Drum secures funds to expand clinic

FORT DRUM — Expansion of Guthrie Medical Clinic could mean less strain on the region's other medical facilities.

"It'll take a load off the community because we won't be competing for those appointments," said Col. Jerome Penner III, commander of the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity, who oversees the medical clinics and the wounded soldier unit at Fort Drum.

He said that while it's difficult to staff medical positions in the north country, the post has increased its staffing levels over the past year. He noted the increase in behavioral health specialists on post, going from 34 counselors at this time last year to 50. These increased numbers of staff members across all areas, he said, should take pressure off the outside community, on which Fort Drum has been dependent for its health-care needs.

Fort Drum secured $27.5 million in funding to create a 49,500-square-foot addition to the clinic and to renovate the 62,500-square-foot building. The construction would bring family and soldier care into one building, instead of having them at separate facilities on post. The Guthrie Clinic now serves only family members and operates a physical therapy unit for soldiers.

"It's a soldier and family care model that combines instead of splitting apart," said Maj. Ross A. Davidson, chief of the Logistics Division for the medical command. "The population is growing, so MEDDAC is growing too."

There will not be much change in services offered by the clinic, just a change in layout and the amount of space. The laboratories, physical therapy facilities and pharmacy will expand and new medical equipment will be brought in for the entire clinic. Following the completion of the addition, renovation will take place on the older part of the building, which will be the future home of soldier care.

The project will begin in phases this fall and should take 30 months to complete.

Behind the expansion and renovation was the Base Realignment and Closure Commission assessment from 2005. That analysis decided that facilities needed to be expanded to serve the growing population at Fort Drum. That included all things medical.

The Guthrie expansion isn't the only project under way with the medical activity. Construction will begin this fall on a new Warrior Transition Unit complex, which will include new barracks and headquarters offices. The complex, which will serve injured soldiers, will be directly across from the Guthrie Clinic. Currently, the wounded soldiers are housed across post and it was determined that moving them closer to the medical facilities would be better for them and for the staff.

The first phase of development, a total of $33.5 million, is to begin this fall and be completed in 2010. Money has yet to be secured for the second and third phases of the project, which would add more barracks, another headquarters office, a dining hall and another physical therapy facility.

Also in the works, and set to start construction Monday, are the post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury buildings. They will be directly behind the Guthrie Clinic. These buildings are part of a larger behavioral health effort, the Wilcox Center, on post.

The Wilcox facility will be a one-stop shop for soldiers and families seeking help dealing with alcohol and drug abuse and other behavioral health issues. That facility is set to open within 90 days.

The last construction project for the Guthrie Clinic is a short-term child care center. The center would be a place where parents could leave their children while they go in for an appointment. There are centers like this on post, but none is close to the clinic.

"Families are already stressed out when they come here," Col. Penner said. "We are trying to bring everything to one place. When it's this close it's convenient. We don't want to have a mother with three kids stopping at two or three different places just to get to her appointment."