SAN ANTONIO – Brooke Army Medical Center is not only treating its own patients for COVID-19 but also taking in trauma patients from 22 counties across Southwest Texas to help ease the burden on local health care systems.
“Over the last couple of weeks, like we did in the last two surges, we have taken more of that trauma load off of University Hospital. So (Southwest Regional Advisory Council) can load balance patients and prioritize other patients, COVID patients, to University and keep them from getting overwhelmed,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Patrick Osborn, surgeon-in-chief for the San Antonio Military Health System and the deputy commander for Surgical Services at Brooke Army Medical Center.
Osborn said BAMC is getting patients from facilities that don’t have the resources to treat severe injuries.
“We’re taking all that again to support and really maintain overall the regional trauma system and allow our other health care partners to focus on COVID care because everybody is really in a crunch due to this current surge,” Osborn said.
BAMC has also seen an increase in COVID-19 patients.
“Our average age is younger than in the past surges, and I will say that our census is larger than it had been in the previous surges,” Osborn said.
Osborn said BAMC is providing COVID-19 testing and vaccines to military members, retirees and their families.
“The vaccination site is on Fort Sam Houston, and it is quite a machine and very well set up, very efficient,” Osborn said.
With COVID-19 not leaving any time soon, Osborn said BAMC health care professionals are ready to help any way they can.