DGMC celebrates National Hospital Week

  • Published
  • By By 60th Medical Group Public Affairs and the American Hospital Association
  • 60th Medical Group
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The nation's most traditional health care event unites hospitals, health care workers and communities from coast to coast, building enthusiasm and pride in the giving nature of care.
Today, according to the American Hospital Association's Hospital Statistics, nearly 6,000 hospitals and over five million dedicated staff members serve as beacons of hope in their communities.

A look back shows just how far we've come.

The first hospital in America was built in Philadelphia in 1751 at the urging of Benjamin Franklin. But early hospitals were far from today's modern technological marvels.

While they served a vital role, they were slow to win over a population for whom hospitals were unfamiliar and even frightening places.

1918: The Year of Fear sets the stage for National Hospital Week

While medicine was advancing, disease remained a formidable enemy.

The flu outbreak of 1918 would become the deadliest epidemic in American history. Over the course of the year, the so-called "Spanish flu" would kill more than 600,000 Americans.

It changed everyday life. Cities like San Francisco mandated the wearing of face masks and made it illegal for citizens to remove them in public. In October alone, 195,000 Americans died.

Chicago's crime rate dropped 43 percent, with local authorities attributing the dubious decline to the horrific toll the outbreak was taking on the city's lawbreakers.

This climate of fear and fatalism captured the attention of a Chicago magazine editor in 1921. In a column, the editor proposed a radical idea: he called for hospitals to open their doors to the public for just one day, and for the public to come inside and see the modern advances that had turned these long-dreaded halls into impressive care centers.

The nation responded

On May 12, 1921, America celebrated its first National Hospital Day.

Fittingly held on Florence Nightingale's birthday provided a window of opportunity for hospitals to capture the trust of their communities. The event spread across the country and was expanded to National Hospital Week in 1953. Today, the annual celebration continues to be held during the week of the legendary nurse's birthday, a symbol of her lasting impact on health care.

Today's version of the commemorative celebration demonstrates that hospitals are foundations of the communities that built them and nurture them. According to Hospital Statistics, hospitals admit almost 37 million patients each year, treat another 117 million in emergency departments and see another 545 million for other outpatient needs. On any given day, 658,000 patients fill U.S. hospital beds.

DGMC: Jewel in Travis' crown

Here at Travis, the David Grant USAF Medical Center is the second largest inpatient military treatment facility in the Air Force, providing a full spectrum of care to nearly 82,000 Tricare beneficiaries in the immediate San Francisco-Sacramento vicinity and 400,000 Veterans Administration's Northern California Health Care System eligible population.

DGMC currently operates with an annual budget of more than $90 million and 2,548 active duty, civilian, contractor and volunteer staff members. Total patient encounters numbered 323,099 with an average day amounting to 1,257 outpatient visits, 170 dental appointments, 18 admissions, 2,401 prescriptions filled and 1,445 lab tests conducted. DGMC is also one of two inpatient mental health facilities.

The present state-of-the-art medical center was completed in 1988 at a cost of $193 million through a unique design-build contract, which enabled the project to be completed ahead of schedule and $8 million below original budget projections. DGMC is divided into three separate patient zones: inpatient nursing units, diagnostic and treatment areas and outpatient clinics designed around five large courtyards, which provide orientation for staff and patients, as well as natural lighting and views for patient rooms.

DGMC encompasses over 808,475 net square feet with 3,662 rooms. It is currently staffed to operate 84 inpatient beds (expandable to 176) and 38 aeromedical staging flight 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 evident. 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 internal utility capabilities. Additionally, key structural members and foundations are sized for future vertical expansion.

Hospitals like DGMC today are multi-dimensional facilities covering every area of specialization, with a focus on wellness and a reach that extends into the communities they serve. During National Hospital Week, millions of Americans make their way to these special places to see the new breakthroughs and technologies that bring an ever-increasing sense of hope for the future.

This year, the American Hospital Association is paying tribute May 11 through 17 during National Hospital Week by celebrating the pride, professionalism and people of health care with the inspiring slogan "Where Healing Happens Everyday."

This theme spotlights the extraordinary work hospitals like DGMC do as they strive to create better health and better health care for the communities they serve. Their commitment helps fulfill the promise that began more than 85 years ago.