News From the Cause
National Naval Medical Center prepares to merge with Walter Reed Army Medical (Maryland Gazette)
February 23, 2011
Bethesda hospital nears merger with Walter Reed by Sarah Gantz | Staff Writer
Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt opened its gates in 1942, the National Naval Medical Center's mission has been to serve the men and women who serve their country, providing them with cutting-edge medical treatment at the world-class facility in the heart of Bethesda.
Although its mission remains the same, the hospital has grown from the hospital tower that is still the architectural centerpiece of the hospital to a full-fledged medical campus and adapted its equipment and staff not only to medical advancements, but also to accommodate diverse injuries that result from shifting war strategies and locales.
Among the biggest changes in Navy Med's 69 years comes in September, when the hospital merges with Walter Reed Army Medical Center under the 2005 federal Base Realignment and Closure mandate. The merger will add 2,500 employees, twice as many patients and a fuller medical repertoire to the hospital.
Navy Med has been long recognized as a premiere brain trauma center, while Walter Reed's modus operandi is amputee care. Come September, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center will have it all.
"It exemplifies what the goal of the BRAC was," said Capt. David Bitonti, the hospital's chief of staff for integration and transition. "To focus the unique capacity of the two separate facilities and bring them together on one campus as the future."
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