Aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance due to underfunding in recent years led to flooding last month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
High waters and loss of steam pressure impacted the capacity of services delivered, but the ability to deliver the hospital's core capabilities of safe, quality care was never compromised, WRNMMC officials said.
Dr. Steve Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, and Darin Selnick, the official performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, surveyed the damage and spoke to those impacted during a visit to the facility, Feb. 1, 2025.
According to the Defense Health Agency, which oversees WRNMMC, the hospital's problems began with frozen pipes bursting from extremely cold weather in the region.
The damage was severe enough to impact patient care. Officials evacuated the neonatal intensive care unit and several clinics because of flooding and water damage. Selnick heard directly from the nurses and technicians who sprang into action, quickly removing six critical-care babies. The clinical staff mobilized across WRNMMC in an all-hands effort to ensure the babies' safety and continuity of their specialized critical care.
Selnick and Ferrara were joined by Defense Health Agency Director Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, Army Brig. Gen. Deydre Teyhen, the director of the National Capital Region Defense Health Network, and Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Troy E. Black.
Hospital leaders said the staff remained ready to provide required urgent care during the incident, and all care capabilities have since been restored.
"We are utilizing all the hospitals and clinics in the national capital region network — from Malcolm Grow at Joint Base Andrews, [Maryland] to Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center at Fort Meade, [Maryland] to the Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center at Fort Belvoir, [Virginia]," said Navy Capt. Melissa Austin, director of WRNMMC.
Reflecting on what he saw, Selnick said, "This is the president's hospital and home to many of our wounded warriors who put their lives on the line for our country. They deserve to have the best facility our government can provide. I am committed to doing whatever is necessary to meet this challenge, remain mission-focused and help correct this issue. We will marshal the resources needed to fix this. This is about military readiness and strengthening our warfighting capability," he said.
Selnick came away from the visit impressed with the work ethic and dedication of the hospital staff.
He thanked the WRNMMC leadership for their dedication to maintaining high-quality care in the midst of facility setbacks.