Walter Reed Army Medical Center

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)  known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951  was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on 113 acres (46 ha) in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military. The center was named after Major Walter Reed (1851–1902), an Army physician who led the team that confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct contact.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center
WRGH ("Building 1") prior to its closing in 2011
FoundedMay 1, 1909
DisbandedAugust 27, 2011
Country United States
Branch United States Army
TypeHospital
RoleMilitarized healthcare
Motto(s)"We Provide Warrior Care"
Commanders
Notable
commanders
LTG Kevin C. Kiley (2002 – June 2004; March 1–2, 2007)
MG Kenneth L. Farmer Jr. (June 2004 – Aug. 25, 2006)
MG. George W. Weightman (Aug. 25, 2006 – March 1, 2007)
MG Carla Hawley-Bowland (final commander)
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Walter Reed Health Care System
Geography
Location6900 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, D.C., United States
Coordinates38°58′30″N 77°01′48″W
Organization
Care systemMilitary
TypeGeneral
History
OpenedMay 1, 1909
Links
WebsiteWalter Reed National Military Center
ListsHospitals in Washington, D.C.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) Historic District
NRHP reference No.15000061
Added to NRHPMarch 9, 2015

Since its origins, the WRAMC medical care facility grew from a bed capacity of 80 patients to approximately 5,500 rooms covering more than 28 acres (11 ha) of floor space. WRAMC combined with the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland in 2011 to form the tri-service Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). The grounds and historic buildings of the old campus are being redeveloped as the Parks at Walter Reed.[1]

History

Origins at Fort McNair

Fort Lesley J. McNair, located in the southwest of the District of Columbia on land set aside by George Washington as a military reservation, is the third oldest U.S. Army installation in continuous use in the United States after West Point and Carlisle Barracks. Its position at the confluence of the Anacostia River and the Potomac River made it an excellent site for the defense of the nation's capital. Dating back to 1791, the post served as an arsenal, played an important role in the nation's defense, and housed the first U.S. Federal Penitentiary from 1839 to 1862.

Today, Fort McNair enjoys a strong tradition as the intellectual headquarters for defense. Furthermore, with unparalleled vistas of the picturesque waterfront and the opposing Virginia shoreline, the historic health clinic at Fort McNair, the precursor of today's Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), overlooks the residences of top officials who choose the famed facility for the delivery of their health care needs.

"Walter Reed's Clinic," the location of the present day health clinic at Washington, D.C., occupies what was from 1898 until 1909 the General Hospital at what was then Washington Barracks, long before the post was renamed in honor of Lt. Gen. McNair who was killed in 1944. The hospital served as the forerunner of Walter Reed General Hospital; however, the Victorian era waterfront dispensary remains and is perhaps one of America's most historically significant military medical treatment facilities. It is reported that Walter Reed lived and worked in the facility when he was assigned as Camp Surgeon from 1881 to 1882. After having served on other assignments, he returned as Professor of Medicine and Curator of the Army Medical Museum. Some of his epidemiological work included studies at Washington Barracks, and he is best known for discovering the transmission of yellow fever. In 1902, Major Reed underwent emergency surgery here for appendicitis and died of complications in this U.S. Army Medical Treatment Facility (MTF), within the very walls of what became his final military duty assignment.[2]

Regarding the structure itself, since the 1890s the health clinic was used as an Army General Hospital where physicians, corpsmen and nurses were trained in military health care. In 1899, the morgue was constructed which now houses the Dental Clinic, and in 1901 the hospital became an entirely separate command. This new organizational command relocated eight years later with the aide of horse-drawn wagons and an experimental steam driven ambulance in 1909. Departing from the 50-bed hospital, as documented in The Army Nursing Newsletter, Volume 99, Issue 2, February 2000,[3] they set out due north transporting with them 11 patients initially to the new 65-bed facility in the northern aspect of the capital. Having departed Ft. McNair, the organization has since developed into the Walter Reed Army Medical Center that we know today.

As for the facility they left behind at Fort McNair, it functioned in a smaller role as a post hospital until 1911 when the west wing was converted into a clinic.

Walter Reed General Hospital and WRAMC

Congressional legislation appropriated $192,000 for the construction of Walter Reed General Hospital[4] (WRGH, now known as "Building 1"), and the first ten patients were admitted on May 1, 1909. Lieutenant Colonel William Cline Borden was the initiator, planner and effective mover for the creation, location, and first Congressional support of the Medical Center. Due to his efforts, the facility was nicknamed "Borden's Dream."[5]

In 1923, General John J. Pershing signed the War Department order creating the "Army Medical Center" (AMC) within the same campus as the WRGH. (At this time, the Army Medical School was relocated from 604 Louisiana Avenue and became the "Medical Department Professional Service School" (MDPSS) in the new Building 40.) Pershing lived at Walter Reed from 1944 until his death there July 15, 1948.

