Coast Guard: Information on Medical Facilities

What GAO Found

As of July 2024, the Coast Guard had 165 medical facilities, including 34 medical clinics, nine satellite medical clinics, 65 ashore sickbays, and 57 afloat sickbay facilities. Coast Guard clinics and sickbays are aligned with base and operating locations across the United States and some territories. See figure below for a map of the Coast Guard's medical facilities, including where certain vessels with afloat sickbays are stationed, such as National Security Cutters in California.

Map of United States Coast Guard Medical Facilities, as of July 2024

The Coast Guard is confronted with a costly backlog of shore infrastructure projects, which include medical facilities. GAO's prior work identified actions needed to improve management of its shore infrastructure and resource management.

The Coast Guard reports that 22 of the 26 facilities with 51 percent or more space dedicated to medical and dental services are beyond their service life and are in various conditions. The Coast Guard constructed these facilities assuming a 30-year service life. The remaining 139 facilities, which generally consist of small spaces, such as a room within a building, are in various conditions depending on the overall age and condition of the buildings in which they are located.

However, the Coast Guard tends to "make do" with what it has, according to Coast Guard clinic staff, in terms of medical facilities and equipment, which aligns with GAO's past reporting on the Coast Guard's management of its shore infrastructure. As of July 2024, the Coast Guard is in various stages of addressing GAO's shore infrastructure recommendations.

Why GAO Did This Study

The U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for 11 statutory missions, including drug interdiction and search and rescue. In support of its missions, the Coast Guard provides a limited range medical and dental services in coastal locations and on certain ships to approximately 47,000 active-duty and reserve personnel, to help ensure their medical readiness.

The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 includes a provision for GAO to study Coast Guard medical facilities. (Pub. L. No. 117-263, div. K, tit. CXIV, subtit. B, § 11414, 136 Stat. 2395, 4120.) This report provides information on the overall condition and management of Coast Guard medical facilities and how it manages the medical equipment for each medical facility.

To conduct this work, GAO analyzed Coast Guard documentation on its overall management of shore infrastructure and its processes for assessing the condition of facilities, including medical facilities. GAO reviewed Coast Guard documentation on the process to maintain and buy medical equipment including its Health Service Allowance Lists and its Medical Manual. GAO interviewed Coast Guard officials, toured medical facilities at a nongeneralizable sample of three Coast Guard sites-including nine medical facilities-and met with field officials in sites around Alameda, CA; New Orleans, LA; and Portsmouth, VA.

For more information, contact Heather MacLeod at (202) 512-8777 or [email protected].

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