Everything about Walter Reed Army Medical Center totally explained
The
Walter Reed National Army Medical Center (WRAMC) is the
United States Army's medical center on the
east coast of the United States. Located on 113 acres (457,000 m²) in
Washington, D.C., it serves more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military. The center is named after Major
Walter Reed, an army surgeon who led the team which confirmed that
yellow fever is transmitted by
mosquitoes rather than direct contact.
Since its origins, what is now the WRAMC medical care facility has grown from a bed capacity of 80 patients to approximately 5,500 rooms covering more than 28 acres (113,000 m²) of floor space. Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) will be combining with Bethesda Naval in the nearterm future.
History
Origins at Fort McNair
Fort Lesley J. McNair, located in southwest Washington, D.C. on land set aside by
George Washington as a military reservation, is the third oldest
U.S. Army installation in continuous use in the United States after
West Point and
Carlisle Barracks. Its position at the confluence of the
Anacostia River and the
Potomac River made it an excellent site for the defense of the nation’s capital. Dating back to
1791, the post served as an arsenal, played an important role in the nation’s defense, and housed the first U.S. Federal
Penitentiary from
1839 to
1862.
Today, Fort McNair enjoys a strong tradition as the intellectual headquarters for defense. Furthermore, with unparalleled vistas of the picturesque waterfront and the opposing
Virginia shoreline, the historic health clinic at Fort McNair, the precursor of today's Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), overlooks the residences of top officials who choose the famed facility for the delivery of their
health care needs.
"Walter Reed’s Clinic," the location of the present day health clinic at Ft. McNair, occupies what was from
1898 until
1909 the General Hospital at what was then Washington Barracks, long before the post was renamed in honor of Lt. Gen. McNair who was killed in
Normandy in
1944 by
friendly fire. The hospital served as the forerunner of
Walter Reed General Hospital; however, the
Victorian era waterfront
dispensary remains and is perhaps one of America’s most historically significant military medical treatment facilities. It is reported that
Walter Reed lived and worked in the facility when he was assigned as Camp Surgeon from
1881 to
1882. After having served on other assignments, he returned as Professor of Medicine and Curator of the
Army Medical Museum. Some of his epidemiological work included studies at Washington Barracks, and he's best known for discovering the transmission of
yellow fever. In
1902,
Major Reed underwent emergency surgery here for
appendicitis and died of complications in this U.S. Army Medical Treatment Facility (MTF), within the very walls of what became his final military duty assignment.
Regarding the structure itself, since the 1890’s the health clinic was used as an Army General Hospital where
physicians,
corpsmen and
nurses were trained in military health care. In
1899, the
morgue was constructed which now houses the
Dental Clinic, and in
1901 the hospital became an entirely separate
command (military formation). This new organizational command relocated eight years later with the aide of horse drawn wagons and an experimental steam driven ambulance in
1909. Departing from the 50-bed hospital, as documented in The Army Nursing Newsletter, Volume 99, Issue 2, February 2000, they set out due north transporting with them 11
patients initially to the new 65-bed facility in the northern aspect of the capital. Having departed Ft. McNair, the organization has since developed into the Walter Reed Army Medical Center that we know today.
As for the facility they left behind at Fort McNair, it functioned in a smaller role as a post hospital until
1911 when the west wing was converted into a clinic. Today, this renovated medical treatment facility at Fort McNair continues its rich, uninterrupted heritage in providing a wide variety of state of the art health care to the capital region military community as an extension of WRAMC.
Walter Reed General Hospital and WRAMC
Congressional legislation authorized construction of
Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH, now known as "Building 1") and the first ten patients were admitted on
May 1,
1909. According to the WRAMC website, Lt. Col.
William Cline Borden "was the initiator, planner and effective mover for the creation, location, and first Congressional support of the Medical Center" Because of his efforts, the facility was nicknamed "Borden's Dream."
In
1923, General
John J. Pershing signed the War Department order creating the "Army Medical Center" (AMC) within the same campus as the WRGH. (At this time, the
Army Medical School was relocated from 604 Louisiana Avenue and became the "Medical Department Professional Service School" (MDPSS) in the new Building 40.)
In September 1951, "General Order Number 8" combined the WRGH with the AMC; the entire complex of 100 rose-brick
Georgian buildings was at that time renamed the "Walter Reed Army Medical Center" (WRAMC). In June 1955, the
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) occupied the new Building 54 and, in November, what had been MDPSS was renamed the
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). 1964 saw the birth of the
Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing (WRAIN). Former President
Dwight D. Eisenhower died at WRAMC on
March 28,
1969.
Starting in 1972, a huge new WRAMC building (Building 2) was constructed and made ready for occupation by 1977. WRAIR moved from Building 40 to a large new facility on the WRAMC
Forest Glen Annex in Maryland in 1999. Subsequently, Building 40 was slated for renovation under an
enhanced use lease by a private developer.
Today, the
U.S. President,
Vice President,
Senators and
Representatives may all receive care at this medical center. WRAMC is considered a
tertiary care center and houses numerous medical and surgical specialties. It is part of the larger
Walter Reed Health Care System, which includes some ten other hospitals.
2005 replacement proposal
As part of a
Base Realignment and Closure announcement on
May 13,
2005, the
Department of Defense proposed replacing Walter Reed
Army Medical Center with a new
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC); the new center would be on the grounds of the
National Naval Medical Center in
Bethesda, Maryland, seven miles (11 km) from WRAMC's current location in
Washington, D.C. The proposal is part of a program to transform medical facilities into joint facilities, with staff including Army, Navy, and Air Force medical personnel.
On
August 25,
2005, the BRAC Committee recommended passage of the plans for the WRNMMC.
The transfer of services from the existing to the new facilities will be gradual to allow for continuity of care for the thousands of service members, retirees and family members that currently depend upon WRAMC. The final closure of the current WRAMC facility has been set for September
2011.
2007 neglect scandal
In February of 2007,
The Washington Post published a series of investigative articles outlining cases of alleged neglect (physical deterioration, bureaucratic nightmares, etc) at WRAMC as reported by outpatient soldiers and their family members. A scandal and media furor quickly developed resulting in the firing of the WRAMC commanding general
Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, the resignation of
Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey (reportedly at the request of
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ), the forced resignation of Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, commander from 2002 to 2004, congressional committee hearings, and commentary from numerous politicians including President
George W. Bush and Vice-President
Dick Cheney. Several independent governmental investigations are ongoing and the controversy has spread to other military health facilities and the
Department of Veterans Affairs health care system.
Tenants
In addition to the WRAMC hospital complex, the WRAMC installation hosts a number of other related activities and organizations.
Commanding Officers
Major General Carla G. Hawley-Bowland 2007-present
Major General Eric Schoomaker 2007
Major General George W. Weightman 2006-2007
Major General Kenneth L. Farmer, Jr. 2004-2006
Lieutenant General Kevin C. Kiley 2002-2004, acting 2007
Major General Robert Bernstein 1973-1978
Major General Harold L. TimboeFurther Information
Get more info on 'Walter Reed Army Medical Center'.
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