment facility for active duty personnel who are having difficulty with drugs and alcohol. Our inpatient program is based on abstinence, evidenced based treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational counseling, 12-step recovery model and other support therapies in treating addictions. The RTF also offers a weekend marital retreat and a comprehensive one week family program for spouses.

With our partnership with the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center our traumatic brain injury program provides state of the art medical care to patients with severe to mild TBI. Patients cared for in the TBI service generally have returned from deployments with complex physical, cognitive and psychological symptoms, which require long term multidisciplinary care. The program is the only one in the Department of the Army to be validated, meeting standards set by the Office of the Surgeon General proponency for rehabilitation and reintegration.

DDEAMC is the other teaching hospital located in the Central Savannah River Area. Our graduate medical education and training programs include family practice, internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, transitional internship, oral surgery, health care administration, clinical pastoral education, clinical psychology, surgical podiatry, social work, nurse anesthesia, operating room technician, radiation technician, Laboratory Technology course, Practical Nurse course, Combat Life Saver course, Special Forces medic training, and emergency medical technician transition/sustainment.

We are also home to a Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher House. The Fisher House is designed to be a home away from home to provide temporary lodging in a warm, compassionate and caring environment to members of our Armed Services, veterans, and their families during a medical crisis. It is a place where families can relax, unwind and provide emotional support to each other during a time of need, and to escape from the tensions of the hospital environment. The Eisenhower Fisher House has seven private rooms with a TV and full baths. The house has a large communal kitchen, dining room, living room, laundry room and computer room. In 2009, the Fisher House provided over 2,400 lodging nights to active duty family members, retirees and veteran family members.