6 July 2022

5 Reasons Why San Antonio, Texas is a Military Medicine Hub

The Geneva Foundation’s purpose is to ensure optimal health for service members and the communities they serve. Geneva has hubs of personnel in regions where there is significant access to military resources, medical innovation, a high-caliber workforce, robust funding opportunities, and collaborative networks. Geneva is proud to support one of these hubs, a research community of priority to the Department of Defense (DoD), in San Antonio, Texas.

The San Antonio military medical market makes a profound impact on medical research and there are many reasons why Geneva has increased its presence in the region over recent years.

1. San Antonio is known as “Military City, USA”

San Antonio, the 7^th largest city in the U.S., is proud of its military legacy and the military families that call it home. The city houses the largest concentration of military bases in the U.S., including the DoD’s largest medical center, Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), which is located on Fort Sam Houston at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA). BAMC plays a crucial role in providing casualty care for those wounded in combat. It is the only level 1 trauma center within the Military Health System and the premier medical readiness training platform for the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force.

The U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) specializes in the research and treatment of the wounded warrior and includes the only American Burn Association-verified burn center in the DoD.

Geneva is honored to partner with these military treatment facilities (MTFs) to facilitate critical medical research impacting our service members.

2. Critical Research Areas for Military Medicine

The DoD’s Strategic Medical Research Plan lists several priority focus areas to ensure that our Armed Forces are prepared to address future health challenges. Geneva is advancing research and collaborations that are in alignment with the following research areas:

• Biomedical Informatics and Health Systems Technology
• Clinical and Rehabilitative Medicine
• Combat Casualty Care
• Medical Chemical and Biological Defense
• Medical Radiological Defense
• Military Infectious Disease
• Military Operational Medicine

 

Geneva manages over 300 federally and industry-funded research programs worldwide. Below are a few research programs based in San Antonio that Geneva is proud to support:

Autonomous Reanimation and Evacuation Research Program (AREVA)| Brooks City-Base

AREVA is located at Brooks City-Base. Geneva Principal Investigator Andriy Batchinsky, MD oversees a multi-disciplinary research team engaged in translational research of combat-relevant trauma and novel critical care interventions for combat casualties during care at ground level and high altitudes.

COVID-19 Response | BAMC, Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center (WHASC)

Geneva led phase III clinical trials for lead COVID-19 vaccine candidates and is now conducting multiple studies under the National Institutes of Health’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) public-private partnership. The goal is to prioritize and accelerate the development of the most promising treatments and vaccines for COVID-19. Geneva is also conducting The Vaccine Effectiveness and Immune Response of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Active Military Personnel study (VIRAMP) to examine the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

USU-4D Bio³ Center for Biotechnology | USU-4D Bio³ South Program

The USU-4D Bio³ Center for Biotechnology (4D Bio³) promotes technology solutions for warfighter readiness, resiliency, and lethality through research, technology development, education and training, and technology translation to meet a DoD priority or requirement to benefit the future warfighter. The Center is headquartered in Rockville, MD and expanded to San Antonio, College Station and Houston to focus on operational medicine and military/civilian technology translations.

Clinical Scientist Investigator Opportunity Network (CSION) | JBSA/USAISR

The program mentors clinician-scientists and enhances the likelihood that bench-based science will translate into field-based solutions and clinical practices.

 

3. Top Healthcare and Bioscience Talent is in San Antonio

One in five jobs in San Antonio is in the healthcare and bioscience industry. This sector is the largest industry in the city, bringing in $40B + annually — making the city a prime location for Geneva’s talent pool. Geneva employs over 70 employees in the San Antonio region, 90% of which are directly involved in research at MTFs. Geneva’s employee base in San Antonio continues to experience significant growth; since 2019, there has been a 92% increase in Geneva contract employees in the region.

4. Economic Impact of Military Medical Research in San Antonio

In July 2021, the San Antonio Military Health System became the San Antonio Market — the seventh military medical market in the U.S. This military market is comprised of local hospitals and clinics, bringing together groups such as Tricare, Veterans Affairs hospitals, and federal institutions to leverage resources and responsibilities that improve military readiness and deliver coordinated health services. The San Antonio Market has a budget of $1.02 billion and employs 11,000 individuals.

Geneva works with more than 225 sponsors and collaborators – many of which serve as a funding source for its research programs in San Antonio, including:

• 59th Medical Wing
• Air Force Office of Scientific Research
• Congressionally Directed Medical Programs
• Defense Health Agency
• Joint Warfighter Medical Research Program
• National Institutes of Health
• TriService Nursing Research Program

 

Geneva brings a wealth of military medical research opportunities to San Antonio and makes a large economic impact on the city.

 

5.  San Antonio’s Academic and Industry Network

With a large biomedical presence in San Antonio, there are 1,400 active life sciences studies underway in the region. To further grow these efforts, Geneva is leading its own centralized Clinical Trials Network to support multiple clinical trials as well as seek new trial opportunities and help promote principal investigators at JBSA to industry partners.

The region also has two independent and two university-run large-scale research organizations and the largest independent, non-profit testing laboratory in the U.S.

Geneva is proud to have a considerable presence in San Antonio supporting innovative researchers, attracting the best workforce, making a significant economic impact to the community, and supporting some of the most crucial research programs in military medical research in the world.

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed do not reflect the official policy of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.