Skip main navigation

Military Health System

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene

Emergency procedures are in place in multiple states due to Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene. >>Learn More

Army hospital powers through record-breaking winter storms

Image of A military medical center covered in snow. Brooke Army Medical Center endures a deluge of snowfall at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Feb. 18, 2021. Services at BAMC were limited for several days during two record-setting winter storms. (Courtesy of Brooke Army Medical Center)

With record-cold temperatures and potential power outages looming in South Central Texas last week, Brooke Army Medical Center immediately launched into action to ensure continuity of patient care despite the impending storms.

With safety at the forefront and to conserve resources, BAMC first delayed all non-urgent medical appointments and procedures to ensure emergency services and trauma support to the city remained unaffected. This measure enabled patients and non-emergency-essential staff to stay off icy roads and safely at home.

“As a Level I Trauma Center, it is vital that we maintain our critical care mission and support to our community partners, while ensuring the safety and well-being of our service members, patients and staff,” said BAMC Commanding Army General Brig. Gen. Shan K. Bagby.

To ensure continuity of care, BAMC’s healthcare professionals stayed for hours past their shifts, in some cases overnight, until icy roads thawed and personnel relieving them could safely travel to the hospital.

Many staff members went above and beyond, pitching in to replenish supplies and aid with bed coordination for staff needing to stay overnight. In one case, nursing supervisor Michelle Garrish spent three nights in the hospital to help cover shifts, while Army Staff Sgt. Russell Johnson offered to pick up staff who were unable to drive in. Air Force 1st Lt. Cruz Williamson stayed three hours past her shift, with another three hours spent driving to her house, which was without electricity. Still, she assured her supervisor she would just take a quick nap in case she needed to come back to work.

These are just a few examples of the many contributions over the past week, noted Army Lt. Col. Jody Brown, deputy commander for inpatient services. I am enthusiastically grateful to work with this outstanding team of professionals,” she said. “The communication and unity of effort across the hospital was superb and a testament to the team’s training and professionalism.”

With the ongoing below-freezing temperatures and intermittent snow and ice, BAMC also temporarily closed outlying clinic services for the week to include COVID screening and testing and vaccine administration.

“We made some difficult decisions with safety at the forefront,” Bagby said.

Additionally, at the request of CPS Energy and as part of Joint Base San Antonio’s city support, BAMC transitioned to generator power for close to 48 hours earlier this week to aid the community’s power conservation efforts. The city’s power reached critical levels this week due to the increased demand on the system, spurring many planned rolling power outages across the region to conserve power.

“BAMC was well-prepared to provide this community support,” said Army Col. Michael Wirt, BAMC deputy commanding officer. “About a year ago, BAMC completed an extensive upgrade to the central energy plant, bringing the latest power technology to the facility. Additionally, BAMC personnel train to respond to power outages, both planned and unplanned, throughout the year to ensure their readiness for a real-world event.”

The power transition, which was transparent to patients, did not impact BAMC’s inpatient care mission or support of the city’s trauma mission. Alongside University Hospital, BAMC is one of two Level I Trauma Centers in the region, providing support across a 26,000-square-mile, 22-county expanse. 

“We have an active and long-standing partnership with the community, which enables us to act as a cohesive, efficient system in times of crisis,” said Air Force Col. Patrick Osborn, deputy commander for surgical services. “I am deeply impressed with the BAMC team’s contributions as well as the incredible efforts of our emergency services personnel across the city.”

BAMC’s ongoing training and recent response to the pandemic were key factors in the hospital’s rapid and successful response to the weather this week, Bagby noted.

“Over the past year, we have been leveraging virtual health, telework and operational flexibility with great success,” he said. “Our training and experience were huge contributors in our ability to respond quickly, calmly and with expertise over the past week. I am incredibly proud of our staff and their determination to put our patients first in all that we do.”

Staff are not the only ones well-versed in continually evolving conditions, Bagby added. “Our patients have also exhibited resilience, support and understanding, not just over the past week, but throughout the entire year.”

With warmer weather anticipated this weekend, BAMC will resume services and continue its COVID response of screening and testing and vaccinating eligible phase 1b personnel next week.

As for the staff, the weather event will mark another challenge surmounted in an already difficult year.

