Therapist Uses Art to Help Troops Heal

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

BETHESDA, Md., March 8, 2012 – An art therapist is using the power of creativity to help service members heal from traumatic brain injuries and psychological health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder.

Melissa Walker designed the Healing Arts Program at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence on the campus of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center here. She is the program’s sole art therapist, and also serves as its coordinator. The program aims to help the recovering service members find a creative haven where their buried post-war thoughts and emotions can come to the surface through art and therapy.

With gentle encouragement from Walker, active-duty troops create their way to healing. By working on their art projects in a personal manner, they confront the circumstances of their injuries and begin to overcome the uncertainty they might feel, she said.

“What’s bothering them runs the gamut of that moment in time: … the frozen trauma, the frozen memory. They can’t seem to shake what they’ve internalized,” Walker said.

The center provides treatment, recovery, rehabilitation and, sometimes, reintegration to active duty for service members who have psychological health issues and traumatic brain injury. All have mild to moderate post-traumatic stress disorder, and most also have had some kind of head injury from exposure to a blast injury or fall, Walker said.

When these service members come to the center, they’re often in a confused place, and some experience a loss of identity. Those who want to return to duty have a difficult time because they’re passionate about their jobs, and those who will rejoin the civilian world wonder what they’ll face, she said.

“They need to realize, ‘It’s time to take care of myself,’” she said.

Art therapy is one element of the center’s interdisciplinary treatment. Walker, who designed the Healing Arts Program when the center opened two years ago, said creating art slows down the brain so people can focus and improve their cognitive skills and hand-eye coordination.

Walker’s interest in the effects of war on troops stems from childhood memories of her grandfather returning from military service in Korea with what she now believes was post-traumatic stress. But, she said, “there wasn’t a name for it then.” White House, Defense Department and Veterans Affairs officials have made traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress treatment and prevention a top priority during the past decade of war.

Walker begins her treatment by meeting the service members one-on-one so she can get to know them and their goals while they are at the center. This also helps her meet the art therapy needs of each small group of about five people, she said. She has the service members design a mask, a montage and a postcard in any design with any materials they want, from magazine clippings to beads and paint. Most of their artistic creations, she said, reflect their inner thoughts concerning deployment, their injuries, various war experiences, and their futures.

Since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, military officials have recognized family members’ needs for support, and Walker’s Healing Arts Program is no exception. One night a week, family members come to Walker’s family class to do the same projects as the service members, to give this group of caregivers a break and a chance to “breathe,” Walker said.

Service members’ mask designs vary, she said, recalling a service member who divided his mask into the halves of two faces, depicting how he saw himself as both a civilian and a member of the military. The split-self has to do with identity, she said. Some who still have war images in their minds might design a scene of the injuries they and their fellow troops suffered.

The groups discuss their mask creations and what they mean. Walker said these discussions bring up personal and symbolic experiences. Sharing and discussing artwork establishes a sense of community and bonding with one another, which is particularly helpful to those with post-traumatic stress who tend to isolate themselves and don’t trust others, she said.

“Some feel a lot has been lifted off their shoulders,” she said of the group discussions. “Some will share things they never have before and feel validated. They realize they aren’t alone.”

Walker said the service members with psychological health issues and traumatic brain injury have “layers and layers of complications.” In a similar manner, the montages they design often reflect the past, present and future of who they are, which helps them clarify their sense of self, Walker said.

The art therapist described the montage of another student who created a representation of himself in three stages: gradually coming from the dark side of war, opening a door labeled “NICoE,” and stepping into brightness to depict healing, she said.

Walker’s goal at the final week’s commencement is to leave each

service member in “a forward-thinking mode,” by asking them to design a postcard with a “positive” hand-scribed note for one of the center’s recent graduates.

“One wrote, ‘Remember what you learned here,’” she said.

Walker said she is confident future studies will bear positive results of art therapy for those with PTSD and TBI. For now, she added, she stands determined to help people confront and cope with their wounds by expression through art.

“I always tell them, ‘I’m so glad you’re here and taking time for yourself, and the biggest step you’ve taken is being open to this,’” she said. “That’s huge. That’s brave.”

BRAC Goals Reached, New Walter Reed Looks to Future

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2011 – The day before the congressionally mandated deadline to put all Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations into effect, the commander who oversaw the closing of Walter Reed Army Medical Center isn’t kicking back with a sigh of relief.

