News in brief - Sept. 12, 2005
Panel recommends closing Walter Reed
Panel recommends closing Walter Reed
The Base Realignment and Closure Commission has recommended to the White House and Congress that they approve the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
BRAC, as the commission is also known, is responsible for finding ways to streamline the U.S. military's installations throughout the country. The medical center, which opened in 1909, has more than 250 hospital beds and admits nearly 15,000 patients per year.
If President Bush and lawmakers sign off on the commission's report, the medical care that Walter Reed provides would move to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The Dept. of Defense also would construct a new facility in Bethesda that would be designed to treat the most critical injuries.
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