Walter Reed Army Medical Center
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Walter Reed Army Medical Center is the U.S. Army's premier medical center on the east coast of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it serves more than 150,000 active duty 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 discovered that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct contact.
Civilians such as United States Senators and even the President receive care at this medical center. Walter Reed Army Medical Center 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.
Congressional legislation authorized construction of Walter Reed General Hospital and the first patient was admitted on May 1, 1909. Since then it has grown from a bed capacity of 80 patients to approximately 5500 rooms covering more than 28 acres (113,000 m²) of floor space.
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"; the new center would be on the grounds of the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, seven miles from Walter Reed's current location. The proposal is part of a program to transform medical facilities into joint facilities, with staff including Army, Navy and Air Force medical personnel.
External links
- Official Walter Reed Army Medical Center website (http://www.wramc.amedd.army.mil/)
- BRAC 2005: DoD Uses Process to Revamp Medical System (http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2005/20050513_1063.html)