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San Antonio Military Health System

The San Antonio Military Health System (SAMHS) oversees the healthcare delivery of 230,000 Department of Defense beneficiaries in the San Antonio metropolitan region. Healthcare services are provided by the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC), a Level 1 trauma center and DoD’s largest inpatient hospital; Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center (WHASC) and the DoD’s largest outpatient ambulatory surgery center; 19 primary care clinics and over 100 specialty services. The SAMHS military treatment facilities manage a total combined budget of over $839M and contributes over $138M annually in inpatient/outpatient private sector care expenses.

The SAMHS is led by Air Force and Army general officers and is responsible for providing oversight of clinical, educational, and business operations for all military treatment facilities in the San Antonio area. The SAMHS optimizes the direct and private sector healthcare network in its market area and offers improved opportunities for collaboration between the Services and the community. The SAMHS is dedicated to the highest quality, patient-centered care with a clear focus on safety, access to care, and customer service, while providing first-rate graduate medical education and training, state-of-the-art research, and maintaining a first-class global readiness mission.

Establishment of SAMHS

  • BRAC Law 2005 mandated necessary changes to reduce redundancies and inefficiencies by realigning military medical care in San Antonio, Texas
  • Memorandum of Agreement establishing SAMHS was signed by the Air Force and Army Chiefs of Staff on Sep 27, 2010
  • SAMHS activated Sep 15, 2011
  • Executive offices located in the Lincoln Center, I-10 West, San Antonio, Texas

Objectives

  • BRAC Law 2005 mandated necessary changes to reduce redundancies and inefficiencies by realigning military medical care in San Antonio, Texas
  • Memorandum of Agreement establishing SAMHS was signed by the Air Force and Army Chiefs of Staff on Sep 27, 2010
  • SAMHS activated Sep 15, 2011
  • Executive offices located in the Lincoln Center, I-10 West, San Antonio, Texas

SAMHS Structure and Oversight

Led by Air Force and Army general officers, one director and one deputy director (rotational). These officers also serve as the commanders of the 59th Medical Wing (59 MDW) and Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC)

Provides oversight for all military medical treatment facilities in San Antonio. Primary facilities are:

  1. SAMMC - Army inpatient hospital and Level 1 trauma center, under the command of BAMC with Army/Air Force integrated staff. SAMMC is led by an Army commander and Air Force deputy commander
  2. WHASC - Air Force ambulatory surgical center under the command of the 59 MDW that offers primary and specialty care and outpatient surgery with Army/Air Force integrated staff. The WHASC is led by an Air Force commander and Army deputy commander
San Antonio Uniformed Science and Health Educational Consortium (SAUSHEC)
• Manages DoD’s graduate medical education programs in San Antonio
BAMC – The Army command and its subordinate facilities
BAMC provides governance to other Army medical facilities in San Antonio including SAMMC, the Center for the Intrepid, Fort Sam Houston Primary Care Clinic, Taylor Burk Clinic at Camp Bullis, and Schertz Clinic
59 MDW - the Air Force command and its subordinate facilities
59 MDW provides governance to other Air Force medical facilities in San Antonio, including WHASC and Reid Clinic at Lackland AFB, Randolph Clinic at Randolph AFB, and the North Central Federal Clinic



Business Operations

  • Focuses on facilitating and improving business processes to optimize health care delivery by identifying innovative opportunities to improve healthcare services, quality and reduce costs.
  • Seek more options to partner with other DoD agencies, such as the VA and other uniformed services to improve patient access to services and reduce costs of network care.

Clinical Operations

Continuously improves the management of healthcare services and outcomes. Key activities of this office include:

  • Performs studies on high-cost, high-volume referrals
  • Targets disease/conditions by cost, health risk, and resource utilization
  • Identifies and evaluates market best practices
  • Addresses utilization and demand management issues
  • Facilitates collaboration among SAMHS MTFs to control costs (utilization management)
  • Develops efficient approaches to high quality care (case management)
  • Oversees the health of the enrolled population (disease management)

Community and External Partners

  • The SAMHS will facilitate collaboration with numerous community healthcare organizations, local hospitals, the Veterans’ Administration, and other federal healthcare organizations to improve services and access for all beneficiaries.
  • Humana Military is the managed care support contractor (MCSC) for the TRICARE South Region and the San Antonio area. SAMHS leaders meet monthly with Humana Military to address access to care barriers or other issues involving the timely provision of services

Points of Contact

Name Address
San Antonio Military Health System Public Affairs 210-292-3220, 7800 IH 10 West, Ste 220, San Antonio TX 78230
59th Medical Wing Public Affairs 210-292-7688, 2200 Bergquist Drive, Ste 1, Lackland AFB TX 78236
Brooke Army Medical Center Public Affairs 210-916-5119, 3551 Roger Brooke Drive, Command Ste 3rd Floor, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234