Fitzsimons Army Medical Center
Encyclopedia
The Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (formerly the Fitzsimons Army Hospital) was a medical facility of the United States
military during the 20th century located on 577 acres (2.3 km²) in Aurora
, Colorado
. The facility closed in 1999 and the grounds are being redeveloped for civilian use as the Anschutz Medical Campus
and the Fitzsimons Life Science District
.
The facility was founded by the United States Army
during World War I
arising from the need to treat the large number of casualties from chemical weapons in Europe
. Denver's reputation as a prime location for the treatment of tuberculosis
led local citizens to lobby the Army on behalf of Denver as the site for the new hospital. Army Hospital 21, as it was first called, was formally dedicated in the autumn of 1918 in Aurora, which at the time had a population of less than 1,000. In July 1920, the facility was formally renamed the Fitzsimons Army Hospital after Lt. William T. Fitzsimons
, the first American medical officer killed in World War I.
A new main building, known as Building 500, was built in 1941. At the time, it was the largest structure in Colorado.
The facility was used heavily during World War II
to treat returning casualties and became one of the Army's premier medical training centers. In the 1950s, Dwight Eisenhower received treatment at the facility three separate times for his heart
condition while he was president
. In September 1955, while on vacation at his in-laws' house in Denver, he suffered a myocardial infarction
and was placed in an oxygen tent at the facility. In 2000, a suite of rooms on the hospital's eighth floor was restored to appear as it did when Eisenhower was recovering there.
United States Senator
and 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry
was born at the facility on December 11, 1943, while his father was receiving treatment for tuberculosis
.
In July 1995, the Base Realignment and Closure
Commission recommended the closure of the facility, with the exception of the Edgar J. McWhethy Army Reserve Center, located at the southeast corner of the installation. The closure was completed in 1999 and the reserve center was relocated to the northeast portion of the site. The projected $5 billion (Economic Contributions of Activities at Fitzsimons Life Science District
and the UC Denver Anschutz Medical Campus - Sammons/Dutton LLC, 2008) redevelopment of the facility into civilian use currently includes the construction of the University of Colorado Hospital
's $147 million Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion, and the $509-million Children's Hospital. The medical campus also includes University of Colorado Denver medical education and research facilities, including the Ben Nighthorse Campbell Center for Native American Research, named in honor of the U.S. Senator
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
of Colorado.
Additional facilities currently built at the former base include the Bioscience Park Center and Bioscience East (multi-tenant commercial lab buildings in the planned 6100000 square feet (566,708.5 m²) Colorado Science+Technology Park at Fitzsimons) and 21 Fitzsimons(a residential/retail town center). The future Veterans Affairs
Medical Center is currently in planning.
sophisticated life support
, diagnostic, imaging, and general medical equipment. Military Occupation Specialties
(MOS) graduating from USAMEOS included: 35G, 35S, 35T, and 35U. Optical laboratory technicians were designated as 42E upon graduation of the 21 week optical training course. In the hallways of the USAMEOS training facility hung the pictures of graduating BMET classes over decades of operation.
When the USAMEOS program was first developed, the training program was divided into Basic and Advanced Courses. The basic course work was 20 weeks long. The advanced course work was 32 weeks long. The courses were later changed to a 40 week basic class (35G) and 32 week advanced course (35U). The graduates of the basic course were known as "Super G's" referring to the MOS of 35G. With a small amount of additional course work, USAMEOS graduates could earn an AAS
in Biomedical Equipment Maintenance from Regis University
in Denver.
During the 1990s, the MOS designation was changed to 91A for Biomedical Equipment Repair Technician, and the Basic Course consisted of a 38-week course broken up into twelve modules. Modules included Anatomy
and Physiology
, Basic Soldering
, AC/DC
theory and Ohm's Law
, Transistor
Theory, Digital Circuits, Basic Troubleshooting
, Dental and Pneumatic Devices
, Sterilizers
and Ultrasonic Cleaners
, Linear Circuits
, Spectrophotometers
and Solid State Relays
, and two modules of X-ray
. The school culminated in a field problem where students lived in ISOs and temper tents while filling out paperwork in the field environment to include pulling guard duty. After graduation from the basic course, students would typically be assigned to an operational unit for practical work between the Basic and Advanced Courses. Technical training at USAMEOS was intensive and provided both engineering theory and hands on learning opportunities in an extensive set of labs.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military during the 20th century located on 577 acres (2.3 km²) in Aurora
Aurora, Colorado
City of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. The facility closed in 1999 and the grounds are being redeveloped for civilian use as the Anschutz Medical Campus
Anschutz Medical Campus
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is one of two campuses of the University of Colorado Denver. It is located in Aurora, Colorado...