For Navy Vice Adm. (Dr.) John M. Mateczun, commander of Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical, some of the toughest challenges are just beginning.

Mateczun was responsible for one of the most sweeping transformations in military medicine with the closure of the iconic Walter Reed hospital.

With all its patients, staff and health care services moved to what is now known as the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia, he now has set his sights on his next, post-BRAC goal.

“This is a new beginning,” he said. “We now have the opportunity here in the national capital region to form the first truly integrated regional delivery system within the military health system.”

Getting to this point was no small feat. Since BRAC became law in 2005, 2.6 million square feet of new construction and 472,000 square feet of renovations have taken place on the Bethesda campus and Fort Belvoir to accommodate the new, expanded missions there.

Meanwhile, the civilian workforces were consolidated into one Defense Department workforce. Mateczun said the merger will benefit workers by opening up more career opportunities and enabling them to transfer more smoothly between the two facilities.

The merger also will also be a plus for the hospitals, he said, helping them better attract and retain experienced workers with highly sought-after skills.

With the facilities and workforce in place, both the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital are providing care for the former Walter Reed patients.

A convoy of ambulances transferred the last inpatients at that center to Bethesda Aug. 27, one day ahead of schedule to beat the approaching Hurricane Irene.

The final emergency-room patient at Fort Belvoir’s DeWitt Army Community Center was transferred to the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital on Aug. 31. That same day, the staff performed its first operation and also delivered its first baby in the new facility, Mateczun said.

The last pieces of medical equipment are being moved from the old Walter Reed, much of it being redistributed to the Bethesda or Belvoir facilities. Back in 2008, BRAC planners estimated that $54 million in equipment would be transferred, but the actual figure exceeds $100 million, Mateczun reported.

With both facilities now running at full-throttle, he said now is the time to generate some of the efficiencies BRAC was designed to provide.

Many of those savings will come through consolidated support services such as human resources and facilities operations.

While designed to improve efficiency and save money, Mateczun said the consolidation also will promote patient care.

The nature of the consolidations, with highly specialized care delivered at Bethesda, ensures medical staffs providing that care have sufficient patient loads to remain at the top of their game, he said.

In addition, three electronic medical networks in use at facilities within the Washington, D.C., area are being combined into one joint medical network. This, Mateczun said, will enable providers at various clinics and hospitals to more easily access and share patient records.

Other initiatives will make it more convenient for patients to get care. For example, a consolidated appointment and referral center being stood up will provide a user-friendly, standardized way for patients to schedule appointments at either facility.

A major post-BRAC emphasis is on taking these efforts to the next level to reach a “world-class standard” in medical care, Mateczun said.

That standard -- mandated by Congress in the wake of the 2007 Walter Reed scandal as BRAC initiatives already were under way -- raises the bar in patient care.

Among its recommendations were the new wounded warrior lodging on the Bethesda campus and private hospital rooms that weren’t part of the original BRAC plan.

Subsequent congressional recommendations direct that parts of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center not impacted by BRAC also be raised to this world-class standard.

That, Mateczun explained, involves upgrading additional buildings on the Bethesda campus -- all built or last renovated before 1975.

As part of that new standard, the last of existing two-patient rooms are being converted into private rooms.

In addition, individual patient rooms at both Bethesda and Fort Belvoir will soon be turned into “smart suites.” These rooms will be equipped with technology that enables caregivers to monitor patients’ vital signs electronically and even to recognize when a patient has gotten out of bed.

This technology benefits patients, too, who will be able to refer to a monitor in their room to identify who enters it and whether, for example, it’s a doctor, nurse or food-service provider.

“It is a patient’s right to know who is in their room and what they are doing there. And this technology will allow them to do that without having to necessarily question anyone,” Mateczun said.

Mateczun said he’s looking forward to seeing the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital set a new standard for military medicine.

“So this is our next step, making the improvements required in the comprehensive master plan to provide world-class care for our beneficiaries,” he said.

“We are committed to keeping the covenant we have with America’s sons and daughters who come home wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said. “And that is what the BRAC projects have been about. We are intent on making sure that we meet the congressional mandate to a world-class capacity and infrastructure, both here at Bethesda and on Fort Belvoir.”

