National Naval Medical Center

Coordinates: 39°0′6.58″N 77°5′39.91″W / 39.0018278°N 77.0944194°W / 39.0018278; -77.0944194

National Naval Medical Center
Command seal of the National Naval Medical Center
Active	November 11, 1940 (1940-11-11) – September 14, 2011
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Type	Hospital
Role	Medical
Size	1,591 enlisted; 1,081 Officers; 1,868 Civilians (as of 2006)[1]
Nickname	Bethesda Naval Hospital
Motto	The Flagship of Navy Medicine

National Naval Medical Center
Bethesda Naval Medical Center
Geography
Location	8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Organization
Funding	Government hospital
Hospital type	Military
History
Founded	November 11, 1940 (1940-11-11)
Links
Website	http://www.bethesda.med.navy.mil
Lists	Hospitals in Maryland

The NNMC Chapel, where a crescent was added June 1998 under the cross and Star of David

The National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Maryland, USA — commonly known as the Bethesda Naval Hospital — was for decades been the flagship of the United States Navy's system of medical centers. A federal institution, it conducted medical and dental research as well as providing health care for American leaders, including the president and his family. Beneficiaries included current and retired servicemembers from all military services.

In September 2011, the NNMC was merged with Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) to create the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), a modernized joint-forces central medical facility created by expanding the current NNMC facility.

History

Early history

In 1938, the United States Congress appropriated funds for the acquisition of land for the construction of a new Naval medical center, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt selected the present site in Bethesda, Maryland, on July 5, 1938.

Ground was broken by John McShain Builders for the Naval Medical Center on June 29, 1939 by Rear Admiral Percival S. Rossiter, MC, USN, (Ret.). President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Tower on Armistice Day, November 11, 1940.

The original Medical Center was composed of the Naval Hospital, designed to hold 1,200 beds, and the Naval Medical School, the Naval Dental School (now the National Naval Dental Center) and the Naval Medical Research Institute. In 1945, at the end of World War II, temporary buildings were added to accommodate up to 2,464 wounded American Sailors and Marines.

Past Commanders

1935-1936: CAPT Ulys R. Webb, MC, USN.

1936-1938: RADM C.S. Butler, MC, USN.

1938-1941: RADM H.W. Smith, MC, USN.

1941-1942: RADM C.M. Oman, MC, USN.

1942-1944: RADM C.W.O. Bunker, MC, USN.

1944-1944: CAPT John Harper, MC, USN.

1944-1946: RADM W.M. Chambers, MC, USN.

1946-1948: RADM T.C. Anderson, MC, USN.

1948-1951: RADM M.D. Willcutts, MC, USN.

1951-1951: RADM C.A. Swanson, MC, USN.

1951-1952: RADM W.J.C. Agnew, MC, USN.

1952-1953: RADM B. Groesbeck, Jr., MC, USN.

1953-1955: RADM L.O. Stone, MC, USN.

1955-1956: RADM H.L. Pugh, MC, USN.

1956-1956: CAPT E.C. Kenney, MC, USN.

1956-1959: RADM T.F. Cooper, MC, USN.

1959-1960: RADM B.E. Bradley, MC, USN.

1960-1962: RADM F.P. Kreuz, MC, USN.

1962-1963: RADM R.B. Brown, MC, USN.

1963-1965: RADM C.C. Galloway, MC, USN.

1965-1966: RADM C.L. Andrews, MC, USN.

1966-1968: RADM G.M. Davis, MC, USN.

1968-1969: RADM R.O. Canada, MC, USN.

1969-1973: RADM F.P. Ballenger, MC, USN.

1973-1975: RADM R.G.W. Williams, MC, USN.

1975-1976: RADM D.E. Brown Jr., MC, USN.

1976-1981: RADM J.T. Horgan, MC, USN.

1981-1984: RADM Q.E. Crews, MC, USN.

1984-1985: COMO R.G. Shaffer, MC, USN.

1985-1987: RADM R.G. Shaffer, MC, USN.

1987-1988: RADM Donald L. Sturtz, MC, USN.

1988-1991: RADM Donald F. Hagen, MC, USN.

1991-1994: RADM Davis M. Lichtman, MC, USN.

1994-1997: RADM Richard I, Ridenour, MC, USN.

1997-1999: RADM Bonnie B. Potter, MC, USN.

1999-2002: RADM Kathleen L. Martin, MC, USN.

2002-2004: RADM Donald C. Arthur, MC, USN.

