FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Aug. 5, 2005 – Service members with severe injuries who require extensive treatment and rehabilitation will soon get help at a new facility that will be built on Fort Sam Houston near Brooke Army Medical Center.

The $30 million rehabilitation center, funded by the nonprofit Intrepid Heroes Fund, will be built on a 4.5-acre site adjacent to two new 21-room Fisher Houses. The site already contains two active Fisher Houses.

The anticipated cost of the National Armed Forces Physical Rehabilitation Center includes equipment, furniture and furnishings. Groundbreaking for the planned four-story, 65,000 gross square feet center is planned for fall of this year.

“We already provide great care to these warriors. The new center will make it even better,” said Brig. Gen. James Gilman, Brooke Army Medical Center commander. “It will be a great asset for Brooke Army Medical Center. We’re honored to have it built here.”

The facility will include indoor and outdoor rehabilitation facilities and a day care center to support accompanying family members staying at the Fisher Houses.

The first floor will house a running gait analysis, dual force plate treadmill, uneven terrain modeler, swimming pool and a child center.

The second floor will be dedicated to prosthetic manufacturing.

The third floor will accommodate physical therapy services, a prosthetic workshop, a gym and a 30-foot climbing and rappelling wall.

The fourth floor will house occupational therapy services, a daily life activities lab and a running track.

The center will support treatment and rehabilitation of patients with amputated limbs, severe burns, blindness and head trauma.

The goal is to rehabilitate service members to a level of physical condition where the decision to continue to serve on active duty is for “other than the loss of limb,” according to the fund’s Web site.