Walter Reed Closes, Legacy Lives On, Commander Says

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2011 – An ambulance carrying the last inpatient from Walter Reed Army Medical Center here slowly made its way out of the Georgia Avenue gate this morning, pausing briefly for the crowd of flag-waving troop supporters and shouts of “Thank you for your service! We love you!”

As the ambulance turned north on Georgia Avenue toward the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., the once-bustling Walter Reed hospital fell silent.

This early morning move of inpatients -- one to an ambulance -- marked the end of an era for Walter Reed and its 102 years of Army medicine that has saved hundreds of thousands of military lives.

Walter Reed and the National Naval Medical Center are consolidating as one medical center as mandated by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act. The Army and Navy complex on the grounds of Bethesda will be renamed the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“It's been 102 years for Walter Reed, but the legacy lives on,” Army Col. Norvell "Van" Coots, Walter Reed commander, told reporters this morning at the hospital. “The name lives on, and it’s a new beginning for our health care system.”

Earlier expectations were to move 150 inpatients this weekend, Coots said, but the number was reduced to 50, and gradually became 18 this morning after eight were moved to Bethesda yesterday. Walter Reed’s staff also was able to discharge and relocate many other patients who wanted to be hospitalized closer to their homes.

With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast today, the move was made a day earlier than planned.

As the Red Cross flag came down from the front of the hospital this afternoon, it signaled the final closing of the iconic medical center.

“The Red Cross flag is the symbol of health and healing, and symbolizes the end of physical patient care at Walter Reed,” Coots said.

Walter Reed has been the Army's flagship of military medicine since 1909, and cared for soldiers during World War I and World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, and the decade-long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A small post, Walter Reed had no room to expand and accommodate more wounded warriors, Coots said in a press conference earlier this summer. The medical center straddles a couple of neighborhood blocks between Georgia Avenue and 16th Street.

The Walter Reed garrison and installation will remain open until Sept. 15, Coots said. When the U.S. flag comes down that day, he added, the installation and the garrison will close for good.

Sometime afterward, Walter Reed will become the property of the District of Columbia government, and the State Department is expected to take over the hospital building.

Looking forward to a new beginning, Coots said today was emotional as he walked the wards early this morning, stopping in to check on each of the remaining 18 patients.

“There’s still an energy you can feel in those halls,” he said. “It’s an energy that’s left behind from the hundreds of thousands of patients we’ve treated in these 102 years, and the tens of thousands of staff members.

“We take Walter Reed with us,” Coots added. “And we leave a piece of it here."

Hurricane Accelerates Walter Reed Patient Transfer

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2011 – With Hurricane Irene threatening the U.S. seaboard, officials at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here and the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., have moved up the transfer of the last 30 Walter Reed inpatients.

The transfer, initially planned for Aug. 28, was accelerated by one day to beat out the approaching hurricane, hospital officials announced today.

A procession of ambulances is expected to begin making the five-mile trek between the two hospitals along Washington’s Capital Beltway at about 7 a.m. tomorrow, officials said. The final patient is expected to arrive at Bethesda about three hours later.

Later in the afternoon, a flag-lowering ceremony at Walter Reed will mark its official closing.

The final patient transfer will mark an historic moment in both iconic institutions’ histories and one of the final milestones before they officially merge to become the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, officials said.

Navy Capt. David A. Bitonti, chief of staff for integration and transition at the Bethesda facility, has been part of a team preparing for that merger since Congress directed it as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure plan.

He was one of the chief architects behind a well-choreographed plan that included major construction and renovation projects to accommodate the newly arrived patients and medical care providers.

As the calendar moves steadily toward the congressionally mandated Sept. 15 deadline for the consolidation to be completed, Bitonti said he’s excited by the possibilities that will come from bringing the two flagship medical centers together as one organization.

“When you look at the two powerhouses that Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center are, and you think about combining them together into a singular facility, that speaks to itself about the good things to come for our patients and beneficiaries,” he said. “I think the level and the quality of health care we provide will rival any institution in the country, and maybe the world.”

Hospital Consolidation Going Smoothly, Commander Says

By Lisa Daniel

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2011 – As the largest-ever realignment of military health care facilities nears culmination, the commander of the task force executing the effort is pleased with how it has gone.

“The process has gone extraordinarily smoothly,” Navy Vice Adm. (Dr.) John M. Mateczun said yesterday during an interview with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service.

Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical was created in 2007 to oversee a base realignment and closure law mandate to close Walter Reed Army Medical Center here and Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, and to consolidate care at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and a new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia.

The consolidated facility in Bethesda will be called the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Patient consolidation has occurred throughout most of August, and will conclude in the coming days with the transport of Walter Reed’s remaining inpatients – about 50 people – to Bethesda, Mateczun said, adding that he does not anticipate problems with the seven-mile ambulance transports.

The national capital region has “more experience than anywhere else in the country,” he noted, receiving patients at least three times per week on flights from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

The hospitals will sequence the departure and arrival of patients, the admiral said, so as not to overwhelm any one ward. Each patient will travel in an ambulance with his or her team of care providers, as well as family members if there is room, he said.

While the move has gone smoothly, Mateczun said, it comes at a critical time for patients. The task force issued letters about the realignment early this year and set up a hotline for people to ask questions during the transition.

“This is a disruptive time in their lives, and I’m very sorry we had to bring more disruption,” the admiral said. “But we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t think it will be better for them.”

Any reservations patients or their families have had about the move generally dissolve as they walk into the new facilities, Mateczun said. “It’s been very gratifying for us to watch them and their reactions as they move in,” he said.

The new hospitals and clinics represent the covenant the services have with wounded warriors to provide them with the best possible care, the admiral said. “There is a new paradigm for not just providing acute care, but for therapeutic care, as well,” he said.

The new facilities go beyond federal requirements for disability standards, providing a specialized environment for wounded warriors and their families, Mateczun said. “We like to say they are ‘wounded warrior compliant,’” he said.

The facilities are wheelchair- and prosthetic-ready, the admiral said, and inpatient suites are designed so wounded warriors may live with family members and gain independence by doing daily tasks such as cooking and laundry. “It’s a new model for the military,” he said.

The Fort Belvoir hospital, Mateczun said, is leading the nation in what is known as “evidence-based designs,” or “smart rooms,” that give patients a monitor to see when someone enters their room, along with the person’s name and title, as well as more control of temperature, lighting and television. Also, providers will be able to access a patient’s electronic health record in their room in coordination with the patient, he said.

“We need to make sure that patient care is our No. 1 priority,” he said, “and we also need to take care of the staff and make sure that they stay.”

The task force has done just that, Mateczun said, because the realignment law guaranteed placement for Walter Reed’s 2,200 employees at either Bethesda or Fort Belvoir. “They stuck with us, and we are very grateful we are able to keep them all,” he said.

In planning the moves, Mateczun said, the task force also created efficiencies through interoperability, buying the same equipment for the facilities and allowing for the same maintenance contracts.

“It’s more than world-class care,” he said. “It’s world-class service. Our end goal is to try to reach an integrated system of patient care when the patient needs it, and where they need it.”

Walter Reed Enters Final Phase with Patient Moves

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2011 – About 200 outpatient wounded warriors are expected to move from Walter Reed Army Medical Center here this weekend to the nearby National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., as the two hospitals move closer to becoming one.

More than 100 inpatients will move from Walter Reed’s wards to Bethesda by ambulance Aug. 28, and the flag will be lowered for good at the 102-year-old Army hospital.

Also as part of the changes in military health care facilities in the national capital region mandated by the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005, some of Walter Reed’s functions, patients and staff are moving to the newly expanded DeWitt Army Community Hospital on Fort Belvoir, Va.

After the Army and Navy hospitals merge, the Bethesda campus will be renamed as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Walter Reed’s era of caring for privates to presidents has spanned both world wars, the Korean conflict, Vietnam and the return of prisoners of war, and the decade-long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. At a recent transition ceremony, military medical leaders reflected on Walter Reed’s history as the Army’s flagship of medicine.

“It is bittersweet that we are marking an ending to mark a new beginning at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,” said Army Col. Norvell V. “Van” Coots, commander of Walter Reed’s health care system. “You can go anywhere in the world, and … people who don’t speak English know the words ‘Walter Reed.’ To me, that’s how you define ‘iconic.’”

Built for 80 inpatients in 1909 under a single roof in a Georgian-brick building, the former Walter Reed General Hospital eventually became the bustling medical campus it is today, with 72 buildings on a 113-acre plot of land, closely surrounded by a neighborhood in the upper-northwest quadrant of the nation’s capital.

