JBLM Department of Public Health
*Effective 17 June, access to the Turner Public Health/Occupational Health Clinic will require a detour. Please see the image below and follow the Phase 3 (Red line) driving directions. Please plan for extra travel time. Please call 253-968-4986 with any questions.
Brigadier General Guthrie L. Turner, Jr.
Department of Public Health Building
The JBLM Department of Public Health focuses on the health of individuals, communities, and the defined JBLM population. Our goal is to protect, promote, and maintain health and well-being and to prevent disease, disability, and death. Public health specialists have core competencies in biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental and occupational medicine, planning and evaluation of health services, management of health care organizations, research into causes of disease and injury in population groups, and the practice of prevention in clinical medicine. They apply knowledge and skills gained from the medical, social, economic, and behavioral sciences. Public Health has three specialty areas with common core knowledge, skills, and competencies that emphasize different populations, environments, or practice settings: aerospace medicine, occupational medicine, and general preventive medicine. Public Health Clinical Services offers a broad range of clinical services designed to deliver public health best practices to Joint Base Lewis-McChord for active duty service members, retirees, family members, Department of Defense civilians and selected contract civilians.
Public Health services include:
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TB Testing
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EKG
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Spirometry
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Hearing Screening
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Vision Screening
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Immunizations
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Respirator Testing (Wednesdays, by appointment only; call 253-968-5436)
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STD Screening
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On-the-Job Injuries
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Pre-Employment and Annual Health Physicals
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Tobacco Cessation
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Ergonomic Evaluations
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Needle Stick & Blood-Borne Pathogen Exposure
Department of Public Health Clinics, Building 9025:
Epidemiology Clinic - Special Adult Clinic provides confidential* STD testing, diagnosis, treatment, counseling and education for patients and partners eligible for care at Madigan.
Front Desk: 253-968-4986.
To contact the JBLM Health Department for a reportable condition, please call the Front Desk at 253-968-4986, during normal business hours.
Occupational Health Clinic - Occupational Health’s mission is to promote the health and safety of Service Members and Civilian employees by eliminating health and safety hazards in the work environment. Front Desk: 253-968-4840. Occupational Health Clinic webpage
Army Public Health Nursing Service - Army Public Health Nursing is a service offered to all health beneficiaries with a primary objective of promoting combat readiness through health. This service is provided by teaching consultations, counseling and nursing services to soldiers, families, and groups in homes, hospital wards, and clinics and at the worksite.
Front Desk: 253-968-4382. Army Public Health Nursing Service webpage
Travel Clinic - Provides recommended immunizations, medications, and safety briefings for Soldiers and Beneficiaries over the age of 18 traveling abroad for leisure travel. This clinic is not for those traveling on orders or PCSing. Please call the IRMAC: Integrated Referral Management and Appointing Center at 800-404-4506 and request to make a “leisure travel medicine appointment" with Madigan Public Health Clinic.
Department of Public Health Services, Madigan Annex:
Environmental Health Services - Find more information about Environmental Health Services. Front Desk: 253-968-4333.
Health Physics Service - Health Physics ensures radioactive material and radiation producing devices are used safely and in accordance with the hospital's Nuclear Regulatory Commission License and Army Radiation Authorization. Health Physics is in Building 9909. Front Desk: 253-968-4300. Health Physics webpage
Hearing Program: See the Hearing Program website for more information.
Industrial Hygiene: Serves Joint Base Lewis-McChord by administering a comprehensive full-service industrial hygiene program. The Industrial Hygiene program is accomplished in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 6055.5, Army Regulation (AR) 40-5, and other applicable directives and regulations. Industrial Hygiene is in Building 9912B. Front Desk: 253-968-4331.
Public Health Data (Updated 5/3/2024)
Links to County and Defense Health Agency resources:
Links for Resources from Local and Federal Health Agencies:
Regulatory Guidance Links:
JBLM Public Health Documents:
The JBLM Department of Public Health Building
The JBLM Department of Public
Health Building was memorialized in honor of one of its former commanders and a preventive medicine physician, Brig. Gen. Guthrie L. Turner, Jr., during a ceremony on Feb. 2, 2018. Brig. Gen. Turner was the first African American to achieve the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He served as Madigan's commanding general from 1980 to 1983. Brig. Gen. Turner's widow and the couple's four children attended the ceremony.
Brig. Gen. Guthrie Turner Jr. served with distinction in the U. S. Army from 1953 to 1983. He was the first African American to achieve the rank of general officer in the Army Medical Corps and the first African American to command an Army hospital.
Turner was born in Chicago, Ill., on May 26, 1930. He attended Shaw University from 1945 to 1949, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. He attended the Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1953.
Shortly after graduating from Howard University, he entered the Army as a first lieutenant and began his internship at Madigan General Hospital, Fort Lewis, Washington. Upon completion of his internship, he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, becoming a master parachutist. From 1955 to 1956, he commanded a medical company in the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
In 1956, Turner was assigned to Tripler Army Hospital to complete a residency in Internal Medicine. However, he decided to switch residencies and later completed a residency in Aerospace Medicine with the U.S. Air Force at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, and Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. His residency training included earning a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1965 and an assignment at Pensacola Naval Air Station, where he trained as a pilot. Turner also served as assistant chief for the Department of Aviation Medicine at Lyster Army Hospital at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
From 1968 to 1969, Turner deployed to the Republic of Vietnam, where he served as both the division surgeon for the 1st Calvary Division (Airmobile) and commander of the 15th Medical Battalion. Upon returning from Vietnam, Turner was selected to command Beach Army Hospital, Fort Wolters, Texas, becoming the first African American to command an Army hospital in the United States. He was next assigned to Germany, where he commanded the 130th General Hospital in Nuremburg from 1974 to 1976. Turner served as the consultant for Aviation Medicine to the Office of the Army Surgeon General from 1976 to 1978.
After completing the Army War College and serving at the Pentagon, Turner was assigned to Korea as the Medical Command commander, Seoul Army Hospital and surgeon, U.S. Forces, Korea. On May 13, 1980, he was promoted to brigadier general and was reassigned as commanding general, Madigan Army Medical Center, where he served until his retirement in 1983. While the commanding general of Madigan, Turner played an instrumental role in planning for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art medical center. He worked closely with U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks to obtain congressional funding for a new 1.2 million square foot, 414-bed medical center, which began construction in 1985 and officially opened on Feb. 28, 1992.
Brig. Gen. Turner's awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Master Parachutist Badge, Senior Flight Surgeon Badge, and various service and unit awards.
After retiring from the Army in July 1983, Brig. Gen. Turner served as medical director of the Medical Assistance Administration in the Department of Social and Health Services in Washington State until 1988. He later served as the medical director of Disability Determination Services for the Social Security Administration. Brig. Gen. Turner was a member of the National Medical Association for more than 25 years; he served as treasurer and was annually re-elected 13 consecutive times. He passed away in 2014.
Directions
From I-5 North/South, take Exit 122 and enter JBLM through the Madigan gate. Take a right turn at the first traffic light (Gardner Loop Road). Turn right on 5th Street. The Turner Department of Public Health Building is the first new building on the right after the Intrepid Spirit
Center building. Patient parking is behind the building.
The Turner Department of Public Health Building has been certified by the Leadership Energy and Environmental Design as a ‘Gold Standard’ building.