Photo By Rodney Jackson | Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Commander, Col. Garrick Cramer gives acting...... read more read more
FORT CAVAZOS, Texas – Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Dr. Stephen Ferrara, visited Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on April 17, where he met with hospital leadership, toured key departments, and hosted a town hall for staff.
Ferrara received a comprehensive overview of CRDAMC’s operations from Col. Garrick Cramer, hospital commander, before touring the Behavioral Health Department. There, Col. Amit Gupta, CRDAMC and Fort Cavazos director of Psychological Health, highlighted how the facility serves not only active-duty service members but also families, veterans, and the larger Fort Cavazos community.
“We have strong partnerships with organizations in the Fort Cavazos community, and our inpatient unit provides service for everyone, including our VA patients, retirees, and service member’s dependents,” said Gupta. “We also have seen children in our child and family behavioral health service right here in the hospital, as well as at five schools on base through school behavioral health.
“We are working with Fort Cavazos III Armored Corps, our VA partners, and Uniformed Services University to leverage Artificial Intelligence in identifying Fort Cavazos soldiers at the highest 10-20% risk of suicide, so we can then deliver targeted interventions already shown by the VA to reduce suicide attempts,” He added. “The ASD-HA, who has already been briefed on this upcoming initiative “Project SAFEGUARD” indicated his familiarity with the proposal, calling it “potentially game changing.”
During his visit, Ferrara emphasized the critical role of Military Treatment Facilities in the broader mission of the Department of Defense.
“Meeting with MTF staff allows me to hear their voices directly and provide more informed advice to the Secretary of Defense and the administration,” Ferrara said. “There are many great healthcare systems in America, but we’re the only Great American healthcare system that goes to war—so that always has to be our focus.”
Ferrara’s town hall offered staff an opportunity to hear directly from Defense Health Agency leadership and to ask questions. He highlighted how the MTF workforce—whether ICU nurses, surgeons, CRNAs, pharmacy or logistics technicians—must be ready to perform in both clinical and operational environments.
“Our prime imperative is to support the warfighter,” Ferrara said. “That means sustaining clinical skills by staying active and engaged, and strengthening our teams by ensuring continuous knowledge transfer and training across all roles.”
He summarized his vision with what he called the “three S’s”: Support, Sustain, and Strengthen.
“We support the warfighter. We sustain our skills through real-world clinical work. And we strengthen our chain by keeping that knowledge and capability flowing from one generation of medical professionals to the next,” Ferrara explained.
Cramer expressed his appreciation for Ferrara’s visit and advocacy on behalf of military medicine.
“Thank you for taking time out of your incredibly busy schedule to champion us in military health,” Cramer said. “We trust that you’re doing everything you can for us, and we truly appreciate it.”
Ferrara’s visit reinforced the critical role MTFs like CRDAMC play in delivering high-quality healthcare while remaining mission-ready to serve service members and their families around the globe.
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| Date Taken: | 04.24.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.24.2025 15:23 |
| Story ID: | 496115 |
| Location: | FORT CAVAZOS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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