Army member Mario Carpanzano of Savannah held his 11-month-old son, Canio, on Wednesday while praising the Army’s new Richmond Hill Medical Home.

Canio was born at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., his father said.

“Army medicine is definitely a good thing,” he said, “and (the new Medical Home) definitely brings it more into the community.”
Carpanzano and his wife, Josephine, serve in the Army at Fort Stewart. While the couple plans to continue to receive health care for their family at the post, Carpanzano said the Medical Home will be convenient for many people.

The couple joined about 100 other folks Wednesday to watch officials ceremoniously slash a ribbon to mark the opening of the Medical Home. The community-based primary care clinic provides services to family members of active duty military serving at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield.

The clinic, at 2451A Hwy. 17, occupies leased space that formerly housed a Harvey’s/Food Lion store in the Ways Station shopping center.

At the ceremony, Brig. Gen. Joseph Caravalho Jr., the Army’s southern region medical commander, said studies show that primary care initiatives lead to many benefits, such as fewer costly visits to the emergency room.

Looking out to the audience filled with men and women in uniform, he said, “The ultimate goal is for you to get consistent and memorable health care anywhere within our system.”

The Richmond Hill clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Officials plan to staff it with seven primary care providers and one psychologist, and provide care to more than 8,000 patients.

The facility is one of 17 clinics the Army is opening near 14 Army installations in the United States. Richmond Hill was chosen for its central location and proximity to military members living in and near Pooler and southwest Savannah.