Nov

22

Wilford Hall Medical Center

Filed Under AFMS News, AFMS Units 

The largest Air Force medical facility, Wilford Hall Medical Center (aka “WHMC”), celebrated 50 years of service recently. The official name is the 59th Medical Wing, but everybody calls it Wilford Hall. And who was Wilford Hall, you might wonder? Most people don’t know that WHMC is actually named after a real person, Major General Wilford Hall, an Army (and then AF) physician from the 1920s through the late 1950s who also served as a MAJCOM surgeon.

I’ve spent lots of time at WHMC - as a visitor, a patient, an expectant father, and a staff member. When my father needed surgery for prostate cancer several years ago, his brother (a wealthy East Coaster) urged him to have the surgery done at a famous New York hospital by a renowned surgeon, and offered to pay all of the expenses; my father flatly refused and put his trust in the staff at WHMC. Of course, everything went smoothly, the cancer was completely removed, and my father has had no recurrence of cancer. It was a lesson for my uncle, who for years had believed that military medicine was somehow inferior to civilian healthcare.

And, like so many young Airmen, I had my wisdom teeth removed at WHMC. And in the early 90s, my daughter was born at WHMC - Dr Stanton Bailey did the delivery - and despite 17 hours of labor and a last-minute emergency C-section, everything turned out great, and we were treated with the utmost kindness and professionalism.

And a few years ago I was assigned to WHMC for one year as part of an educational (AFIT) assignment. I learned alot about the challenges involved in running a huge hospital, and came to appreciate even more the amazing people who serve there. Besides the medical care that happens in the building, it really is like a small town, with a small store, dry cleaners, coffee bar, restaurant (chow hall), post office, newspaper, and other “amenities” that enable the medics to get the job done.

An amazing place. There’s plenty of news about the history of WHMC at the AF News “Heritage To Horizons” page.



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Comments

One Response to “Wilford Hall Medical Center”

  1. William Cayton on April 16th, 2008 8:01 pm

    I’m trying to find a way to get a copy of my birth certificate. My father’s name is William A. Cayton. He was in Squardron 3701 Flight 1268 in 1957.

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