FACILITIES
WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER
Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital serves more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military, admitting 16,000 patients a year. As a provider of tertiary (specialized) care and a referral center for the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command, Walter Reed offers a broad range of clinical, educational, and research opportunities. For instance, on an average day, over 6,000 radiographic, MRI and CAT procedures are performed, and over 4,000 meals are served.
Under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act, Walter Reed Hospital will relocate to grounds on the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., no later then Sept. 15, 2011. The facility will then be called the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
The planned 345-bed medical center will have a full range of intensive and specialty and subspecialty medical services, including specialized facilities for military personnel. It's expected to become the U.S. military's premier hospital for casualty and beneficiary care, provide postgraduate education and other training, and serve as a critical medical research center.
The present day center opened May 1, 1909, and was named in honor of Maj. Walter Reed, best know for his etiology and epidemiology research. From its onset, the center focused on integrated patient care, teaching and research.
Before WWI the hospital's capacity was 80 patient beds. But during the war it grew to 2,500 in a matter of months. Through World War II, Korea, and Vietnam the facility treated hundreds of thousands of Soldiers.
Today, surgical teams at WRAMC perform approximately 700 operations in 16 operating rooms annually. These operations range from open-heart surgeries to organ transplants. The hospital has a support staff of more than 600 staff physicians, 535 military and civilian registered nurses, more than 600 licensed professional nurses and other paraprofessionals in its department of nursing.
As leaders in clinical research, WRAMC generates the largest number of ongoing clinical research studies within the Department of Defense and is often referred to as the flagship of DoD clinical research. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is the largest and most diverse biomedical research laboratory in DoD. Its resources include a laboratory in Maryland that was dedicated in September 2001, a specialized detachment in Texas and Illinois, plus laboratory and clinical facilities in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Also located on the campus is the internationally known Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Today this tri-service organization employs more than 800 people, including 250 pathologists, to help diagnose unusual or difficult cases.
AREA HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
- Tours of the White House and the Capital are given most days.
- The National Archives
- National Air and Space Museum
- Washington Monument
- Smithsonian Museum
- Washington National Cathedral
- Vietnam Memorial
