Ireland Army Community Hospital

The earliest hospital at Fort Knox Kentucky, was a World War I cantonment building, constructed in 1918 on the site of the Lindsey Golf Course. When the facility burned in 1928, medical services moved to the World War I guesthouse on Bullion Boulevard until a brick hospital was built in 1934 on E Street. In 1940, two mobilization hospitals were constructed along Dixie Street, and were used until the current multi-storied concrete structure opened in 1957.

The current hospital facility was named in honor of Major General Merritte W. Ireland, a surgeon and U.S. Army Surgeon General from October 30, 1918 to May 31, 1931.

The hospital today is a 462000 sqft, 76-bed JCAHO-accredited facility. Major services include general medical and surgical care, adult and pediatric primary care clinics, 24-hour Emergency department, specialty clinics, clinical services, wellness and prevention services, and a VA clinic. Remote on-post clinics include the Aviation Medical Clinic, One Stop Medical, Nelson Troop Medical Clinic, Reception Medical Processing, and the RCF Clinic.

The activity is the center of a larger area of responsibility which serves an isolated active duty population in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Off-post clinics in this six-state area include Bluegrass Army Depot, Camp Atterbury Troop Medical Clinic, Fort McCoy Troop Medical Clinic, Rock Island Health Clinic, and Selfridge Health Clinic.

The hospital was slated to lose its inpatient facilities as a result of BRAC 2005, but was removed from the list when panel members raised concerns about the distance soldiers and their families would have to travel to receive inpatient medical care.