BACH unveils completion of three-year, $68M expansion
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Blanchfield Army Community Hospital has been under construction in some form or another since 2012.
On Thursday at Fort Campbell, the three-year, $68 million construction and renovation project came to its official end.
BACH's commander, Col. Telita Crosland, and others unveiled the hospital's new Behavioral Health Wing ("E" wing), Mother-Baby Unit and helipad during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday outside the hospital.
"These renovations and new facilities represent our Army's commitment to ensuring that our soldiers, retirees and their families are provided the resources necessary to deliver the quality of care they absolutely need," Crosland said during the ceremony.
The project consolidated the Adult Behavioral Health and Child and Family Behavioral Health System, creating an entire wing dedicated to behavioral-health care. About 4,500 square-feet was added to the Mother-Baby Unit, allowing all mothers to have private rooms. Parking was also expanded as well as a new helipad constructed.
Renovations, additions highlight BACH commander's first months
Crosland said even upgrades such as the look of the facilities will help them deliver quality care to patients.
"A lot goes for first impressions, it puts you at ease," Crosland said after the ceremony. "When you walk into a place and it looks good, it's professional and the quality is there, it takes the anxiety down just a little bit."
In addition to the expanded service, the hospital also renovated its administrative building ("A" wing), adding about 4,600 square-feet of space.
The old emergency center also received an overhaul. A new 13,540 square-foot emergency center opened earlier this year and the old 8,025 square-foot center was remodeled into a waiting, reception and triage area.
The hospital's Central Utility Plant was also upgraded to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 3.0 silver certifiable rating. The upgrade will allow for more environmentally friendly use of water and energy and provide improved indoor air quality, officials said.
"When you see a project come to fruition after three long years, it feels gratifying to get the staff in place and open it up to the community," Crosland said. "The community really has been very patient and flexible as we've gone through this."
Maj. Gen. Steve Jones, commanding general of the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School and U.S. Army Health Readiness Center of Excellence, also traveled to Fort Campbell on Thursday to attend the ceremony.
Jones, a former commander of BACH, said Thursday that he remembers seeing BACH in 2002, ahead of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and commended the staff's dedicated service then and now.
"Few of us would have predicted we would still have troops in Afghanistan and Iraq today," Jones said. "The past 14 years have been marked by deployments that have been too frequent and too long.
"But while most of our nation lives life as usual, the soldiers, families and indeed the entire Fort Campbell community are doing the heavy lifting in this conflict; and that includes the hospital staff whose compassion and commitment is evident as they serve shoulder-to-shoulder with the war fighters, providing care on the battlefield while their colleagues provide care back home."
The most noticeable upgrade is the hospital's new behavioral health wing, located in the southeast corner at BACH. The facility is strictly dedicated to providing treatment for all kinds of behavioral-health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
Crosland said she's impressed with not just Fort Campbell's effort to provide behavioral-health care, but the Army's effort as a whole.
Brigades at Fort Campbell also have embedded behavioral health specialists who help to catch signs of anxiety, depression and PTSD before they evolve into something more severe.
"I think the military's commitment to behavioral health and dealing with not just PTSD but all aspects of it is tremendous and demonstrated with the resources we put to it," Crosland said.
Reach Ray Howze at 931-245-0750 or on Twitter @rayhowze_leaf.