• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Ribbon-Cutting Held at Mercy Hall

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080403-18
Release Date: 4/3/2008 8:10:00 PM

By Chief Mass Communication Specialist (AW) Paul DeLaughter, National Naval Medical Center Public Affairs

BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- The National Naval Medical Center unveiled the completed renovation project at Mercy Hall, April 1, Bethesda's wounded warrior outpatient lodging facility in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, military leaders from the D.C. area and local government officials attended the event.

Renovations made to the facility were designed to improve quality-of-life standards for its residents and to bring the building into compliance with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

"The Navy and Marine Corps team has always recognized the importance of taking care of the people in uniform," said Rear Adm. Richard Jeffries, commander, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda. "We will do what is necessary for the people who protect our freedom."

Cpl. Joseph Duncan, who was wounded in Ramadi, Iraq, has been a resident of Mercy Hall for a month. He said the renovations have made his recovery process much more comfortable.

"Places like [Mercy Hall] give you a peaceful mind set," Duncan said. "To go from being shot at every day to being able to sit out in the yard and listen to the birds and smell the fresh air is important to a patient's recovery."

Jeffries thanked the people who contributed to the completion of Mercy Hall — the contractors who built it, the officials who authorized it — but he said the honors need to be given to the people who live there.

"It's an honor to take care of these great Americans who willingly volunteered to serve, guaranteeing our cherished rights and freedoms," Jeffries said. "Those who reside with us have paid a personal price for that service during this country's war on terrorism."

Navy Surgeon General, Vice Adm. Adam Robinson, Jr., who started the renovation project while serving as the National Naval Medical Center commander, said the concept of Navy Medicine is patient- and family-centered care.

"If we don't get anything right … we must get this right," Robinson said. "We must be integrators of care, we must do the medical and the non-medical case management, we must take care of all the needs of the patients and their families if we are to honor our wounded warriors."

Two years ago, Navy Medicine recognized Mercy Hall was in need of major repairs and upgrades. After initial upgrades were made the building was made available to be used as a lodging facility for service members undergoing outpatient care. Service members who could live outside the hospital's walls, but still needed to be close to medical care, Robinson said.

Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, a colonel in the Army reserves who spent time in Iraq, said he witnessed the "great and outstanding" work Marines accomplished in Fallujah. As a service member himself, he knows the sacrifice people in uniform must make. Brown pledged Maryland's cooperation so the National Naval Medical Center can continue to provide for America's heroes.

England said the event is symbolic because the Bethesda campus was built during World War II and Mercy Hall was constructed during the Vietnam War.

"While the roots of Mercy Hall lay in the past it's truly a bridge to the future," he said. "This reflects [the people's] deep commitment to America's war fighters."

For more news from National Naval Medical Center, visit www.news.navy.mil/local/nnmc/.