Military Hospital Records Seperate From 'health' Records?

[Jayg]

This was on another topic.

"There is one other thing that you can tell this veteran. When a veteran submits an SF-180 form to the National Personnel Records Center he only receives copies of his standard service records. He does not receive copies of any hospital reports. Those are held in a separate location in the National Personnel Records Center and have to be requested separately in a request that includes the name of the hospital the veteran was hospitalized at and the approximate dates of hospitalization. "

I thought it best to bring it to a new topic as concerns my problems. While at Ft. Knox, I was hospitalized for 1 week with "ARD"- Acute respiratory disease" I passed out in barracks with a high fever and a pal carried me to his car and thence to the hospital. I always called it pneumonia. As noted, I was hospitalized for days, released, coughed my lungs out first day out and went right back and they kept me a week. As part of my treatment, I had to spend 15-20 minutes a day breathing some kind of medicine from an air tank. I have no copies of those records.

Another thing from Ft. Knox. A fellow tried to rob me. Clotted me on top of the head with a sawed off entrenching tool handle. Bloody amateur. Had he belted me up the side of the head he'd have had me. But when I turned around to face him he dropped his jaw and his stick and ran faster than I ever could.

But.

About two hours later it caught up with me and I only just managed not to pass out. I had to go to the clinic there in 'splinter village' the next day. They X-rayed my head and pronounced I might have had a mild concussion and was lucky not to have a cracked skull. Any way, I have none of those records either. I've got records from NARA twice now and never yet got those.

So do we have to ask for those kind of records from a different location? And, does anybody recall the name of the hospital at Ft. Knox? Not the 'old brick hospital,' but the 'newer one, (newer in 1975/7)

Edited February 8, 2009 by Jayg

[Wings]

Use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for all requests to NARA. ~Wings

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

National Personnel Records Center

St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100

NPRC 1865.121

March 31, 1997

SUBJECT: Requests involving records created at military medical facilities

http://www.thememoryhole.org/nara/nprc/memo/1865121.html

[yelloownumber5]

Wings,

Thanks that might help me some. I don't know why places are so anal.......dealing with the Animal Control here I asked for copies of my complaints, I was told they are filed in boxes and it would take for ever for them to get maybe 7 complaints for a 3 year period, this was in person. I wrote a certified letter and nothing for 2 to 3 months. I sent one last one and noted the Freedom of Information Act and right about 30 days I did get them. Crazy......

I do have a question......I was in a Navy ER over 22 years ago, I would think there is a record but having much trouble getting anything but will try the FOIA and some other documentation, the records should be somewhere, right? I also was being treated for alcohol rehab with Antabuse (Disulfiram) and I think I have problems from this......there is nothing in my medical record about this, so I need to send a letter to the Command DAPA also..........all were at Pensacola, Florida.

Was kind of curious anyone have problems with Antabuse?

Edited February 8, 2009 by yelloownumber5

[timetowinarace]

In the military, the disposition and storage of records is governed by each service, DoD regulations and statute. Medical records fall into two categories: individual health records and inpatient hospital treatment records.

Individual health records include clinic visits, diagnostic tests, immunizations, dental care, and, in some cases, discharge summaries of inpatient care. These records represent a history of a service member’s medical care and accompany them throughout their military career. Upon a member’s separation or retirement, the individual health record is retired to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Record Management Center in St. Louis, Mo., Rostker said.

Inpatient hospital treatment records are created each time a service member is admitted to a military medical treatment facility for care. These records document all treatment and procedures performed while the member is hospitalized. If the patient is evacuated to another facility, a copy of the treatment record accompanies the patient and the original record is retained with the hospital’s files. Defense Department guidelines call for hospital in-patient treatment records to be retired within a span of four to 10 years, depending upon the facility’s record disposition policy to the National Personnel Records Center where they are archived under the name of the hospital transferring the records.

Request these records by giving the records center the Facility, Date of treatment(sometimes an aproximate date is enough, ie month and year), and reason for treatment.

[allan]

Thanks Wings,

thats's a keeper.

[Wings]

Thanks Wings,

thats's a keeper.

You're welcome brother! ~Wings

And this http://www.thememoryhole.org/nara/nprc/

Filing FOIA requests http://www.thememoryhole.org/2009/01/filing-foia-requests/

[mike/3/8/cav]

I have a few problems with record maintenace while in the army. While on field training exercises or actual combat in a war zone, the soldier goes to see the medic who is kicked back in his M-113 and explains an illness or injury. What does the medic usually do....here are a couple of Tylenol (APAP) or a cold pack. Now I don't mean to minimalize a medics job, but that was usually the case for me. Nothing annotated in any records. Go back to your unit and have a good day soldier. The respone I guess is that we should have followed up when we got back from the exercise or the war.....thats what I'm doing now by going to the VA. I wish they would recognize that.