Is Walter Reed Hospital slated to be shut down?

Question

I heard today about the scandal involving substandard care at Walter Reed Hospital. However, I recal hearing about a year ago that Walter Reed was going to be shut down and its patients transfered to Bethesda? Does anyone know if Walter Reed is still slated to be closed? Or, did I perhaps misunderstand the news reports, and it was never slated to be closed in the first place? If it's going to be shut down, how much longer will it take? Any information anyone has would be appreciated.

Please note that I am looking for information more so than opinions.

Answer 1

Walter Reed is not going to be closed anytime soon, but it is undergoing a drastic change in management. \

As per the transferring process, Wikipedia details it thusly:

"Replacement proposal in 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.

The transfer of services from the existing to the new facilities will be gradual to allow for continuity of care for the thousands of service members, retirees and family members that depend upon Walter Reed AMC. The final closure of the current WRAMC facility has been set for September 2011."

Answer 2

Y E S, in about 2 years!!

Answer 3

Most of the answers are right. The BRAC is on track!! I have been involved in several of these. When you tell employees that their job will disappear (via BRAC), they immediately look for a safe haven; potential employees look elsewhere for work; only the incompetent or extremely dedicated stay until the end. This is true from the top down. The function of the base goes down the toilet. The only difference this time is it involves our broken sons and daughters. Pray for their bodies and the souls of the politicians who did this.

Answer 4

Walter Reed will be completely closed in 4 years. BAMC is now the flagship of army health care. Walter Reed had become an experiment in giving civilians partial control of an army health facility.

Answer 5

If I'm reading this correctly Walter Reed and Bethesda are to be combined into the Walter Reed Bethesda Military Hospital Complex. I believe the problem is that a company, whose CEO just happens to be a former Halliburton vicePresident, has been hired to privatize most of the activies of these facilities.

Answer 6

Yes, it is on the BRAC list. It is supposed to be closed and torn down and another Waler Reed Hospital was going to be built. My memory is that is was not going to be rebuilt on the same site but in the same area. Current patients would be transferred to Bethesda or to a facility that could care for that individuals needs. For more information on BRAC listed locations try this link:

http://www.dod.mil/brac/

Answer 7

Yes they are still closing. I don't think that when it was selected during the Clinton years for closing that any one could have guest the over whelming influx of wounded that would be coming.

Answer 8

Not at this time...It was on Base closing list, but I believe it was spared. It will be getting a renovation, soon.