“[There was] no room to expand and meet the changing demands of the complexity of the wounded warriors,” Coots said. “The room was found on the grounds of the naval hospital in Bethesda,” he said.

Standing ready for Walter Reed’s patients are the newly dedicated Wounded Warriors Barracks and Wounded Warriors Complex, dedicated two weeks ago at Bethesda.

Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, Army surgeon general and a former Walter Reed commander, called the transition a time to celebrate the “history of this great campus, and to celebrate unquestionable high-quality care” in the course of its lengthy history.

Navy Rear Adm. Matthew L. Nathan, National Naval Medical Center commander, said he looks forward to the quality of care the merger will provide.

“We recognize, as teammates, to … take Walter Reed and the National Naval Medical Center and forge [an] integrated staff and facilities to become the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda,” he said. “The synergy and partnership that that creates will [provide] the highest, most pristine medicine.”

Doctors Caution Colon Cleansers May Clean Body of Nutrients

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexandra Snyder, National Naval Medical Center Public Affairs

BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- Doctors at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) encouraged Sailors to avoid using unhealthy measures, like colon cleansers, to meet physical standards Aug. 11.

While the manufacturers of these cleansers claim they help shed pounds and free the body of toxins, Capt. Brooks Cash, Chief of Medicine for NNMC and Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) said these could potentially lead to severe health hazards.

"There is a belief that stool in your colon clogs like a pipe and occasionally needs cleaning out. That is a myth," said Cash.

Additionally, there is no evidence of improved health with colon cleansing and over-the-counter medicinal laxatives and enemas used to perform these "cleansings," said Cash, who is also Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He added that such rituals can lead to dehydration and potentially deadly electrolyte abnormalities.

In reality, the food we eat is not stored for long periods within the body. It is broken down into one- to two-millimeter particles of basic sugars, fats and proteins in the stomach. It is then absorbed by the small intestine where it is used to nourish the body. The unusable particles are sent to the colon where water is reabsorbed to form solid stool. This waste is then expelled from the body, Cash explained.

"Humans have been around for a pretty long time," he added. "There is no reason to use colon cleansers when your body has adapted to do such a good job of that on its own."

Touting such benefits as weight loss, shinier hair and greater overall health with the removal of "toxins" that build up in consumers' digestive tract, colon cleansers come in the form of pills, powders to be mixed with liquid and enemas; however, reading the fine print on the labels of these "ultimate colon cleansers" reveals such common side effects as nausea, vomiting, intestinal cramping, drowsiness and fatigue.

"There are numerous reports that these cleansers, especially the high colonics, have caused direct harm to patient's bodies, such as infections, colonic perforation, and even death," said Lt. Cmdr. Ruben Acosta, staff gastroenterologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at USU. "These types of injuries and infections are especially prevalent because the cleanse is performed by alternative practitioners who are not subject to the same safety or hygiene regulations that protect the patients who undergo standard medical procedures."

Cash added that colon cleanser manufacturers take advantage of people by capitalizing on their fears of being overweight, unattractive or unhealthy. To combat those issues and sustain health, he recommends patients eat fiber, maintain an ideal body weight, exercise, not smoke and use alcohol only moderately, if at all.

"Another critically important preventative measure to take is to begin colon cancer screening at the appropriate ages," said Cash.

According to Cash, the only common reason other than problematic, severe constipation to do a colon cleanse is in preparation for a colonoscopy or virtual colonoscopy, two of the colon cancer screening options offered by the Gastroenterology Service at NNMC.

Patients with no family history of colon cancer should begin screening at age 50, regardless of gender; African-Americans should start at age 45. Anyone with at least two grandparents or one parent or sibling who suffered from colon cancer should begin screening at age 40 or 10 years before the age the relative was diagnosed.

"Colon cancer is the third most common cause of cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death in the US; however, it is largely preventable." said Cash. "Screening needs to occur every five to ten years, regardless of symptoms, as colon cancer is often silent until too late."

For more information about colon cancer screenings, contact your primary care manager.

Walter Reed, Bethesda on Track for Realignment

By Elizabeth M. Collins

Army News Service

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2011 – The transfer of Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s functions to Bethesda, Md., and the construction of a new hospital on Fort Belvoir, Va., are expected to be completed on schedule, top military health care leaders said yesterday.

