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Bexar County commissioners unanimously approved a resolution intended to protect Brooke Army Medical Center's military medical mission on Tuesday.
Methodist Healthcare's talk of opening a Level 2 trauma center prompted the resolution. Methodist Healthcare declined to comment on passage of the resolution.
BAMC is where military medical professionals learn the skills needed to treat combat casualties by first treating civilians here who enter the ER with gunshot and stab wounds and accident trauma.
Republican Precinct 3 County Commissioner Grant Moody, a veteran Marine fighter pilot, sponsored the resolution. He said another facility treating trauma patients interferes with BAMC's mission.
BAMC's commander, Col. Kevin Kelly, told commissioners the facility is the Department of Defense's only Level 1 trauma center and certified burn center, as well as a critical national readiness asset.
"Our ability to care for a sufficient volume and range of trauma patients enables military physicians, nurses, medics and other clinicians to develop and sustain the life-saving skills required for combat casualties," he said.
Kelly said 3,500 military medical professionals are currently training at BAMC, and all branches could use more well-trained military medical personnel. He also said they partner with University Health, the area's other Level 1 trauma facility.
Moody, after speaking with some of the nation's top military medical brass, called BAMC the "crown Jewel of military medicine."
In other action, commissioners also appointed Calvin Henry as director of the county’s Department of Military and Veterans Services. Henry, a retired Marine, had been serving as interim director. The department helps active-duty service members transition to civilian employment and connects veterans with benefits and other available programs. Bexar County has an active-duty military and veteran population of about 250,000.
Commissioners directed county staff to post the opening for county manager by Friday. The post must be left open for 30 days. David Smith, the current county manager who has worked for the county for three decades, plans to retire at the end of the year.
They also advanced a $5 million state grant application to help fund the core and shell redevelopment of the South Beach Pavilion at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. The 130,000-square-foot building has been identified by the Defense Health Agency and U.S. Air Force as the preferred site for consolidating headquarters functions. The grant would supplement $25 million already committed by the city and county.
Commissioners also approved $3.5 million for housing and mental health treatment programs aimed at diverting people from the county jail into treatment and reducing repeat incarceration. The funding will also help improve operations at the Bexar County Justice Intake & Assessment Annex. UT Health San Antonio behavioral treatment and University Health outpatient services received most of the money.
They also approved nearly $500,000 for a feasibility study by Pape-Dawson on a proposed Alamo Colleges sports field complex near Interstate 10 and Boerne as well as $40,000 for County Judge Peter Sakai to lead a local economic development delegation on an investment promotion trip to Japan. The mission aims to build on previous economic development successes involving Toyota, Sanko Plastics and American Katerra.
