Base Hospital Closure Published April 26, 2006 By Col. Larry Riddles 375th Medical Group SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- As of Oct. 1 2006, the medical services provided to the Scott Air Force Base community will begin to undergo major changes because of recommendations by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure commission and Air Force Medical Service force restructuring. There will be no change in the medical services available to Team Scott, only changes to how they are provided. On base, the hospital emergency room and inpatient services will close on Sept. 30. Following this closure, all base emergency medicine and inpatient services will be provided by local hospitals. The base 911 system for medical emergencies will not change. Medical emergencies will be transported by ambulance to the nearest available hospital ER, typically St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in neighboring Belleville. It is important to remember that in the case of true medical emergencies (threats to life, limb, or vision); Tricare automatically authorizes any beneficiary to seek immediate emergency medical care at the nearest medical facility. When the base ER closes, a transitional Acute Care Clinic will open. The Acute Care Clinic will provide care for patients whose medical issues are not true emergencies, but cannot wait for a scheduled appointment with their primary care provider. The Acute Care Clinic will be open 7-days-a-week, and hours for the clinic will be advertised before its scheduled opening in October. The 375th Medical Group’s on-base surgical services will also be outpatient-based beginning Oct. 1. Patients requiring emergency surgery or major elective surgery will have their procedures performed at local community hospitals. In many cases, our military surgical and medical specialists will still provide specialty care for our patients at these hospitals. The final portion of the 375th MDG service line transition will happen on Sept. 30, 2007. The 375th MDG transitional Acute Care Clinic will close, all on base outpatient surgical services will cease, and civilianization of base ambulance service will be completed. The 375th MDG will then be a completely outpatient-based, primary care medical facility. As an outpatient facility, the Family Practice Clinic in Belleville, along with the Flight Medicine and Women’s Health clinics, and dental services will remain unchanged. While many changes are planned for on base medical services, there is no change in the medical services available to Scott Tricare beneficiaries. What will change is how and where these medical services are delivered. There will be a greater reliance on our strong medical network and our Tricare medical care support contractor, HealthNet. The 375th MDG will remain ready to provide world class outpatient primary care health services to its patient population. In addition, the 375th MDG and HealthNet will ensure that medical services required by our patients are available and readily accessible when needed. In the coming months, expect to see and hear more information about the changes ahead for the medical services at Scott. Town hall meetings, commander calls, and other community informational sessions are being planned to ease patients into the planned changes. The 375th MDG stands ready to provide the highest quality health care, while continuing to ensure that our community can access the care they need , when they need it.