The Army is changing the way it delivers health care to the families of its soldiers and expanding beyond the walls of its own installations. Tuesday the Army Surgeon General cut the ribbon to open a new medical clinic in Clarksville just for active-duty families.
These clinics are about the size of a large primary care practice in the civilian world. They will be placed near 11 installations around the country, and Fort Campbell’s is the very first.
Lt. Col. Bradley Lieurance of the Army’s medical command based in San Antonio says the Clarksville clinic represents a major shift.
“It’s really the first of its kind, specifically for Army, where we’ve taken health care off post. We’ve always delivered all of our health care in our hospitals on the installation.”
Lieurance says the primary care clinics are more cost effective for the Army and more convenient for families, most of whom now live off post in nearby communities.
Also, the clinics are supposed to provide some continuity for Army families who move frequently. Each of the clinics will look identical and share the same database of electronic health records.
The Fort Campbell clinic will see its first patients in two weeks.
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