and the Fitzsimons Life Science District
Fitzsimons Life Science District
The Fitzsimons Life Science District is a redevelopment of the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center.-See also:*Anschutz Medical Campus*University of Colorado Denver*University of Colorado Hospital*Fitzsimons Army Medical Center...
.
The facility was founded by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
arising from the need to treat the large number of casualties from chemical weapons in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Denver's reputation as a prime location for the treatment of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
led local citizens to lobby the Army on behalf of Denver as the site for the new hospital. Army Hospital 21, as it was first called, was formally dedicated in the autumn of 1918 in Aurora, which at the time had a population of less than 1,000. In July 1920, the facility was formally renamed the Fitzsimons Army Hospital after Lt. William T. Fitzsimons
William T. Fitzsimons
Lieutenant William T. Fitzsimons was a United States Army officer in World War I, and is considered the first American officer killed in the war. Fitzsimmons gradruated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1912....
, the first American medical officer killed in World War I.
A new main building, known as Building 500, was built in 1941. At the time, it was the largest structure in Colorado.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to treat returning casualties and became one of the Army's premier medical training centers. In the 1950s, Dwight Eisenhower received treatment at the facility three separate times for his heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
condition while he was president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. In September 1955, while on vacation at his in-laws' house in Denver, he suffered a myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and was placed in an oxygen tent at the facility. In 2000, a suite of rooms on the hospital's eighth floor was restored to appear as it did when Eisenhower was recovering there.
United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
was born at the facility on December 11, 1943, while his father was receiving treatment for tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Closure and transfer of facilities
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
Commission recommended the closure of the facility, with the exception of the Edgar J. McWhethy Army Reserve Center, located at the southeast corner of the installation. The closure was completed in 1999 and the reserve center was relocated to the northeast portion of the site. The projected $5 billion (Economic Contributions of Activities at Fitzsimons Life Science District
Fitzsimons Life Science District
The Fitzsimons Life Science District is a redevelopment of the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center.-See also:*Anschutz Medical Campus*University of Colorado Denver*University of Colorado Hospital*Fitzsimons Army Medical Center...
and the UC Denver Anschutz Medical Campus - Sammons/Dutton LLC, 2008) redevelopment of the facility into civilian use currently includes the construction of the University of Colorado Hospital
University of Colorado Hospital
University of Colorado Hospital is the principal teaching hospital for the University of Colorado Denver, located in Aurora, Colorado.In the most recent U.S. News and World Report hospital rankings, UCH ranked in the top 50 for 7 of 16 medical specialities.In 2005, UCH was redesignated by the ...
's $147 million Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion, and the $509-million Children's Hospital. The medical campus also includes University of Colorado Denver medical education and research facilities, including the Ben Nighthorse Campbell Center for Native American Research, named in honor of the U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell is an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1993 until 2005 and was during his tenure the only American Indian serving in the U.S. Congress. Campbell was a three term U.S. Representative from 1987 to 1993, when he was sworn into office as a...
of Colorado.
Additional facilities currently built at the former base include the Bioscience Park Center and Bioscience East (multi-tenant commercial lab buildings in the planned 6100000 square feet (566,708.5 m²) Colorado Science+Technology Park at Fitzsimons) and 21 Fitzsimons(a residential/retail town center). The future Veterans Affairs
Veterans Affairs
Veterans Affairs is a term of the business that deals with the relation between a government and its veteran communities, usually administered by the designated government agency. It might refer to:*Department of Veterans' Affairs...
Medical Center is currently in planning.
