Tripler Army Medical Center
Military hospital
Org groupDefense Health Agency
Coordinates21°21′43″N 157°53′22″W
Address1 Jarrett White Road
RegionHonolulu
StateHawaii
CountryU.S.
HealthcareTricare
FundingGovernment
EmergencyLevel II Trauma Center[1]
Beds231[2]
HelipadYes
Opened1907
Constructed1948 (current building)

Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) is a major United States Department of Defense medical facility administered by the United States Army in the state of Hawaii. It is the tertiary care hospital in the Pacific Rim, serving local active and retired military personnel along with residents of nine U.S. jurisdictions and forces deployed in more than 40 other countries in the region.[3] Located on the slopes of Moanalua Ridge[4] overlooking the Honolulu neighborhoods of Moanalua and Salt Lake, Tripler Army Medical Center's massive coral pink structure can be seen from any point in the Honolulu District. It also serves as headquarters of the Regional Health Command - Pacific.[5] The main hospital facility is within the Honolulu census-designated place.[6]

History

Tripler Hospital was established in 1907, housed in several wooden structures within Fort Shafter on the island of Oahu.[7] In 1920 it was named after a legendary American Civil War surgeon, Brevet Brigadier General Charles Stuart Tripler (1806–1866), who made significant contributions to the development of military medicine.[7][8]

Tripler Army Medical Center was commissioned by Lt. General Robert C. Richardson Jr., who was Military Governor of the Territory of Hawaii during World War II.[9] General Richardson hired the New York City based architectural firm of York & Sawyer to design the medical complex. The local landscape architect Robert O. Thompson designed the landscape to be "one of the great beauty spots of Hawaii", although his plans were never fully realized.[10][11] At the outbreak of World War II, Tripler Army Medical Center had a 450-bed capacity which then expanded to 1,000 beds through the addition of barracks-type buildings.

Present Day

Plans for the new Tripler Army Medical Center on Moanalua Ridge were drawn in 1942 and construction was completed in 1948.[7] The General Bronze Corporation fabricated the aluminum windows for the Tripler Army Base Hospital[12]

In 1959, the original hospital was demolished to make way for expansion of Moanalua Road (now Interstate H-201).[8]

Education

The installation has housing within the premises. Hawaii Department of Education operates public schools for dependent children of service members. As of 2016, zoned schools are Moanalua Elementary School, Moanalua Middle School, and Moanalua High School.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hawaii Comprehensive Statewide Trauma System Plan May 2021"
  2. ^ "Tripler Army Medical Center"
  3. ^ "Tripler Army Medical Center, About Us". Tripler Army Medical Center. U.S. Army. Archived October 29, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Tripler Army Medical Center, Visiting Tripler". Tripler Army Medical Center. U.S. Army. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  5. ^ "U.S. Army Medical Command Readiness, Pacific". www.army.mil. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  6. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Urban Honolulu CDP, HI". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 11, 2020. - Page 4
  7. ^ "Tripler Past and Present". U.S. Army. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "Historic 'Old Tripler' Is Demolished". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 19, 1959. p. 9. Retrieved November 24, 2021. – via Newspapers.com
  9. ^ Thompson, Edwin N. (1985). Pacific Ocean Engineers: History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Pacific, 1905–1980. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pacific Ocean Division. p. 127. ASIN B0006EJBO6.
  10. ^ Thompson, Edwin N. (1985). Pacific Ocean Engineers: History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Pacific, 1905–1980. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pacific Ocean Division. p. 131. ASIN B0006EJBO6.
  11. ^ Thompson, Edwin N. (1985). Pacific Ocean Engineers: History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Pacific, 1905–1980. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pacific Ocean Division. p. 153. ASIN B0006EJBO6.
  12. ^ "GENERAL BRONZE CO. IN ALUMINUM FIELD – Mass Production of Window Frames for Residential Use Throughout U.S. Started RECORD ORDER COMPLETED Includes 4,500 for New Army Hospital Under Construction on Oahu Island, Hawaii". The New York Times. February 8, 1946. p. 32. Certain of the excellent future for aluminum window frames, the General Bronze Corporation, Long Island City, has started mass production of such items for residential use throughout the country
  13. ^ "Hawaii School Information School Year 2016-2017". Army Family and MWR Hawaii. p. 4/5. Retrieved October 28, 2024.