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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 confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct contact.
The U.S. President, Vice President, Senators and Representatives may all 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.
The facility is also 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.
Base Realignment and Closure, 2005
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.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in popular culture
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.
External links
"Walter Reed Army Medical Center"