2004-2007: RADM Adam M. Robinson, MC, USN.

2007-2008: RADM Richard R. Jeffries, MC, USN.

2008-Current: RADM Matthew L. Nathan, MC, USN.

Kennedy assassination

Main article: John F. Kennedy assassination

In November 1963, the autopsy of U.S. President John F. Kennedy was performed at Bethesda. On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas with his wife, Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and his wife, Nellie. The wounded president was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Parkland doctors and local coroner insisted that they perform the autopsy, since he had been murdered in Dallas County. However, with concern for the security of the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, the Secret Service demanded that the assassinated president's body would be taken to Washington, D.C. immediately aboard Air Force One. This decision was made to overrule Texas law. An autopsy was performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital during the evening of November 22, 1963. The manner in which the autopsy was conducted and photographic analysis of it have become the subject of controversy.

U.S. Presidential visits to NNMC

President Ronald and First Lady Nancy Reagan wave from a Bethesda hospital window after the President's cancer surgery in 1985. Both Reagans would eventually be patients at the hospital again.

When NNMC was dedicated in 1942, its original intention was to provide medical care to military personnel only. But since Franklin D. Roosevelt had paralysis of his lower extremities, the medical center immediately offered to provide the president with any medicine or treatment necessary to keep him physically fit for the presidency. With that, an official White House doctor was appointed by the president to sort out medical issues with him. Since FDR, most presidents have used a military hospital close to Washington, D.C., either Bethesda or Walter Reed AMC, as the primary facility for them and their immediate family to receive medical care. The president pays for any of his medical expenses personally.

Franklin D. Roosevelt selected the site of the hospital, laid the cornerstone, and made formal dedication remarks at the hospitals opening on November 11, 1940.

Ronald Reagan, on July 13, 1985, underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon. He sent a letter transferring power to then vice president George H. W. Bush, deliberately invoking the Acting President clause of the 25th Amendment,^[2] and on January 5, 1987, Reagan underwent surgery for prostate cancer which caused further worries about his health. At this time, Reagan was 76 years old.

First Lady Nancy Reagan, on October 17, 1987, underwent a mastectomy due to breast cancer.

Modernization

In August 1960, a $5.6 million expansion project was initiated and consisted of two five-story wings attached to the main building's east side. Completed in the summer of 1963, Buildings 7 and 8 provided space for 258 beds and replaced the World War II temporary ward buildings.

In January 1973, the mission of the Naval Medical Center was modified to include the provision: "to provide coordinated dispensary health care services as an integral element of the Naval Regional Health Care System, including shore activities, as may be assigned." This change established the National Naval Medical Center Region and placed all naval health care facilities within the Naval District Washington under the authority of the commanding officer of the Medical Center.

The new inpatient buildings and the Naval Medical Center were consolidated into one command on September 1, 1973 to form National Naval Medical Center. In 1975, an extensive renovation began which included the construction of two new buildings: Building 9, a three-story outpatient structure, and Building 10, a seven-story, 500 bed inpatient facility, with a combined area of more than 880,000 square feet (82,000 m²).

In 1979, the remaining temporary buildings were replaced with a multi-level staff-parking garage. This addition made National Naval Medical Center one of the largest medical facilities in the country. The original Naval Medical Center tower was since listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

BRAC 2005

On August 25, 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Committee (BRAC) recommended that the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) be closed, and that its operations be merged with the NNMC to create the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), a modernized joint-forces central medical facility created by expanding the current Bethesda Naval Hospital.

Tenants

In addition to the WRNMMC hospital complex, the installation hosted a number of other related activities and organizations.

• The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
• The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute

Leaders

• Current Commander: Alton L. Stocks, Rear Admiral, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

• Current Chief of Staff- Operations: Charles Callahan, Colonel, Medical Corps, U.S. Army, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

• Current Chief of Staff- Integration: David A. Bitonti, DMD, Captain, Dental Corps, U.S. Navy, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

• Current Command Senior Enlisted Leader: Sherman E. Boss, CMDCM(SS/SW/FMF), U.S. Navy, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

See also

• Joint Task Force National Capital Region/Medical

Footnotes

1. ^ "NNMC - At a Glance". US Navy. http://www.bethesda.med.navy.mil/visitor/about_us/facts.aspx. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
2. ^ "What is the 25th Amendment and When Has It Been Invoked?". History News Network. http://hnn.us/articles/812.html. Retrieved 2007-06-06. 

External links

• Official website
• Navy Lodge Bethesda