Col. Steven E. Braverman, who took command in July, said work will begin in late summer next year on the new facility, which replaces a hospital that was built in the '60s.
Braverman outlined the timetable during a media briefing at Fort Hood.
Besides being new with the latest equipment, the building will allow the Darnall medical staff to expand on the capabilities required to treat patients in the 21st century, he said. That would mean centralizing some functions that are now performed off the post.
Funds for the new facility were recently approved. The project will cost about $927 million. Originally, it was to be built in two phases, but now construction will not be piecemeal.
Meanwhile, Braverman said members of the medical staff are making use of various buildings around the fort to provide specialized care.
For example, Darnall established a quick-care clinic for people who for some reason cannot see their primary-care physician but still need immediate but not emergency attention. The concept recently won a national innovation award.
Construction has also begun on a 44,000-square-foot women's health unit, he said.
Darnall will be starting two primary-care clinics off-post, one in Copperas Cove and one in Harker Heights to extend the hospital's reach as staff members try to serve the 100,000 patients enrolled for care there.
And about two weeks ago, the staff opened an evening and late-night clinic to treat people with flu-like symptoms.
H1N1 hits Fort Hood hard
In fact, the flu was a primary topic of Braverman's presentation, particularly the H1N1 flu now making the rounds in the United States.
When the H1N1 flu hit Fort Hood, the staff was seeing about 200 patients with symptoms per day, Braverman said, and that has increased and stabilized at between 240 and 280 per day.
Vaccines for active-duty troops, for whom inoculation is not optional, will arrive in mid-November, he predicted. Vaccine through the state will begin arriving next week. Pregnant women will be first in line, followed by caregivers of children and then those with conditions that could be seriously affected by the flu.
Before coming to Fort Hood, Braverman was deputy surgeon for clinical operations with the Multi-National Corps in Iraq. He is a native of Baltimore.
