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NAVFAC Washington Completes Inpatient Building at Future Walter Reed

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100924-05
9/24/2010

By Timothy R. Smith, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Public Affairs

BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Washington met its Sept. 15 deadline to transfer a new inpatient hospital building for furniture and equipment outfitting at the future Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, located at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Md.

The milestone comes a month after a new outpatient hospital building at the NNMC was turned over for outfitting.

Both buildings have also successfully completed testing of their functional systems. The construction project for the 515,000 square foot outpatient clinic and 162,000 square foot inpatient clinic is managed by NAVFAC Washington's officer-in-charge of construction (OICC) Bethesda. The inpatient building, an extension of an existing Building 9 at NNMC, will feature 56 intensive care units, a new emergency room with biohazard treatment capabilities and an angioplasty heart suite.

"I'm very proud of the hard work our OICC team put forward on this project," said Capt. Steve Hamer, commanding officer of OICC Bethesda. "Everyone worked incredibly hard. Our team has had laser focus on accomplishing this goal."

NAVFAC and its contractors completed functional testing of the buildings' systems Sept. 15 as well. Known as commissioning, the tests determined whether the plumbing, heating, electrical and air conditioning systems perform as designed. Commissioning assesses whether emergency power starts properly and if equipment on the emergency branch restarts after main power returns. NAVFAC used a fourth party verification company to further assess the buildings' functionality. It was an added, but necessary layer required to minimize performance risks in a future patient care environment.

"It was a tremendous effort in the last month by all the subcontractors and the commissioning authority to schedule the functional performance tests and resolve issues resulting from the tests," said H. Michael Hill, OICC Bethesda's project manager for commissioning.

In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Committee mandated Walter Reed Army Medical Center close and that some of its functions transfer to Bethesda. NNMC is undergoing extensive construction and renovation, including two new hospital wings — one of which is the building being outfitted — two new parking structures, a barracks and new administrative space. Eventually, NNMC is planned to be renamed the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda.