FORT HOOD (Now designated Fort Cavazos), Texas – Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center is holding its second Day in the Life (DIL) full-scale rehearsal event Saturday, March 5. The hospital operations team is looking for 50 additional volunteers to be role-players in patient care scenarios in this final dress rehearsal prior to opening for patient care in early April.

“The first Day in the Life exercise gave our staff great experience in the new facility. I was very proud of the team’s hard work, and the community support was awesome,” Col. Mark W. Thompson, medical center commander said. “The lessons learned by the staff combined with some great feedback from the community allowed us to identify and correct potential concerns that might impact the patient experience.”

Community members can expect the next exercise to be a little different from the first since the hospital is one month closer to opening.

“During the second event we will test how well those adjustments are going to work, plus we’ll run a few new scenarios that will help us continue to increase our familiarity with working in the facility before we bring patients in on April 3,” Thompson explained.

Earlier this month communication and patient care systems were still being installed and tested. With that phase now complete, the staff will be able to incorporate the use of systems like the new way-finding electronic map and patient management systems into the DIL experience.

Community members interested in participating in the Day in the Life event can contact the hospital operations at (254) 553-2689/ (254) 286-7256 or send an email to usarmy.hood.medcom-crdamc.list.operations-group@mail.mil for more information.

Media interested in covering the event should RSVP with CRDAMC Public Affairs Office at (254) 288-8005 or (254) 553- 3692 by 5p.m. March 3.