In 2001, ret. Lt. Gen. James Peake, M.D., then Army Surgeon General, directed the assessment of the Army Medical Department’s ability to care for large populations of combat amputees. That same year an amputee care center was established at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. In 2005, Brooke Army Medical Center began caring for amputees. In 2007, three DOD Advanced Rehabilitation Centers were established to rehabilitate military amputees. The VA established an Amputee System of Care across the United States with Regional Amputation Centers and Polytrauma Amputation Network Sites. Significant advances in the treatment and rehabilitation of extremity trauma and amputee patients resulted from the efforts at these sites.
In 2009, the EACE was legislated by Congress as a collaborative organization to enhance partnerships between the DOD and VA as well as institutions of higher education and other appropriate public and private entities.
Unique to the EACE, is a Congressional mandate under the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act to “conduct research to develop scientific information aimed at saving injured extremities, avoiding amputations, and preserving and restoring the function of injured extremities.” The EACE will optimize multi-disciplinary team management strategies, with a focus on conducting scientific research to improve the clinical outcomes of our patients as they return to the highest possible level of physical, psychological, and emotional function.