Navy Vice Adm. John M. Mateczun, commander of Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical, told Pentagon reporters that the mission to consolidate and integrate military health care functions in the National Capital Region is well under way, with 9,400 medical personnel and patients expected to finish moving by the end of August.

Under the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005, the Defense Department was required to combine four inpatient hospitals in the national capital region -- Walter Reed, the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, DeWitt Army Community Hospital at Fort Belvoir, Va., and Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Joint Base Andrews, Md. -- into two, while maintaining the same patient care capacity.

“This is the largest medical restructuring ever undertaken in the military health system,” Mateczun said, adding that military medical officials are concentrating on three areas of priority throughout the process.

“One is quality of care -- all of the patient care that we’re providing,” Mateczun said. Focus also is being placed on the wounded, ill and injured service members presently under medical care, he added.

The third area of priority, he said, is “the capacity to take care of the wounded, ill and injured who are returning now from Iraq and Afghanistan as we do these moves.”

The new facility at Bethesda will include 345 medical-surgical beds, 50 intensive care unit beds and 20 operating rooms, while the expanded DeWitt hospital will hold 120, 10 and 10, respectively, Mateczun said.

The two facilities should have more than enough capacity to care for all combat casualties, as well as family members and veterans, Mateczun said, especially because military medical facilities nationwide and civilian TRICARE medical plan partners can take additional cases if the need should arise.

Of the 445 wounded, ill and injured soldiers currently assigned to the Warrior Transition Brigade at Walter Reed, about a third will transition to DeWitt, while the other two-thirds will move to the Bethesda facility, said Lt. Col. Larry Gunther, the brigade’s executive officer.

Both Bethesda and Belvoir have added and renovated barracks and lodging facilities for these service members and their families.

Patients moving to DeWitt are more ambulatory and need less specialized and intensive care, Mateczun explained. They also may have post-traumatic stress, mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injuries or substance-abuse problems, as the Fort Belvoir hospital is adding additional inpatient behavioral health and substance-abuse programs.

Service members evacuated from the combat theater and patients who need very specialized care for catastrophic injuries, such as complex orthopedic trauma and open traumatic brain injuries, will go to the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, along with the specialized doctors and other medical professionals who care for them. Complex surgeries such as organ transplants also will be performed at the Bethesda facility.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which has served the nation for 102 years, will close its doors Sept. 15, and a ceremony to case the colors of all Walter Reed activities will take place July 27.

Bethesda Leadership Talks with Residents About Upcoming Integration

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Dion Dawson, National Naval Medical Center Public Affairs

BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- The commanding officer and barracks staff at Naval Support Activity Bethesda (NSAB) held a town hall meeting July 13 to inform residents about how the upcoming integration with Walter Reed Army Medical Center will affect them.

"To prepare for the integration, we have consolidated the rooms," said Chief Culinary Specialist Sarmaine Johnson, Command Senior Enlisted Leader for NSAB. "We are also continuing to ensure basic functions of the rooms are in order."

The mission of the meeting was to inform residents of provisions offered in the wounded warrior barracks and to answer questions from permanent residents.

"There will be some things offered in the wounded warrior barracks that won't be offered in the permanent party barracks," said Johnson.

For example, each suite in tranquility hall will have a washer and dryer and each room will include a computer.

"The reasoning for all of this has to be understood. We don't want any building to feel slighted because of the services offered," said Johnson. "There needs to be some sort of unit cohesion that takes place to continue the success of the integration."

One of the primary missions of the barracks staff is to support the junior enlisted personnel living in the bachelor enlisted quarters (BEQ), providing leadership and supporting their endeavors.

"It's very important that we give 100 percent and show the hard work and care we put forth every day. Right now, we are in the process of assigning the rooms to the staff that's coming over from Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), so that when they arrive, they can give us their name, collect their room key and go to their new room," Johnson said.

BEQ staff members have noted the satisfied residents stopping by the help desk frequently with compliments.

"I love the barracks. Whenever I have a problem, whether it's with my room or with anything else in the building, I am taken care of every time with quality service and respect," said Hospitalman Joey Gant. "I can sleep better at night because I know now that this is my home."

Community Helps Fort Belvoir Hospital Train for Safe Move

By Jacqueline Leeker, DeWitt Health Care Network Public Affairs

FORT BELVOIR, Va. (NNS) -- More than 700 community participants and medical personnel are testing the capabilities of Fort Belvoir Community Hospital July 14, in preparation to begin treating patients in the new facility next month.

