| Physical Address: |
Weed Army Community Hospital
170 Inner Loop Road,
Fort Irwin, CA, 92310
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| Business Hours: |
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Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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| Contact Information: |
24/7 Hospital Main Desk:
(COM) 866-957-9224 or
(DSN) 470-3114
Appointments: (COM) 1-866-460-5305
or (DSN) 971-866-460-5305
24/7 Tricare: 1-800-874-2273
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| The Weed Army Community Hospital on Fort Irwin |
The Weed Army Community Hospital (WACH) is part of the United States Army Medical Department Activity, better known to service members by its acronym MEDDAC. It is an award winning general medical and surgical hospital on Fort Irwin, California, with 27 beds. The main facility was opened in 1968. The vision of the organization is "Treating Patients Like Family".
The nature of care provided at the WACH focuses on primary care, as well as occasional severe trauma. The WACH has a staff of professional care providers to include specialists in General Surgery, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Family Practice, Mental Health, and one flight surgeon. A Physical Therapist, a Dietitian, and Optometrist complement the staff of health care providers.
The Clinical Laboratory, Radiology Department, and Pharmacy Service furnish necessary support activities, all of which result in comprehensive primary care.
Patients requiring a higher level of treatment are referred to other military as well as civilian treatment facilities if necessary.
The approximately 500 service members and civilians who comprise the hospital staff provide 24/7 support to the National Training Center (NTC), and Fort Irwin Garrison Community, an approximate population (including rotational units training at NTC) of 13,000 civilians and military service members. The NTC is a major training area with over 1,000 square miles of maneuver areas, state of the art training facilities and ranges, with airspace restricted to military use. Although Fort Irwin and the NTC are operated by the U.S. Army, military from all the services, as well as foreign NATO military forces regularly train at the NTC prior to deployment.
Fort Irwin's isolation, harsh climate and austere landscapes make it an ideal site for a variety of realistic NTC training and exercises; consequently for the same reasons the Weed Army Community Hospital is a vital facet of support to the local community, of which approximately 64 percent of the non-rotational population households consist of a spouse and one or more children under the age of 18.(attribution: 2010 U.S. Census).
A new $160 million, 216,000 square foot hospital, currently under construction is scheduled to replace the Weed Army Community Hospital in 2016. The opening of the new facility will mark a significant milestone in the United States Department of Defense commitment to delivering world-class healthcare to all service members and their families and underlines the importance of the NTC and the role MEDDAC personnel and facilities play in support of service members and their families at Fort Irwin.
The Weed Army Community Hospital is named after General Frank W. Weed, U.S. Army veteran of both World Wars. During WWI Weed was stationed in China and the Philippines, then sent to France where he served in the Hospital Division of the Chief Surgeon's Office, American Expeditionary Forces, as Transportation Officer in Charge of hospital trains, and ambulances. Weed's organizational genuis and his understanding of moedern medicine were instrumental in the movement of American Expeditionary Forces sick and wounded back to the Untied States, from the arrival of the AER in France until July 1919. During this period Weed directed the evacuation of over 100,000 sick and wounded from the front back to the U.S. During WWII Weed found time as assistant editor and editor-in-chief to research, compile and refine "Medical Department of the U.S. Army in the World War" a fifteen-volume set regarded by many as a monumental work of life-saving military medicine. The WACH distinctive unit insignia represents elements of Weed's many contributions to military medicine and healing as well as his lifetime of selfless-service.
The WACH is tobacco-free, which promotes a healthy environment for its patients, staff and visitors.
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