Navy Capt. Melissa Austin, the director of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, explains the damage at the facility to Darin Selnick, right, the official performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and Dr. Steve Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. Image: Hailey Bangerazeco, Navy. Image: DoD
By: FEDweek StaffRecent flooding at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Maryland, has brought attention to the impact of aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance due to underfunding. The flooding reportedly stemmed from a burst sprinkler pipe on January 20 that dumped enough water to fill a large swimming pool into the facility. That followed a failure of the hospital’s steam system two days earlier, complicating sterilization protocols.
The flooding damaged multiple areas, prompting the evacuation of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and several clinics, DoD said. Nurses and technicians had to relocate six babies in critical care at one point, as well as relocate 56 patients to nearby facilities. The sterilization problems caused deferrals for 212 procedures.
Senior defense health leaders, including Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, and Darin Selnick, toured the hospital earlier in the month to assess damage and hear from staff. “This is the president’s hospital and home to many of our wounded warriors. They deserve the best facility our government can provide. We will marshal the resources needed to fix this,” Selnick said.
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