The Department of the Navy issued a Record of Decision Tuesday addressing actions necessary to create the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the campus of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations & Environment, B.J. Penn, signed the environmental document officially allowing construction to begin.
The 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended relocating certain Walter Reed Army Medical Center activities from D.C. to Bethesda, and establishing it as WRNMMC. The medical center will provide tertiary, sub-specialty and complex medical services. Also, a new community hospital at Fort Belvoir, Va. will provide non-tertiary care services. The BRAC law requires construction of the two facilities to be completed by Sept. 15, 2011.
The RoD is the final step in the environmental evaluation process established by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. NEPA requires federal agencies such as the Department of the Navy to consider the impact that major federal actions such as the BRAC may have on the environment.
ìOur nation is building two world-class medical facilities that will care for our warriors and their families in the National Capital Region. This is a pivotal step in the BRAC realignment process,î Rear Adm. John Mateczun, commander Joint Task National Capital Region Medical, said. ìBut, more importantly, we are embarking on an exciting journey ó to take our existing world-class capabilities and enhance them through synergistic consolidation and integration. When we reach the finish line in 2011, weíll have the nationís premier Regional Healthcare System.î
A groundbreaking is planned for late June and construction will begin this summer. For more information on the integration of NNMC and WRAMC, visit www.http://www.jtfcapmed.mil. (NNMC Public Affairs Office)
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