United States Army Medical Equipment and Optical School (USAMEOS)
FAMC was the location of the United States Army Medical Equipment and Optical School (USAMEOS). USAMEOS provided technicians trained in Biomedical Equipment Repair or Optical Laboratory Operations. Biomedical equipment repair personnel (referred to as BMETs—pronounced 'bee/mets') were assigned to military medical units to install, maintain, repair, and calibrateCalibration
Calibration is a comparison between measurements – one of known magnitude or correctness made or set with one device and another measurement made in as similar a way as possible with a second device....
sophisticated life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
, diagnostic, imaging, and general medical equipment. Military Occupation Specialties
United States military occupation code
A United States military occupation code, or a Military Occupational Specialty code , is a nine character code used in the United States Army and United States Marines to identify a specific job. In the U.S. Air Force, a system of Air Force Specialty Codes is used...
(MOS) graduating from USAMEOS included: 35G, 35S, 35T, and 35U. Optical laboratory technicians were designated as 42E upon graduation of the 21 week optical training course. In the hallways of the USAMEOS training facility hung the pictures of graduating BMET classes over decades of operation.
When the USAMEOS program was first developed, the training program was divided into Basic and Advanced Courses. The basic course work was 20 weeks long. The advanced course work was 32 weeks long. The courses were later changed to a 40 week basic class (35G) and 32 week advanced course (35U). The graduates of the basic course were known as "Super G's" referring to the MOS of 35G. With a small amount of additional course work, USAMEOS graduates could earn an AAS
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
in Biomedical Equipment Maintenance from Regis University
Regis University
Regis University is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic, Jesuit university in the United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1877, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
in Denver.
During the 1990s, the MOS designation was changed to 91A for Biomedical Equipment Repair Technician, and the Basic Course consisted of a 38-week course broken up into twelve modules. Modules included Anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
and Physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, Basic Soldering
Soldering
Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the workpiece...
, AC/DC
AC/DC (electricity)
The description AC/DC refers to equipment designed to be operate on either alternating current or direct current . This term typically describes certain types of vacuum tube radio or television receivers. AC/DC equipment was necessary because in the early days of vacuum tubes, some regions were...
theory and Ohm's Law
Ohm's law
Ohm's law states that the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the potential difference across the two points...
, Transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
Theory, Digital Circuits, Basic Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes. It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem so that it can be solved, and so the product or process can be made operational again. Troubleshooting is needed to develop and...
, Dental and Pneumatic Devices
Pneumatics
Pneumatics is a branch of technology, which deals with the study and application of use of pressurized gas to effect mechanical motion.Pneumatic systems are extensively used in industry, where factories are commonly plumbed with compressed air or compressed inert gases...
, Sterilizers
Autoclave
An autoclave is an instrument used to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure saturated steam at 121 °C for around 15–20 minutes depending on the size of the load and the contents. It was invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879, although a precursor known as the...
and Ultrasonic Cleaners
Ultrasonic cleaning
thumb|300px|Ultrasonic cleaner showing the removable basket in place, and a closeup of the light and timerAn ultrasonic cleaner is a cleaning device that uses ultrasound and an appropriate cleaning solvent to clean delicate items...
, Linear Circuits
Linear circuit
A linear circuit is an electronic circuit in which, for a sinusoidal input voltage of frequency f, any output of the circuit is also sinusoidal with frequency f...
, Spectrophotometers
Spectrophotometry
In chemistry, spectrophotometry is the quantitative measurement of the reflection or transmission properties of a material as a function of wavelength...
and Solid State Relays
Solid state relay
A solid state relay is an electronic switching device in which a small control signal controls a larger load current or voltage. It comprises a voltage or current sensor which responds to an appropriate input , a solid-state electronic switching device of some kind which switches power to the load...
, and two modules of X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
. The school culminated in a field problem where students lived in ISOs and temper tents while filling out paperwork in the field environment to include pulling guard duty. After graduation from the basic course, students would typically be assigned to an operational unit for practical work between the Basic and Advanced Courses. Technical training at USAMEOS was intensive and provided both engineering theory and hands on learning opportunities in an extensive set of labs.
External links
- Defense Environmental Restoration Program: Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center|86.8 KB}} U.S. House of Representatives hearings on conversion of the site|14.1 KB}} (Univ. of Texas Library)