“I am so proud and grateful for the way our people rise to this and every occasion,” said Air Force Col. Heather Yun, deputy commander for medical services. “Every one of our teammates has been personally affected by the storm, but nevertheless show so much compassion, empathy, diligence and professionalism. We will all have stories to tell after this week, and we will be telling stories of grit, care and an incredible community that rose to yet another remarkable occasion.”

You also may be interested in...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol. 17 No. 1 - January 2010

.PDF | 1.85 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Outbreak report: Malaria in a U.S. Marine reserve unit deployed to Benin; Surveillance Snapshot: Influenza reportable events, service members and other beneficiaries, 2009-2010; Update: Deployment health ...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol. 17 No. 2 - February 2010

.PDF | 1.85 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Medical evacuations from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), active and Reserve components, U.S. Armed Forces, October 2001-September 2009; Accidental injuries from hand-to-hand ...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol.17 No. 4 - April 2010

.PDF | 1.21 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: To readers of the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report (MSMR); Hospitalizations among members of the active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2009; Ambulatory visits among members of the active component, U.S. ...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol. 17 No. 7 - July 2010

.PDF | 1001.96 KB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Low back pain, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2000-2009; Thoracolumbar spine fractures, active and reserve components, 2000-2009; Tendon ruptures, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2000-2009; ...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol. 17 No. 12 - December 2010

.PDF | 736.51 KB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Numbers, proportions, and natures of conditions that are diagnosed for the first time within six months before retirement, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2003-2009; Osteoarthritis and spondylosis, active ...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol. 17 No. 9 - September 2010

.PDF | 936.83 KB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Contact transfer of vaccinia virus from U.S. military smallpox vaccinees, U.S. Armed Forces, December 2002-May 2010; Updates: Routine screening for antibodies to HIV-1, civilian applicants for U.S. military ...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol. 17 No. 10 - October 2010

.PDF | 1.07 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Illness and injury diagnoses within six months before retirement after 20 or more years of active service, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2000-2009; Cold weather injuries, U.S. Armed Forces, July 2005 - ...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol. 17 No. 8 - August 2010

.PDF | 910.19 KB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Sexually transmitted infections, U.S. Armed Forces, 2004-2009 (corrected version: posted 30 March 2011); Surveillance snapshot: Malaria among deployers to Haiti, U.S. Armed Forces, 13 January - 30 June 2010; ...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol. 17 No. 11 - November 2010

.PDF | 2.85 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Supplemental report: Selected mental health disorders among active component members, U.S. Armed Forces, 2007-2010; Mental disorders and mental health problems, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, January ...

Report
Jan 1, 2010

MSMR Vol. 17 No. 6 - June 2010

.PDF | 990.95 KB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Incident diagnoses of cancers and cancer-related deaths, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, January 2000-December 2009; Surveillance Snapshot: Lightning-related medical encounters, 2009-2010; Brief Report: ...

Report
Jan 1, 2009

MSMR Vol. 16 No. 4 - April 2009

.PDF | 1.07 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Hospitalizations among members of active components, U.S. Armed Forces, 2008; Surveillance Snapshot: Deaths among active component service members, 1990-2008; Ambulatory visits among members of active ...

Report
Jan 1, 2009

MSMR Vol. 16 No. 12 - December 2009

.PDF | 1.85 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Deriving case counts from medical encounter data: considerations when interpreting health surveillance report; Risk factors for migraine after OEF/OIF deployment, active component, U.S. Armed Forces; Acute ...

Report
Jan 1, 2009

MSMR Vol. 16 No. 9 - September 2009

.PDF | 1.38 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Cold weather-related injuries, U.S. Armed Forces, July 2004 - June 2009; Surveillance Snapshot: Influenza immunizations among health care workers; Preliminary report: Outbreak of novel H1N1 influenza aboard ...

Report
Jan 1, 2009

MSMR Vol. 16 No. 7 - July 2009

.PDF | 1.17 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Lyme disease among U.S. military members, active and reserve component, 2001-2008; Asthma, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 1999-2008; Deployment health assessments update; Sentinel reportable medical ...

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search
Last Updated: January 19, 2024
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery