Army

Canandaigua, New York – Another milestone was recently reached on the Canandaigua VA Medical Center construction project as the USACE team was able to turnover the Phase 1 facilities back to the Department of Veterans Affairs Canandaigua VA Medical Center.

The work taking place at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center is currently allotted into three phases. Phase 1 included demolition of Building 2, construction of an Outpatient Clinic, a Chilled Water/Emergency Power Plant, new power and water systems, and temporary Laboratory and Main Kitchen to support ongoing healthcare operations throughout the nearly six-year construction period.

Gerry DiPaola, USACE Project Manager for the Canandaigua VA Medical Center construction, attributed success thus far to the teamwork and dedication of the entire Project Delivery Team.

“Over the past six years, the number of team members working tirelessly towards this milestone, including those that have moved on from the project, is impressive. They have overcome many challenges to ensure the work in Phase 1 was able to be completed,” he said. “I want to acknowledge the efforts of our CFM partners, working together, to bring this project to reality for the Veterans of the Finger Lakes region.”

Matthew Lowe, Chief of the Veterans Affairs Division for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, agreed that partnership has been key to the success of the project.

“Renovating and upgrading a VA medical center influences multiple stakeholders with a variety of interests and issues to navigate. It was very encouraging to have everyone involved working together to ensure success for this project,” he added. “The VA team, both CFM and the Canandaigua Medical Center have been instrumental in working through challenges and unknowns throughout these projects. I believe any success on the project is directly tied to the partnership having a mutual interest and overall goal of delivering for our Veterans.”

DiPaola said there are many issues that need to be considered when working on an active medical facility’s campus.

“One key consideration is to be able to have an active functioning medical center, in other words, maintaining patient services and seeing them with minimal disruption to their normal routine while the work was taking place,” he said. “It’s a great accomplishment – keeping the existing facility up in operation while constructing new infrastructure and renovating the existing.”

The work being done at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center is possible due to recommendations from the Department of Veterans Affairs Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) study, which identified that some decades-old facilities were being underutilized.

“This project enhances the use of the current VA Medical Center in Canandaigua. A study was conducted by the VA and it identified an underutilization of facilities at Canandaigua and so to improve services and Veteran access, planners at the Department of Veterans Affairs called for a modern and consolidated outpatient clinic – a 21st-century outpatient clinic – along with community living center complex, to include cottages and community center, to provide housing to veterans that would benefit from an assisted living type of environment,” DiPaola explained. “So basically, the project improves the delivery of healthcare by consolidating infrastructure and clinical services under one roof and enhances the assisted living care type of facility.”

Lowe said he is proud to be a part of this project that will benefit thousands of Veterans for years to come.

“For over 25 years, I’ve had the pleasure to be involved with new construction, renovated facilities and infrastructure projects on various military installations, but VA projects are special. You are proud to be part of something that supports and takes care of our Veterans,” he shared. “In a small way, all of us working these projects get to serve the men and women who were willing to sacrifice it all for our country. It’s humbling and I’m grateful to be part of what we’re doing to benefit Veterans.”

The Canandaigua VA Medical Center project includes the construction of a new 84,000 square foot Outpatient Clinic, a new chiller/emergency generator plant, renovates 85,000 square feet of existing facility space, and upgrades of existing roadways and site utilities as well as the construction of eight cottages comprising 96 individual rooms in a neighborhood like setting and a community center.

These state-of-the-art facilities were designed to blend seamlessly into the existing historical campus and provide world-class healthcare to approximately 65,000 Veterans living in the greater Finger Lakes region.

The construction area for a new construction project to build a new $28.08 million barracks building is shown Nov. 7, 2023, at Fort McCoy, Wis.

The contractor for the project, BlindermanPower (Construction), received the notice to proceed with construction on Sept. 26, 2023, and has 780 calendar days to complete the project.

The project requires building a four-story, 60,000-square-foot barracks about to house 400 people. Two other barracks of the same specifications have already been built in the same block at the installation since 2019.

Overall, it is part of a big transformation taking place at the 1600 block that includes the building of four barracks — two of which are already done, three brigade headquarters buildings, and two planned transient training officer quarters, according to the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works.

This project is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz’s Headquarters & Headquarters Company welcomed its new first sergeant during an assumption of responsibilities ceremony held at Armstrong’s Club here, Nov. 13.

First Sgt. Jonathan Holden received the unit’s colors from Captain Gabriela Montañez, HHC commander.

Holden comes from the 377th Theater Sustainment Command in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he served as the company first sergeant. Prior to that, he served within the 21st Theater Sustainment Command located on Panzer Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, Germany, from 2017-2020.

“I was really surprised to be selected for this assignment because I left Germany only a few years ago,” said Holden. “But I am glad to be back!”

After enlisting in the U.S. Army in 2003, Holden developed an extensive background in Army logistics, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice, a minor in sociology, and a master’s degree in business administration.

He is now looking forward to working with everybody at USAG Rheinland-Pfalz.

“As a servant leader, it is my job to take care of our people, as well as their health, morale, discipline and welfare,” he said. “I look forward to assisting the company commander in maintaining the successful standard, as well as enhancing the proficiency of our company.”

USAG Rheinland-Pfalz serves, supports, and secures the total force community enabling power projection for the European Theater.

For more photos, please visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usag_rp/albums/72177720312639440

By Bernard S. Little

WRNMMC Command Communications

The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) recently reaccredited the Armed Services Blood Bank Fellowship Specialist in Blood Banking program at Walter Reed.

“The review is a two-step process that includes a self-study document and a site visit. The site visit, that took place Oct. 23, verifies the information in the self-study document is correct and assesses the program’s compliance with CAAHEP standards,” explained Army Maj. Steven McDaniel, chief of blood services and regional blood manager at Walter Reed. He also serves as chief of research and education for pathology.

McDaniel added the accreditation site visit occurs every five years, and the last inspection of services at Walter Reed was in 2018. He credits William Turcan, the program director/education coordinator, Dr. James Long, medical director for blood services, and the entire blood services team for a successful site visit that included interviews with program officials, faculty members, current students, and program graduates, and a tour of the blood services’ facilities and classroom spaces.

“The program continues to surpass all CAAHEP standards with no deficiencies,” McDaniel stated.

The Armed Services Blood Bank Fellowship is an 18-month program founded in 1958 and mandated in 1972 by the Department of Defense (DOD) to accomplish the mission of maintaining an adequate military blood program. The tri-service training program prepares officers to become managers of large military hospital blood banks, transfusion services, blood donor centers, area and joint blood program officers, and service blood program officers. The need for blood bank specialty officers is indicated by the rapidly developing accreditation and federal regulatory requirements, which impact blood collection, processing, immunohematology testing, and the transfusion of blood and blood components.

The fellowship offers specialty, graduate training to fulfill the needs of the military services and the blood product needs, unique from other blood bank programs, McDaniel explained. The military program addresses the history of armed services’ blood banking, operational and mobilizing plans for blood support of combat casualties, and future blood planning of the Armed Services Blood Program at the Department of Defense level.

During its 65-years history, more than 300 students have graduated from the program, which began at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) when it was located on the campus of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, D.C. The fellowship was established to train a cadre of officers to staff blood programs, hospital transfusion services, and donor centers during peace and war. In 1966, the fellowship transferred to the U.S. Army Medical Research Laboratory at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In July 1974, the fellowship was realigned under the Blood Bank Center at Fort Knox. It transferred to WRAMC in July 1976, and in September 2011, moved to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. It is currently located within the Department of Pathology. The program includes more than 40 weeks of didactic and clinical training. The Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center (formerly Fort Belvoir Community Hospital) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is an additional clinical site for transfusion service and administrative operations for the program. In addition, fellowship students participate in various site visits, including to the Armed Services Whole Blood Processing Laboratory East at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, and the West Point blood drive, an annual Army tradition providing students with an appreciation for large-scale donor center operations.

The didactic curriculum for the program includes subjects such as coagulation, hematology, blood banking methodology, blood donor qualifications, collection and storage of blood for transfusion, anemias, platelet disorders, disorders of leukopoiesis, circulation, immune destruction of red cells, shock, and more.

The clinical curriculum includes donor recruitment and records, donor history and phlebotomy, donor blood process, record maintenance and donor files, preparation of blood components, transfusion service area, quality assurance, histocompatibility and tissue type, coagulation laboratory, diagnostic immunology, transplantation support and more.

The CAAHEP is a programmatic postsecondary accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The commission carries out its accrediting activities in cooperation with 25 review Committees on Accreditation, setting standards for quality assurance in health professions education.