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Tuesday, new clinics for military families opened up in Harker Heights and Copperas Cove. The two facilities are part of a larger effort by the Army to extend primary care beyond the gates of the post and into the community where the majority of soldiers and their families live.

Inside the new clinics are multiple exam rooms, a treatment room, pharmacy and a behavioral health specialist.

While the new clinics also have some of the latest in medical technology, including an automated pharmacy dispenser, the locations are especially unique.

Instead of being located within the gates of Fort Hood, the Harker Heights Medical Home is sandwiched between a movie theater and large retailers like Old Navy inside the Market Heights shopping center.

According to Brig. Gen. Joseph Caravalho, commander of Southern Regional Medical Command, these types of clinics will help increase available appointments and accessibility to local providers.

For Army spouses like Sarena Tait, who lives 15 minutes away from post, there is an added convenience with the opening of the clinic.

"We're actually at three different clinics, me and my four children," she said. "I always have to go to a different clinic and find my way on post because we basically don't travel onto post very much."

For her husband, CW2 Jesse Tait, who will soon be deploying to Afghanistan, the convenience also brings peace of mind.

"I'm getting to leave for awhile so it's going to be nice to know that the whole family will be taken care of in one location," he said.

In addition to the location, the adoption of the 'medical home' model is also new for the Army.

The system relies on each patient partnering with a team of health care providers including physicians, nurses, behavioral health professionals and pharmacists.

Working as a multi-disciplinary group, these health care providers work with each patient over time to help coordinate care along with prevention efforts.

According to Brig. Gen. Caravalho, having this type of model in place also helps to ensure the consistency of care when it comes time for soldiers and their families to move to a different military installation.

The Harker Heights Medical Home is just one of 19 clinics the Army eventually plans to open in military communities across the country.

The Copperas Cove Medical Home also held its grand opening Tuesday. That location, located at the Town Square Shopping Mall, will be among three clinics in the greater Fort Hood community.

The third clinic in Killeen is set to open in July.