Last Thursday , March 10, 2016, we visited with Mac McCarthy , VP of Facilities and Infrastructure   with Brooks City Base Development Corp.

We discussed our groups involvement with re-activating Building 160, the historic Jefferson Davis Hyperbaric Clinic at Brooks  “The birthplace of modern  hyperbaric medicine in the USA.”  On our last visit to Brooks, we had previously secured agreement from Wyle Labs that they had no objection to our use of the facilities as long as Brooks agreed.

As it transpired, Mac was a former USAF employee at Brooks and familiar with the clinic having worked at Brooks during the clinics USAF operations.  He expressed a desire to find somone who would reactivate the clinic. He stated he had worked hard to keep the facility together and not let it get “parted-out” to other agencies, etc.

We left with an agreement to hold further talks concerning the role the parties would play to  get things rolling.  One large problem was funding the re-activation inasmuch as  the Brooks City Base was a government entity with a yearly budget, Board of Directors, etc.

One important issue is that, I believe that asking private investors to put money into the physical plant infrastructure needed to reactivate would be problematic and maybe wishful thinking on my part. There will be eough expense with staffing and expendables to require a substantial sum.

The first goal that I can see for the clinic is to treat Veterans with PTSD  and TBI since that need is the greatest problem facing Veterans and the VA is not currently providing hyperbaric treatments due to a lack of belief that such treatments are necessay or benifical to the Vets.

It is hoped that we can secure the sponsership and funding for this program from some of the major local sports teams in exchange for hyperbaric treatments for their players  both pre-game and post game for treatment of any injuries sustained during the game.

As suggested by the Wyle folks we need to secure a P.E. to evaluate the facility and make recommendations as to what is needed for the clinic’s re-activation.  They suggested Mr.Stephen Reimers , P.E. of Reimers Hyperbarics. Stephen has worked on the Brooks facility in the past and I concurr having met him last Novemeber in Sam Antonio when he was a lecturer at the International Atmo School I attended.

I plan on going out to Brooks very soon to do my own survey and further document what is actually still there and perhaps attemp a start up of some of the equipment.