DGMC@20: Sharing our future, remembering our past Published Feb. 4, 2009 By Jim Spellman 60th Medical Group Public Affairs TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The opening line to the Beatles' magnum opus, "Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" says it all: "It was 20 years ago today . . ." Dec. 19, 1988 marked the day the doors to the Air Force's newest hospital at Travis AFB opened to patients and staff, officially replacing an aging 39-year-old facility affectionately known as "the hospital on the hill," but bearing the same name: David Grant USAF Medical Center. 20 years later, DGMC continues to represent a major milestone in the history of the Air Force Medical Service by serving military beneficiaries throughout eight western states. To mark the passage of time, DGMC's command staff, led by Col. (Dr.) Lee E. Payne, 60th Medical Group commander, made their rounds serving ice cream and cookies to staff in the hallways and work areas of the immense facility. "This small gesture is partly in recognition of the 20th anniversary date, but also to show our appreciation for the recent 'Excellent' rating we received during the just completed Air Force Inspection Agency's Health Services Inspection and Joint Commission visit," explained Doctor Payne. Named in honor of Maj. Gen. David Norvell Walker Grant, the first surgeon general of the U.S. Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces, DGMC is the largest inpatient military treatment facility in Air Mobility Command and the second largest in the United States Air Force, providing a full spectrum of care to a prime service area population of 95,934 TRICARE beneficiaries in the immediate San Francisco-Sacramento vicinity and 377,000 Veterans Administration Northern California Health Care System eligibles. "The present state-of-the-art medical center was built at a cost of $193 million through a unique design-build contract," said Mr. Dan Andersen, facility manager for DGMC. "This enabled the project to be completed ahead of schedule and $8 million below original budget projections." According to Mr. Andersen, DGMC is divided into three separate patient zones: inpatient nursing units, diagnostic and treatment areas, and outpatient clinics designed around five large courtyards. These provide a pleasing environment for staff and patients, as well as natural lighting and views for patient rooms. Situated on a five acre campus, the medical center encompasses 808,475 net square feet with 3,662 rooms. It is currently staffed to operate 84 inpatient beds (expandable to 176), 41 aeromedical staging facility beds (expandable to 50) and 52 dental treatment rooms in the adjacent Arthur J. Sachsel Dental Clinic. With a "footprint" measuring greater than two football fields in width and almost four football fields in length, the horizontal nature of the medical center is very impressive. The facility has received five national awards for design and construction, is built to withstand major earthquakes and can operate for up to a week using integral utility capabilities. Additionally, integral structural components and foundations are sized for future vertical expansion. The addition of the Travis Fisher House in January 1994 and the Veterans Administration's Fairfield Outpatient Clinic in February 2000 has only enhanced DGMC's capabilities. Currently undergoing its first multiphase structural improvements and renovations since first built, DGMC will soon be adding new services from cardiothoracic surgery to the latest cutting-edge technology in radiation oncology programs. DGMC currently operates with an annual budget of $119 million and is staffed by 2,507 personnel, which includes 592 active duty officers, 1,006 enlisted personnel, 67 Individual Mobilization Augmentee reservists, 265 Civil Service civilians, 339 contractors, 78 Red Cross workers and 160 highly dedicated military retiree volunteers. Based on Fiscal Year 2008 data, total patient encounters numbered 323,099, with an average day consisting of 1,306 outpatient visits, 167 dental appointments, 13 admissions, 7.5 surgical operations, 6 hyperbaric chamber treatments, 1.4 babies delivered, 1,226 meals served, 3,119 prescriptions filled, 427 radiographs taken and 1,683 lab tests conducted. DGMC is also one of only two inpatient mental health AFMS facilities and has a modern 12-bed medical/surgical intensive care unit. However, the building -- despite its imposing size -- is only a small part of the overall medical mission it performs. DGMC's greatest strengths and attributes are the medical professionals that serve under its roof. Because it is a military medical center, DGMC's personnel are "America's First Choice" in responding to global missions as the Air Force's second largest medical readiness platform. According to Dr. Payne, DGMC personnel perform wide-ranging expeditionary medical missions for both combat support and humanitarian missions, from Iraq to Afghanistan and the Indonesian Tsunami to Hurricane Rita and California's wildfire relief efforts stateside. DGMC also fulfills a key role in the national response plan as the Sacramento region's federal coordinating center for the National Disaster Medical System. "As one of the Air Force's constant deployer model sites, DGMC personnel are currently providing the lead support to the Craig Joint Theater Hospital in Bagram, Afghanistan, and medical/surgical support to the Joint Theater Hospital in Balad, Iraq," explained Dr. Payne. "DGMC fields 1,577 mobility positions with 730 personnel holding 150 different Air Force specialty codes, filling primary deployment roles on 114 different standard unit type codes. Our current steady state has approximately 150 medical personnel deployed in support of Aerospace Expeditionary Force rotations and humanitarian missions 'Anytime, Anywhere' - while ensuring world-class medical care and service to its customers at home." 20 years and growing, with new missions and multi-million dollar expansion plans in the works, the beat goes on at DGMC.