The new General Leonard Wood Community Hospital replaces one of the oldest healthcare facilities in the Army’s inventory. The Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managed the project with JE Dunn Construction as the design-build contractor and RLF Architects as the designer. Construction for the hospital began in 2019. Photo by Samuel Weldin. |
- A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of the new General Leonard Wood Community Hospital at Fort Leonard Wood, Miss.
- The facility replaces the installation’s hospital built in 1965, described as one of the oldest in the Army’s inventory.
- The Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managed the project with JE Dunn Construction as design-build contractor and RLF Architects as designer; major construction was completed in November 2025.
- Project leaders credited early partnering and the use of “collaborative analytics” to resolve issues during construction.
- Demolition of the old hospital is expected to be completed in late 2028, with a new parking lot planned for completion by 2030.
PULASKI COUNTY, Miss. — After six years of construction, Fort Leonard Wood marked the opening of the new General Leonard Wood Community Hospital with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, bringing regional partners together to celebrate the project’s completion.
The hospital is intended to provide modern inpatient and outpatient services for the military community in and around Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County, Missouri, and is designed as a patient-centered healing environment.
The Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managed the hospital project, with JE Dunn Construction serving as the design-build contractor and RLF Architects as the designer. Construction began in 2019 with creation of a temporary helipad, and major construction was completed in November 2025.
Project leaders tied progress to early alignment among stakeholders. “The number one item that contributed to the success of this project was the partnership that was established with JE Dunn and the Defense Health Agency from the very beginning,” Steven Lanni said, according to an article from the U.S. Army.
Officials also highlighted a structured approach for surfacing friction points before they became delays. David Manka, chief of the Kansas City District’s Construction Division, described the district’s use of “collaborative analytics,” according to an article from the U.S. Army.
The article describes collaborative analytics as a process that gathers monthly stakeholder feedback, then visualizes results using a red-amber-green system to identify trends and help leaders address issues early. In one example cited, the project team uncovered a sinkhole during construction and used the process to support a faster resolution.
The new hospital replaces the existing facility built in 1965. Brig. Gen. William Hannan Jr., commander of the Northwestern Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was among the officials providing remarks at the ceremony, noting he led the Kansas City District when the project began and later returned to see the ribbon cutting.
Work on the broader program will continue after the opening. Once operations fully move out of the old hospital, the hospital residence office is expected to oversee demolition of the former facility, targeted for completion in late 2028. A new parking lot is planned for the site, with completion expected by 2030.
This article is based on reporting originally published by the U.S. Army on April 22, 2026.