Efforts continue at Fort Bliss medical center

Huntsville Center Public Affairs
Published Oct. 3, 2019
Partnering with the U.S. Army Health Facilities Planning Agency and Fort Worth District, Huntsville Center’s Medical Outfitting and Transition program is assisting with the transition process at the 1.1 million square foot William Beaumont Army Medical Center replacement hospital at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Partnering with the U.S. Army Health Facilities Planning Agency and Fort Worth District, Huntsville Center’s Medical Outfitting and Transition program is assisting with the transition process at the 1.1 million square foot William Beaumont Army Medical Center replacement hospital at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville's Medical Outfitting and Transition Program continues to oversee efforts to determine equipment needs, make purchases, currently estimated at $72 million, and plan and execute transition of staff, equipment and patients for the William Beaumont Army Medical Center replacement hospital at Fort Bliss, Texas. MO&T is working in concert with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Fort Worth District as it coordinates the project’s construction components.
 
According to a Fort Worth District news release, the replacement hospital will be a new 1.1 million square foot medical center to serve the growing active duty and retiree population in and around the Fort Bliss and El Paso area. 
 
The campus will include a main hospital, inpatient and outpatient clinics, administrative building, research building, central utility plant, two access control points and surface parking with over 4,000 spaces.”
 
MO&T teams provide total turn-key project support for the equipping and transitioning of staff and patients associated with new and renovated military healthcare and medical research laboratory facility construction projects to support the medical mission throughout the world. 
Brian Bezilla, MO&T project manager, says his role is to perform daily project management duties and serve as Contracting Officer’s Representative on the MO&T contract.
 
The MO&T contractor engages with WBAMC staff to determine equipment needs, make purchases (currently estimated at $72M) and plan and execute transition of staff, equipment and patients from existing to new spaces.
 
“The U.S. Army Health Facilities Planning Agency is my first line customer,” Bezilla said. ” 
 
“At least seven Center programs support them in these efforts. The Center’s individual project delivery teams have partnered to organically function as a broad PDT committed to HFPA. HFPA is pleased that they can come to Huntsville Center and get their needs met under one roof.”
Bezilla notes, when completed, the WBAMC hospital will be the largest stateside medical center in the Army portfolio. 
 
The hospital is actually a campus of six buildings, including administration, a clinical investigation, two clinics, hospital and central utility plant.  
The facility is off post and will have two access control points off two major highways in East El Paso.
 
Bezilla credits his program’s success in the project to teamwork. “The entirety of the Huntsville Center team deserves recognition and praise,” Bezilla said.  “As the construction pace constantly changes, we are required to be agile and adaptable in how we build and execute contracts. HFPA tends to work with MO&T over a longer time frame (currently six years on Fort Bliss) than other Center programs, so they tend to ask me the status of other programs’ efforts,” he said. 
 
“Across the board, teams have been ready and willing to coordinate with me, provide advice and even asked me to review their work.  As a result I consider us one big informal PDT.”