European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 30, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday july 30, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3frankfu. T Hospital renovation nears end by Janet do Agostino medical writer As the Frankfurt army regional medical Center celebrates its 45th anniversary today a renovation project spanning almost a decade nears completion the renovations put the medical Center on equal footing with any civilian Hospital of similar size in the United states according to capt. Rick Bond the health facilities planning officer for the facility. The $47 million project begun in september of 1982, has included major repairs inside and outside the building improvement of Hospital safety features and a Complete upgrade of the electrical and plumbing systems. The emergency electrical system was expanded to twice its original capacity. _ an 18,000-Square-foot addition houses an 18-bed intensive care unit and the Central sterilization department. The Hospital in the Bornheim neighbourhood of Frankfurt was actually built More than 50 years ago in anticipation of world War ii said Bill Swisher the hospitals historian and spokesman. But the . Army celebrates the anniversary dating Back to when the building was occupied by american doctors and nurses of the 97th general Hospital on july 30, 1945. The building was captured from the germans by the 385th army in on March 29 of that year. ,. The Hospital was renamed the Frankfurt army regional medical Center in 1979. Additions were made to the Hospital but by 1982 it was old rundown and in desperate need of repair Swisher said. The renovation project was scheduled to take six years but was delayed by contract and construction problems. Workers were often surprised by what they found underneath the plaster. For example Straw had been used As insulation in some parts of the Hospital Bond said. The fifth phase of the six part project should be completed by the beginning of next year. The total project is expected to be finished by the fall of 1991, Bond said. The fifth phase includes renovation of the allergy dermatology and surgical departments As Well As maternal and child health services and the dining facility encompassing a total of 120,000 Square feet. Those departments have been moved to temporary locations. The last phase Calls for renovation of the Headquarters nursing and patient administration offices. The Price tag for the project is $16 million less than the original estimate of $63 million according to Bond savings resulted from a High original estimate and a favourable Exchange rate during Mitch of the  of the project a so far a has not been affected by the expected withdrawal of . Troops from Europe he said. The Hospital a which vies with the Lan stuhl.,. A a army photo 843 l. Emm Al Ali or. A 1946 photo shows the front of the Frankfurt Hospital. At right capt. Edwin Heath the nurse project officer for the Hospital s renovation walks under a Jungle of wires in the corridor leading to the labor and delivery Wing army regional medical Center As the military a largest outside of the United states or was originally built As a German air Force Hospital. When completed in 1939, it was named after Luftwaffe chief Hermann g6ring and was the most Modem military Hospital in Germany. Injured and ill British american and French prisoners of War were cared for in the Hospital As Well As German soldiers Swisher said. Swastikas decorated the Hospital and As late As 1970 some emblems of nazi Germany still remained on the ceiling of the main lobby. They were chiselled off and painted Over. For years rumours claimed that a network of tunnels ran underneath the Hospital leading to either the Frankfurt train station or to the . Farben chemical company Complex now v corps Headquarters. Similar rumours claimed the tunnels created an underground Mirror image of the Hospital to care for patients in the event of an air raid Swisher said. But those rumours were proven false in the mid-1970s, when employees of the Hospital sought out one of the original building construction engineers still living in the area. The Engineer denied that tunnels Ever existed under the Hospital and renovation workers have never found any Swisher said. Tree is tall reminder of shorty a Iona service by Gary Pomeroy staff writer Frankfurt West Germany a a 50-foot Poplar tree is an unlikely reminder of someone known As shorty. But that a what Liane Ries left behind when she retired from the Frankfurt army regional medical Center in March after nearly 44 years. A a in a a typical German a i like plants a said Ries who stands just under 5 feet. The tree was Given to her by a Gardener Friend in 1950, and she agreed to Plant it at the Hospital even though she figured it would probably die. It thrived though and today it bears a plaque with her name. The tree Isnit the Only legacy Ries left behind at the Hospital which is celebrating its 45th year As a . Military medical facility. She a also remembered for pranks involving certain amphibians used in Laboratory testing. A we had to buy frogs for pregnancy tests for the Laboratory Quot she said. A and i remember the Guy who would go out and catch the frogs and bring in 100 in a bag  a Hundred frogs proved to be too much of a temptation and Ries just  resist hiding at least one in her Bossy a desk. A the walked in opened his desk and the Frog jumped out a she said laughing. A the yelled a shorty a a her fondest memory is of the Day Gen. Dwight d. Eisenhower visited the Hospital before he departed from Europe. A what a Beautiful Guy he was a she recalled. A the looked great. You could look at him and Tell he was the Man in  Ries started working in the Hospital shortly after world War ii. During the last year of the War Ries and other Frankfurt children had been evacuated North to a amps Gary Pom Foy Liane a shorty a Ries. Retired after nearly 44 years the area Between the cities of Giessen and Fulda. When she returned to the City a there were no schools no stores no places to work Quot she said. Riesz father a German Sailor had died in the War but a family Friend managed to land a precious Job for Riesz Mother in a Ward Kitchen at the Hospital. A she told my Mother a if there a any food left Over you can take it  Quot before that there were times when Ries and her Mother got by on a few pieces of bread a Day. The Hospital also needed clerical help and Ries who had taken typing lessons and had a working knowledge of English from her school Days also managed to land a Job. For the first half year i worked in the personnel service monitoring the local nationals making sure they were  she later moved to the hospitals logistics division. Ries did have one Short break in service at the Hospital. Three months before her 18th birthday the German government passed a Law Banning employment for people under 18. After the required three month wait Ries won her old Job Back and returned to the logistics division from which she retired on March 31. Ries said she a been around so Long that most people assumed she was an american. Her English sounds like a Cross Between that spoken in Boston and Houston. They ask me w Here i Learned to speak German so