Staff members from DeWitt Army Community Hospital, incoming staff from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and more than 100 local volunteers are involved in a "Day in the Life" exercise designed to test inpatient and outpatient processes and medical equipment.

"We are testing and stressing the systems in the new hospital to ensure it is ready to receive patients in the first day of operations," said Col. Kathleen Ford, deputy commander for nursing.

The Day in the Life exercise is designed to provide realistic scenarios for staff members to navigate through; therefore, it's a critical piece of the transition process in order "for us to 'hit the ground running' on our first patient day," said Cmdr. Scott Johnson, DeWitt ACH director of transition.

More than 50 scenarios will be executed in the new hospital throughout the day. The exercises consist of patient scenarios that involve staff from every discipline performing every role.

"On the surface, this exercise is about testing the new equipment and providing an opportunity for staff members to become familiar with their new workspaces," Johnson said. "More importantly, though, this allows us to ensure that our patients, our valued beneficiaries are able to receive world-class health care in a safe and comfortable healing environment."

In addition to testing equipment and preparing staff, the exercise offers various visitors an opportunity to further develop plans to transition their own personnel and facilities. Visitors from other locations, including non-military health care personnel, will observe the exercise with the intent to refine their own transition plans and processes.

"We had the opportunity to observe day in the life exercises and hospital moves at Rockingham Hospital in West Virginia and UCLA's medical center," Ford said. "We understood the plan and concept better after observing a hospital move, and will be giving other hospitals the same opportunity."

In addition to today's day in the life exercise, transition planners will hold at least one more day in the life exercise to further test and refine processes. The second day in the life event will incorporate an additional 55 scenarios, Ford said.

"Some of the scenarios will be repeated from today. The ones that we tested, but felt needed to be improved and repeated," she explained.

USO Breaks Ground on Wounded Warrior, Family Center

By Rob McIlvaine

Army News Service

FORT BELVOIR, Va., June 28, 2011 – A groundbreaking ceremony here yesterday marked the beginning of construction for the USO’s first stateside center that will provide noncritical care and support for wounded, injured and ill service members.

The center also will support families and caregivers of the wounded as they transition from inpatient to outpatient care.

The ceremony also marked the official launch of Operation Enduring Care, USO’s $100 million support initiative. A quarter of these funds will go to construct both the center here and one at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Another $25 million will ensure these centers are self-supporting, and $50 million will underwrite programs to be offered at the centers and around the world for service members and their families.

"It's a great day for Fort Belvoir and the warrior care triad," Army Col. John J. Strycula, Fort Belvoir garrison commander, said at the event. "Along with our new community hospital, our wounded warrior complex with personnel lodging, command and control headquarters, and Soldier and Family Assistance Center -- and this USO facility where warriors can relax -- we’ll have established a home away from home."

Strycula said about 200 wounded warriors will initially move here from the closing Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., with the capacity being more than 400.

The center, he noted, will be an important cog in the concept of soldier and family-centered care and recovery. It will include a family kitchen, a children’s play space, recreational areas, classrooms, a learning center and a business center.

The center also will also be a place where soldiers and families can find peace, solace and care during their recovery process. The 25,000-square-foot building also will include movie theaters and healing gardens.

Strycula said that although the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are slowing down, the need to care for the complexity of wounded warriors' and their families’ visible and invisible wounds will continue far into the future.

"We've learned that healing is much more than just a physical process. True and complete healing encompasses physical, emotional, social, spiritual and family healing,” he said. “That's what complete healing is all about, and that's what makes our warriors Army strong.”

"When our troops come home, we have a commitment to do the right thing,” he added.

Also attending the event were Sloan D. Gibson, USO’s president and CEO; Sue Timken, co-chair of Operation Enduring Care; Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia’s 8th District; Rep. Gerald E. Connolly of Virginia’s 11th District; and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey.

"In many ways, my career of 37 years began with the USO when they helped Second Lieutenant Dempsey after landing in Germany," the general said. Caring for service members and their families is an enduring responsibility, he added.

"Over the last 10 years, I’ve often wondered, ‘Why do these young men and women of all branches of service … do what we ask them to do … why do they venture out into harm’s way?’” he said. “They do that because of one simple value that defines our profession -- and that value is trust.

