Just saw this on yahoo news:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050825/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/base_closings

What I want to know is whether the residency programs are moving to Bethesda naval hospital and staying Army residencies. The explanation is vague but it sounds like it is simply going to be a big combination of army and navy personnel under one roof. :cool:

The impression I got at our BAMC tour during OBC this summer was that this wouldn't affect Army GME much. It seemed like it would affect the Navy more. They didn't mention any of the Walter Reed Army residencies downsizing at all.

Most of the residency programs in the D.C. area have been tri-service for some time. The training programs are referred to as the "capital consortium". I suspect everything will be run out of the Naval hospital now.

Can't wait to see how the Army adjusts to the Navy's creed of "230 years of tradition, unhindered by progress." See you at the scuttlebutt, shipmate!

They are building a new facility that will be called Walter Reed. There just getting rid of the old building and replacing it with a state of the art facility :cool:

It says in the news WRAMC is going to be replaced with NNMC (National Naval Medical Center Bethesda). NNMC will change its name to Walter Reed.

The new name will be Walter Reed National Medical Center.

Progress in the trek towards a more purple uniformed services.

Just saw this on yahoo news:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050825/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/base_closings

Good riddance. Truly a place that has long since stopped deserving it's reputation, and has been cruising by on "name recognition" for decades. The only decent programs there are the Rad-path series and AFIP. Combining with Bethesda is a great idea, but as one other poster noted, those are gonna be some bad-ass Army-Navy turf battles! Almost makes me wish I'll be around 15 years from now when it finally happens . . . . NOT!!!!!!!!

RMD 310

Good riddance. Truly a place that has long since stopped deserving it's reputation, and has been cruising by on "name recognition" for decades. The only decent programs there are the Rad-path series and AFIP. Combining with Bethesda is a great idea, but as one other poster noted, those are gonna be some bad-ass Army-Navy turf battles! Almost makes me wish I'll be around 15 years from now when it finally happens . . . . NOT!!!!!!!!

RMD 310
I saw that a 340 bed hospital will be built. Does this seem small in size to anyone else besides me?

Just saw this on yahoo news:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050825/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/base_closings

How should I comment on this????? I guess there really is nothing to say.

Traffic is going to be a beast and a half! They better make Wisconsin into a 12 lane superhighway because it already takes 20 minutes to get 1.5 mi. from the beltway to NNMC during rush hour.

Traffic is going to be a beast and a half! They better make Wisconsin into a 12 lane superhighway because it already takes 20 minutes to get 1.5 mi. from the beltway to NNMC during rush hour.

Well don't go that way, silly...

Hop on the beltway, exit on Conn., and make a right on Jones Bridge. Then just pop in the back (USUHS) exit. Saves you 10 minutes, easy.

Or, just take the metro, right across the street.

The only decent programs there are the Rad-path series and AFIP.

cough, bullsh*t, cough

it's too bad you're discrediting your other opinions right now

How should I comment on this????? I guess there really is nothing to say.

Except that the title is misleading. Walter reed is moving, not closing. I wonder if back in the 70's, when they retired the old hospital and built the new one, if there were a bunch of articles about how "walter reed was closing."

Put on your tin foil hats for a second:

Compared to San Diego or Portsmouth the majority of patients in D.C. are retirees instead of active duty personnel. Closing one of the MTF's in D.C. will result in a huge cost savings because the military is really cutting health care benefits to retirees. For example, instead of 2 long line pharmacy lines (one at WRAMC and one at NNMC) now there will be only one super long line at NNMC. Patients will get frustrated and seek their medical care elsewhere resulting in millions saved. Someone will get another star for this!

I am so glad that WRAMC will be moving. The hospital over there is in pretty bad shape. I don't think they have heard of an invention made years ago: Air Conditioning. It's ridiculous to be in a patient's room and them be sweating b/c there's no A/C. Every room in that hospital has some type of floor fan in it these days. There's also been some nice sewage type water cascading down into one of the OR's in recent times. It's no fun to roll a patient back to the OR only to have water come down from the ceiling and then have to wheel them back to the holding area.

The only problem with shutting the place is that now they really aren't going to put any money towards it and it's going to get alot worse condition wise.

Put on your tin foil hats for a second:

Compared to San Diego or Portsmouth the majority of patients in D.C. are retirees instead of active duty personnel. Closing one of the MTF's in D.C. will result in a huge cost savings because the military is really cutting health care benefits to retirees. For example, instead of 2 long line pharmacy lines (one at WRAMC and one at NNMC) now there will be only one super long line at NNMC. Patients will get frustrated and seek their medical care elsewhere resulting in millions saved. Someone will get another star for this!


Au contraire, mon frere. The other arm of the "consolidate WRAMC" BRAC proposal is to put up a big new hospital in suburban Virginia, to service all those congressmen, senators and retired generals who want their subsidized health care without the trip into the big bad city. What do you think that's going to do for your "millions saved"?

RMD 209

cough, bullsh*t, cough

it's too bad you're discrediting your other opinions right now



Well, I've done time at WRAMC. Never did get what all the big deal was all about. That's just my opinion. I really don't think much will be lost by a consolidation.

RMD 309

Put on your tin foil hats for a second:

Compared to San Diego or Portsmouth the majority of patients in D.C. are retirees instead of active duty personnel. Closing one of the MTF's in D.C. will result in a huge cost savings because the military is really cutting health care benefits to retirees. For example, instead of 2 long line pharmacy lines (one at WRAMC and one at NNMC) now there will be only one super long line at NNMC. Patients will get frustrated and seek their medical care elsewhere resulting in millions saved. Someone will get another star for this!

the military loves to play the shell game......remove the cost (or make an alternative plan) and hide the cost (implement another plan doomed to fail) and shout about what a wonderful idea it was and give another commander a "star". 2 years later the same type problems exist and another round of the "shell game".

For years I have seen this scenario play out. Implementing OPen Access, then Advanced access, Red Dragon, Sick Call etc.....all failed because it doesnt matter what plan you have if the main problem all along is a lack of physicians. We either needed more docs or a way to decrease the demand (co-pay etc). I have seen thriving mil hospitals closed to save a million, then have admin be "suprised" that costs go through the roof sending everybody "downtown" to civilian docs.

what is going to happen to the AFIP, will it be the same if it is moved?

Well, I've done time at WRAMC. Never did get what all the big deal was all about. That's just my opinion. I really don't think much will be lost by a consolidation.

RMD 309

Well I've done time there too and I'll agree that most programs aren't as good as mass general or johns hopkins. But pretty much all of the residency programs there are at least "decent," if not better.

I know you have a strong dislike of military medicine, and from your posts that's understandable. But please try and maintain objectivity so that people can trust your posts.