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Two Years Later, Future Medical Center Near Completion

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100706-04
7/6/2010

By Sarah Fortney, National Naval Medical Center Public Affairs and Timothy R. Smith, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Officer in Charge of Construction Bethesda Public Affairs

BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- With a scheduled completion date of September 2011, the military medical system's largest infrastructure investment to date — the future Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda (WRNMMCB) has made significant progress.

Since the July 3 groundbreaking two years ago by then President George W. Bush and several joint military members, construction crews have made great progress on the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) projects mandated by Congress in 2005.

The more than $1 billion BRAC commissioned project to relocate Walter Reed Army Medical Center to Bethesda is part of one of the largest military construction projects in history.

"We will join the resources of the Army, Navy and Air Force and make it easier for medical professionals of all three services to collaborate and care for the patients. Merging facilities would ease the burden on patients," said Bush at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Building A, which will house outpatient clinics, is expected to be completed in August; Building B, which will be used for inpatient clinics, is scheduled to be completed in September, according to Cmdr. Scott Raymond, resident officer in charge of construction OICC — Bethesda — Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC).

"We're close to the milestones of opening up the buildings," said Andrew Gutberlet, the Navy's supervisory project manager for new construction. "We still can't let the pressure up one second."

"The BRAC projects are all on or ahead of schedule," said Raymond.

In mid-August, General Dynamics Information Technology, a contractor, will begin outfitting Building A with medical equipment and Building B in mid-September.

This success is a result of paying close attention to the overall construction schedule and remaining committed to quality construction, he said. He also attributes the working partnerships between the government and the contracted construction company.

"The government-contractor partnership continues to grow in effectiveness through regular partnering sessions that focus and align contractor, NAVFAC and hospital goals," said Raymond.

In addition to the new structures under construction, many renovations are also underway for the future medical center. Several hospital spaces have been renovated, including dental readiness, nephrology and general surgery.

Renovations to the North Gate and the Visitor's Center will be completed in April 2011, said Raymond. Building 62 – which includes barracks, a dining facility and Warrior Transition Unit administration — will be completed in June 2011 and a number of other upgrades will continue to take shape amongst departments between now and July 2011.

In addition, a new parking garage, known as the America garage, was completed earlier this year providing a total of 944 parking spaces, said Denver Terrence, a project manager for Naval Facilities Engineering Command – OICC Bethesda.

The garage, which has two elevators and eight levels, was opened for temporary staff use Feb. 1 and will be opened to patients in November, said Terrence.

Outside of BRAC, private funds have built three new Fisher Houses for families of patients in treatment at the hospital, one of which has been dedicated to families who will be treated at the recently completed National Intrepid Center of Excellence. This facility will be dedicated to advancing the treatment of and research for psychological health disorders amongst service members and veterans.

The greatest challenge throughout the process has been performing construction during ongoing hospital operations, said Raymond.

"Construction, and especially renovation, is an inherently disruptive process which creates noise, vibration, dust and dirt. Renovations in Buildings 9 and 10 are being done above, below and next to active departments providing inpatient and outpatient services," said Raymond. "Minimizing impact to hospital operations requires detailed logistics [and] planning."

Throughout the process, patient needs have been a priority.

"Through partnering and compromise with the contractor, patients were moved out of their spaces for a short period of time while the contractor completed high noise [level] activity," said Raymond. "Through tests, observations and interactions with hospital staff, steps were taken to determine noise levels and assess their impact on patients and staff. The resulting 'noise map' documented acceptable noise tolerances throughout adjacent areas."

He added that this method of patient safety protection will also be used in upcoming projects, such as Phase II of the Behavioral Health renovations.

In addition, all BRAC renovations require an Infection Control Risk Assessment, said Raymond, ensuring there is no potential risk for contamination of disease-carrying agents.

Throughout BRAC, construction crews have also maintained acceptable levels of Indoor Air Quality throughout the facility, he said. Damp carpets and "sticky mats" have also been placed on the outside and inside of each space undergoing renovations to prevent the spread of dust.

Meanwhile, NNMC and Walter Reed Army Medical Center staff members continue to integrate at Bethesda. With the integration, roughly 2,200 personnel will be added to NNMC.

"When I got here in May 2007, the project was around $450 million," said David "Ollie" Oliveria, BRAC coordinator for NNMC. "We were really focused on the two buildings and the parking garage and in two years the project has grown to about $1.4 or 1.5 billion."

By late 2011, all BRAC work will be completed, said Oliveria.

"I think the people here have been incredibly understanding, especially the staff and hospital directors," said Oliveria. "It's really cool when you stand back and look at it. It'll be a part of history."