The Walter Reed General Hospital (main building with cupola in distance at far left) in September, 1919. The WRGH was the precursor to WRAMC.

In September 1951, "General Order Number 8" combined the WRGH with the AMC, and the entire complex of 100 rose-brick Georgian Revival style buildings was at that time renamed the "Walter Reed Army Medical Center" (WRAMC). In June 1955, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) occupied the new Building 54 and, in November, what had been MDPSS was renamed the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). 1964 saw the birth of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing (WRAIN). Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower died at WRAMC on March 28, 1969.

Starting in 1972, a huge new WRAMC building (Building 2) was constructed and made ready for occupation by 1977. WRAIR moved from Building 40 to a large new facility on the WRAMC Forest Glen Annex in Maryland in 1999. Subsequently, Building 40 was slated for renovation under an enhanced use lease by a private developer.

In 2007, the University of Pennsylvania and WRAMC established a partnership whereby proton therapy technology would be available to treat United States military personnel and veterans in the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine's new Roberts Proton Therapy Center.[6][7]

2007 neglect scandal

In February 2007, The Washington Post published a series of investigative articles outlining cases of alleged neglect (physical deterioration of housing quarters outside hospital grounds, bureaucratic nightmares, etc.) at WRAMC as reported by outpatient soldiers and their families. A scandal and media furor quickly developed resulting in the firing of the WRAMC commanding general Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman,[8] the resignation of Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey (reportedly at the request of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates[9]), the forced resignation of Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, hospital commander from 2002 to 2004.[10] Congressional committee hearings were called and numerous politicians weighed in on the matter including President George W. Bush, who had appointed Harvey, and Vice-President Dick Cheney. Several independent governmental investigations are ongoing and the controversy has spread to other military health facilities and the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system.

2005 BRAC recommendation and 2011 closure

President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush visit Sgt. Patrick Hagood of Anderson, South Carolina on October 5, 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 (WRNMMC); the new center would be on the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, seven miles (11 km) from WRAMC's location in Washington, D.C. The proposal was 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 the WRNMMC. The transfer of services from the existing to the new facilities was gradual to allow for continuity of care for the thousands of service members, retirees and family members that depended upon WRAMC. The end of operations at the WRAMC facility occurred on August 27, 2011.[11] The Army says the cost of closing that hospital and consolidating it with Bethesda Naval Medical Center in suburban Maryland more than doubled to $2.6 billion since the plan was announced in 2005 by the Base Realignment and Closing Commission.[12]

Notable people who died at WRGH or WRAMC

Tenants

In addition to the WRAMC hospital complex, the WRAMC installation hosted a number of other related activities and organizations.

Commanding officers

Although after 1992 officers of any branch of the Army Medical Department could command medical treatment facilities, every commander of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center was a member of the Army Medical Corps.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center[21]

ImageRankNameBegin DateEnd DateNotes
Major generalCarla G. Hawley-BowlandDecember 2007July 29, 2011Cased the Medical Center colors
Major generalEric B. SchoomakerMarch 2007November 2007Later Surgeon General of the Army
Lieutenant generalKevin C. KileyMarch 1, 2007March 2, 2007Simultaneously serving as Surgeon General of the Army
Major generalGeorge W. WeightmanAugust 2006March 1, 2007
Major generalKenneth L. Farmer, Jr.June 2004August 2006
Major generalKevin C. KileyJune 2002June 2004Later Surgeon General of the Army
Major generalHarold L. TimboeMay 1999June 2002
Major generalLeslie M. BurgerNovember 1996May 1999
Major generalRonald R. BlanckOctober 1992October 1996Later Surgeon General of the Army
Major generalRichard D. CameronMay 1989October 1992Later Commanding General, United States Army Health Services Command
ColonelJames E. HastingsMarch 1989May 1989
Major generalJames H. RumbaughAugust 1988March 1989Died while in command
Major generalLouis A. MalogneJune 1983August 1988 Medically retired 1 August 1988; died 22 August 1988
Major generalEnrique Mendez, Jr.October 1981June 1983Later Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)
Major generalBernard T. MittemeyerJune 1980September 1981Later Surgeon General of the Army
Major generalGeorge I. BakerMarch 1978June 1980
Major generalRobert BernsteinJune 1973February 1978Previously Command Surgeon, Military Assistance Command Vietnam
Major generalWilliam H. MoncriefMay 1972April 1973
Brigadier generalWilliam H. MeroneyApril 1972May 1972
Major generalColin F. Vorder BruggeJanuary 1971March 1972
Major generalCarl W. HughesNovember 1970January 1971
Major generalGlenn J. CollinsJune 1969October 1970Previously Commanding General 44th Medical Brigade and Command Surgeon, United States Army, Vietnam
Major generalPhillip W. MalloryMay 1967June 1969
Major generalDouglas O. KendrickJune 1965March 1967
Major generalAchilles L. TynesSeptember 1962May 1965
Major generalClinton S. LyterMay 1961September 1962
Major generalC. F. St. JohnJuly 1959April 1961
Major generalLeonard D. HeatonApril 1953June 1959Later Surgeon General of the Army
Major generalPaul H. StreitSeptember 1951March 1953

