SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland (JBSA) in Texas has replaced its outdated health clinic, first constructed in 1967, with a newer facility that has earned LEED Gold Certification.  The new Reid Health Services Center encompasses 70,088 square feet of space, inclusive of nearly two dozen departments, and housing areas for radiology, clinical labs and a pharmacy.  It is estimated that the new facility will address the needs of some 86,000 trainees per year. 

Architecture and design firm Hoefer Wysocki of Leawood, Kan., worked in collaboration with design-builder JE Dunn Construction, as well as partners BranchPattern, Bob D. Campbell & Co., Land3 Studio and BHC Rhodeson on the project.  The collective team designed the base’s clinic to meet LEED Silver standards, but through careful planning and development, the clinic has gone one step beyond, scoring a 60 out of a possible 110 points on the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)’s Scorecard.  (A minimum score of 60 is required to win Gold status.)

Ashley Eusey, Hoefer Wysocki’s lead sustainability design manager, said that even in the early phases of design, she was confident that her firm could push the envelope beyond a LEED Silver rating. 

“Rather than working only with JE Dunn in the early phases of the design, we pulled in all of our consultants and began brainstorming ways to make this facility more sustainable,” said Eusey.  “It was truly a team effort throughout the entire project, and vetting sustainability during design and early in the construction phase allowed greater flexibility.”

Hoefer Wysocki announced that the new clinic used evidence-based design (EBD) principles in fostering an environment the firm described as “patient-centered.”  This entails improving safety and quality of patient care inside the Reid clinic and also fostering a positive work environment for staff.  The clinic will also have less of a carbon footprint, the firm said.

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