U.S. ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT ACTIVITY-KOREA

OVERVIEW

The Brian Allgood Army Community Hospital (BAACH), located at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, Seoul, South Korea, includes command and control of all troop medical clinics on the Korean peninsula. Its mission is to provide expert patient administration services in support of patient care to the Eighth United States Army and all supported forces throughout the Korean theater of operations across the entire spectrum of plausible conflicts, from peacetime engagements through combat operations.

BAACH is a world-class medical center that offers the highest quality of medical care for Service Members, family members, civilians, and retirees. The main tenant unit residing in BAACH is the 121st Combat Support Hospital, providing the staff with inpatient and outpatient care. The staff includes a mix of Active-Duty Soldiers, civilian employees and local Korean national employees. As the primary U.S. military treatment facility in Korea, the BAACH provides routine and specialty health care for all eligible beneficiaries on the peninsula.

With a 48-bed capacity, the BAACH provides annually, 359,526 outpatient encounters, cares for 1,367 inpatients, fills more than 263,840 prescriptions, performs 1,234 surgeries and 239 births with a workforce consisting of both military and civilian personnel.

CAPABILITIES

• Emergency Medicine
• Primary Care (Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Flight Medicine)
• Medical Services (Dermatology, Neurology, Internal Medicine)
• Behavioral Health (Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Work, AMIOP, Family Advocacy)
• Surgical Services (OB/GYN, ENT, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Podiatry, OMFS, Neuro-Surgery)
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Physiatrist, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy)
• Preventive Medicine (Occupational Health, Public Health Nursing)
• Nutrition Care

PARTNERSHIPS

BAACH is engaged in more than 40 partnerships with purchased care sector providers (PCSP) off the installations. Network PCSPs accept the TRICARE negotiated rate as payment in full for services rendered. Participating PCSPs meet TRICARE licensing and certification requirements, and are certified by TRICARE to provide care to TRICARE beneficiaries.

RENOVATIONS

The BAACH continues to provide health care to all eligible beneficiaries during its upcoming transition and relocation to U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys within the next few years. The new BAACH will be sized to support 65,000 eligible beneficiaries and 5,000 annual inpatient admissions. The new Ambulatory Care Center will be sized to support 56,300 eligible beneficiaries and 200,000 annual outpatient visits. BAACH’s capability will expand from its current 48 bed set-up to 68 total inpatient beds with support from six intensive care unit (ICU) beds, eight labor and delivery (L&D) beds and 14 behavorial health beds. In conjunction with the new facility, a 1,000 space parking structure is being constructed along with 949 surface parking spaces.

The words “Out Front,” “Fight Tonight” and “Katchi- Katchida (We Go Together),” ring out every day in the lives of the Soldiers, civilians and family members assigned to the 65th Medical Brigade in South Korea. With a heavy focus on readiness, the Brigade will begin its transition as part of the Eighth United States Army’s efforts to move forward the posture of an enduring legacy of service within the Republic of Korea. Currently ongoing efforts to relocate the majority of operations to two enduring hubs in the vicinity of Pyeongtaek and Daegu are underway and the relocation of medical, dental and veterinary assets are part of that transition to improve the readiness as an Alliance and enhance partnerships within local communities.

The 65th Medical Brigade is a forward deployed medical unit within the U.S. Army, and is comprised of Headquarters, Headquarters Company; Brian Allgood Army Community Hospital/121st Combat Support Hospital; 106th Veterinary Detachment; 618th Dental Company Area Support; U.S. Army Material Command Korea and the 168th Multifunctional Medical Battalion.

Their mission is to provide Army Health Systems in support of Unified Land Operations and Armistice Health Care in the Korean Theater of Operations while maintaining the most competent, disciplined and combat ready Medical Brigade in the Army by improving the health and resiliency of both Soldiers and families while maintaining a “fight tonight” readiness.

Over the course of the next few years, the Brigade will be undergoing a period of transformation, development, growth and recommitment to excellence.

Beginning this summer, elements of the Brigade Headquarters, currently located in U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, will relocate to one of the 630 newly built buildings at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in the South Korean port city of Pyeongtaek.

At the end of May, the elements of the 618th DCAS will open the doors to the largest dental treatment facility within the U.S. Army Dental Corps. This 79-chair facility at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, known as the Carius Dental Treatment Facility, will support the projected 40,000 eligible beneficiaries and will be the only place on peninsula for dental specialty care.

Later in the fall of the year, a brand new Troops Medical/Dental Clinic (aka Soldier Center Medical Home) will open to support 10,000 eligible active duty beneficiaries by offering flight medicine, physical therapy, optometry, dental hygiene, ancillary services and family practice.

Also in the works and scheduled later this year will be the consolidation of the Veterinary Services into one building, to include pet care center, lab, food inspection and military working dog care to support 4,000 eligible beneficiaries.

At the start of the upcoming Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) School System year, a brand new building will also open for Education Development Intervention offering both physical and occupational therapy and early intervention screening within the local area schools.

A brand new medical warehouse, motor pool, arms room and barracks are also being constructed to provide support for the 95th Blood Support Detachment, the 563rd Medical Logistics Company, the 121st CSH and other Brigade logistical units.

Perhaps the biggest medical asset on U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys will be the brand new Brian Allgood Army Community Hospital. Currently located at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, the BAACH will transition to the new location in the next two to three years to support 65,000 eligible beneficiaries and 5,000 annual inpatient admissions. The Ambulatory Care Center is sized to support 56,300 eligible beneficiaries and 200,000 annual outpatient visits. With a 68-bed capacity, the new hospital will incorporate 6 intensive care units, 40 medical/surgical units, 4 operating rooms, 14 behavioral health units and 8 labor and delivery units as well as a 1,000 spaces parking garage.

Through this $10.7 billion project, which will see U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys triple in size to accommodate tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians moving south as the U.S. vacates much of U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul and two dozen other facilities used since the Korean War, the 65th Medical Brigade will continue to transform as a team by providing military medicine care and develop more partnerships with its local ROK counterparts while continuing to maintain medical readiness on the peninsula.

By William Wight
Pacific Regional Medical Command

YONGSAN, South Korea – For the Soldiers and medical personnel assigned, here, at the 121st Combat Support Hospital (CSH), being able to transition to their wartime mission, in the event of potential hostilities, means an abundance of training.

Typically during the first quarter of each year, the 121st CSH conducts a Live Surgery Exercise within the confines of its Critical Care Corridor.

The Critical Care Corridor consists of the Operating Room (OR), an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a Recovery Ward, along with Patient Administration, Radiology and Pharmacy sections.

Once the corridor was established, surgeons, nurses, anesthetists, and laboratory and OR technicians conducted their training, which includes live surgeries performed on the Brian Allgood Army Community Hospital (BAACH) campus.

With patient safety always at the forefront, the exercise demonstrates an integrated training approach to maintain “Fight Tonight” readiness by offering armistice healthcare with a tactical transition to field medical care equipment.

According to CSH leaders, the training of the critical care corridor is the lifeblood of the CSH and is a key component to the “Fight Tonight” mission.

Medical professionals say they are able to successfully demonstrate and validate their capability in providing patient care, using real live patients who volunteer to participate in the training while undergoing elective surgeries.

Leaders also added that pushing patients through the critical corridor purposefully stresses the patient flow processes and validates the readiness of the OR’s capabilities to conduct live surgery in the event a transition to hostilities occurs.