Walter Reed Army Medical Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the U.S. Army medical center/hospital (not the research institute). Otherwise, see Walter Reed (disambiguation).
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) 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 confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct contact.
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[edit] History
Congressional legislation authorized construction of Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) and the first ten patients were admitted on May 1, 1909. Due to the untiring efforts of Colonel William Cline Borden who was the initiator, planner and effective mover for the creation, location, and first Congressional support of the Medical Center, it is still referred to by old-timers as "Borden's Dream." Fourteen years later, General John J. Pershing signed the War Department order creating the Army Medical Center, the WRGH and associated facilities.
In September 1951, the entire complex of (then) 100 rose-brick Georgian buildings was renamed the "Walter Reed Army Medical Center".
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.
Since its origins, the hospital 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.
[edit] The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
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 National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, seven miles (11 km) from Walter Reed'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 Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
The transfer of services from the existing to the new facilities will be gradual to allow for continuity of care for the thousands of servicemembers, retirees and family members that depend upon Walter Reed AMC. The date for final closure of the current WRAMC facility has been set for an unspecified date in 2011.
[edit] The Installation & Its Tenants
In addition to the WRAMC hospital complex, the WRAMC installation hosts a number of other related activities and organizations.
- The National Museum of Health and Medicine is famous for housing a number of American Civil War artifacts, most famously the preserved leg of Union General Daniel Sickles. Sickles lost the leg on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg when a Confederate shell exploded in the Trostle Barn, Sickles's field headquarters.
[edit] Popular Culture References
The hospital has had two famous fictional patients: Klaatu from The Day the Earth Stood Still and Major Steve Trevor, brought there by Wonder Woman.
Walter Reed is also the focus of the first track of Michael Penn's fifth album, Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947.