The Army Medical Center[22]

ImageRankNameBegin DateEnd DateNotes
Major generalPaul H. StreitJanuary 1949February 1951
Major generalGeorge C. BeachMarch 1946November 1948
Major generalShelly U. MariettaFebruary 1941February 1946
Brigadier generalRaymond F. MetcalfeDecember 1939January 1941
Brigadier generalWallace C. DeWittAugust 1935December 1939Namesake of former DeWitt Army Community Hospital, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Brigadier generalAlbert E. TrubyJanuary 1932July 1935As a lieutenant, Truby served under Walter Reed in Cuba during the yellow fever experiments
Brigadier generalCarl R. DarnallDecember 1929December 1931 Namesake of Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, Texas
Brigadier generalJames M. KennedyMarch 1926December 1929
Brigadier generalJames D. GlennanMarch 1919March 1926

Walter Reed General Hospital[22]

ImageRankNameBegin dateEnd dateNotes
Brigadier generalJames D. GlennanMarch 1919March 1926
ColonelEdward R. SchreinerAugust 1918March 1919
ColonelWillard F. TrubyNovember 1917August 1918
ColonelCharles P. MasonOctober 1916November 1917
MajorPercy M. AshburnSeptember 1915October 1916
ColonelJohn L. PhillipsMay 1914September 1915
ColonelHenry C. "Pinky" FisherAugust 1913May 1914[23]
ColonelH. P. BirminghamOctober 1912May 1913
ColonelCharles RichardSeptember 1911September 1912
ColonelWilliam H. ArthurJune 1, 1908July 11, 1911[24]Worked with Major Walter Reed at the Army Medical Bacteriological Laboratory while stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia, 1895–1897. Retired as a brigadier general in 1918.[25]

See also

References

  1. "About". The Parks at Walter Reed. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. Adler, 2014
  3. "Regional Health Command – Atlantic – Home". www.narmc.amedd.army.mil. Archived from the original on 28 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  4. "Hospital Under Way". The Washington Post. February 3, 1907. p. R7. ProQuest 144711780.
  5. "Major Walter Reed, Medical Corps, U.S. Army". Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  6. "Collaborative Research Effort with the United States Military | Roberts Proton Therapy Center". Pennmedicine.org. Archived from the original on 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
  7. McDonough, J.; Tinnel, B. (August 2007). "The University of Pennsylvania/Walter Reed Army Medical Center proton therapy program". Technol. Cancer Res. Treat. 6 (4 Suppl): 73–76. doi:10.1177/15330346070060S412. PMID 17668956.
  8. "Politics News – Breaking Political News, Video & Analysis". ABC News. Archived from the original on 1 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  9. "Army secretary resigns in scandal's wake". Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  10. "Army's Kiley ousted in Walter Reed furor". Archived from the original on 17 March 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  11. "Walter Reed Army Medical Center closes its doors in final ceremony". CNN. August 27, 2011. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  12. "Health care difficulties in the Big Easy". CNN. February 28, 2006. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012.
  13. "Office of Medical History – Brigadier General Roger Brooke". history.amedd.army.mil. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  14. "Gen Francis Henry French Dead". New York Times. March 11, 1921. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  15. "In the Americas", The Miami Herald (nl.newsbank.com), 16 February 1997.
  16. Larry Rohter, "Cheddi Jagan, Guyana's Founder, Dies at 78", The New York Times, 7 March 1997.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-04-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. Mossman, Billy C.; Stark, M. Warner (1972). The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funerals, 1921–1969. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. pp. 81–86. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.
  19. DuPre, Flint. "U.S. Air Force Biographical Dictionary". United States Air Force. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  20. "Archived copy". Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2016-04-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/FileDownloadpublic.aspx?docid=13007843-cee1-4d4a-96b2-5e19f47be3a9/ Archived 2016-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
  22. "Archived copy". Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2016-04-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. "Archived copy". Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2016-04-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. "Archived copy". Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2016-04-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. "Brigadier General William H. Arthur (1856-1936) :: Army Medical Bulletin, 1922-1949". stimson.contentdm.oclc.org. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2017.

Further reading

  • Adler, Jessica L. "The Founding of Walter Reed General Hospital and the Beginning of Modern Institutional Army Medical Care in the United States." Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences (2014) 69#4 pp. 521–53.
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