The Air Force will save up to $55 million by not having to construct a new hospital at the adjacent base, Coleman said. The military as a whole will save an estimated $68 million by providing its own in-patient care rather than relying on private hospitals and doctors for the three-year period between the once-contemplated closure of Walson and the opening of a new hospital, he said.
"We've dealt today with all the uncertainty to this point," Army Col. George Hansen, the commander of Walson, said Tuesday. "Now that we know the Air Force is going to have a hospital here, we are looking at adding services."
The future of Walson Hospital looked shaky after a presidential Base Realignment and Closure Commission ordered the virtual closure of Fort Dix in
December 1988. But a similar commission recommended last year that the hospital remain open in some capacity.
When the realignment of Fort Dix was first announced, Burlington County officials feared that the closing of Walson would cause an exodus of military retirees, who usually are drawn by the free medical care available from military hospitals.
"We are absolutely elated," said retired Maj. Gen. James F. Hamlet, chairman of the Fort Dix Retiree Council, which advises Fort Dix commanders on issues affecting retirees. "It is vital to the retirees in the area that they have some sort of medical facility. . . . They were terrified of the thought of Walson being leveled to the ground."
Hamlet said the Defense Department's decision to keep the hospital open would enhance the area's appeal to military retirees.
"Many retirees have a very short checklist," Hamlet said. "When they retire, one of their top priorities is having a nearby hospital, the next is the PX and next the commissary. . . . I am not worried about the generals and admirals, I am worried about that sergeant who gave the Army 20 years and whose costs are going up and has to raise kids. Health care is probably the most important thing for him."