“They trust the men and women to their left and right,” he continued. “They trust their leaders, and importantly, they trust that behind them, back in the United States … that if something happens to them, they’ll be cared for medically ... [and] their families will be cared for, and that’s what this is all about.

"And I’m very proud and very excited for what the people at the USO are doing," the general added.

In 2003, the USO began its care for the wounded warrior community at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Five years later, the USO Warrior Center was built at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to serve the outpatient wounded until they were cleared to return to their unit in Afghanistan or Iraq.

In 2010, the USO launched comprehensive long-term programs designed to create a continuum of care, including physical health and recreation, mental health support, family strengthening, education, employment and community integration.

The Wounded Warrior and Family Center here is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2012.

Walter Reed Planning Smooth Transition for Wounded Warriors

By Rob McIlvaine, Army News Service

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Many of the approximately 430 wounded warriors, along with their family members and staff, visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) June 22 to hear about their upcoming move to one of two refurbished medical centers in the National Capital Region.

During the weekends of August 12 and 19, patients now at Walter Reed will move to either the newly named Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., or the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia.

The existing WRAMC, which has been active since 1909, will close its doors Sept. 15. Some of the 113 acres of that facility will be transferred to the Department of State; the rest will go to the District of Columbia.

The new names of the medical campuses will become effective when the last patient is transferred from the old Walter Reed Army Medical Center to Walter Reed Bethesda.

"We (have been) planning, training and rehearsing to ensure patient safety and quality of care are maintained at the highest levels during transition," said Vice Adm. John Mateczun, commander of Joint Task Force, National Capital Region Medical, on its website. "We will do everything we must for the wounded, ill and injured and all the beneficiaries that we are privileged to care for."

Also helping with the "town hall" at the medical center were Col. Jim Larsen, commander of Walter Reed's Warrior Transition Brigade; Brig. Gen. Steve Jones, deputy commander of Joint Task Force, National Capital Region Medical; and representatives from both medical campuses.

"We've been working on the process for three years," said Mateczun. "We've rehearsed this in table-top exercises and then we rehearsed the move on August 12 with ambulances and simulated moving of patients from here over to Bethesda. Then we'll have a more detailed practice before we actually do the move."

About $2.5 billion has been spent doing construction and outfitting for the two new hospitals.

"For the Bethesda campus, very large new buildings on either side of the tower, one's outpatient -- that's the largest outpatient building in the Military Health System. The other is one of the largest inpatient pavilions with 50 intensive patient care beds that sits against the inpatient tower now," Mateczun said.

In addition, at the Bethesda campus, three new parking garages will be ready to open about Aug. 1, wounded warrior lodging is going up, a new administration building is going up, the National Intrepid Center of Excellence for Traumatic Brain Injury is up and running, and three new Fisher Houses -- with 22 units -- are up and running.

One of the priorities of the Task Force is making sure that the wounded warriors have the capabilities and support they need.

"Over the last couple of months, we met with the vice chiefs from all of the services to make sure that we're not leaving any seams," Mateczun said. "They asked about the wounded warrior support programs from our services -- because you have the Warrior Transition Brigade, Wounded Warrior Regiment from the Marines, Safe Harbor from the Navy, Air Force's programs and we have to make sure they're able to cover all of the needs of the individuals at both of these locations."

The Joint Task Force funds the hospital care and also funds the lodging facilities at Bethesda. One-fourth of the entire inpatient military health service is done in the National Capital Region. In terms of the Warrior Transition Brigade and the Wounded Warrior Regiment, those are service-funded issues.

"The Bethesda medical center is where the most complex patients and rehabilitation go, so they'll be doing the prosthetics rehabilitation, for instance, the traumatic brain injuries, and if somebody is more ambulatory, than they don't need to be on that campus. So they'll get plenty of space and excellent care down at the Fort Belvoir hospital," Mateczun said.

Also, rather than being at one of the medical campuses, many Soldiers in the area are spread out in family housing at Fort Meade, for instance. If they need more than one appointment a week, they'll be at the medical center.

"When I visited Walter Reed Bethesda, I was shocked when I saw a 37-inch, flat screen TV that doubles as a computer monitor in the room, and the rooms at Bethesda. I thought I'm living in squalor compared to the rooms here," said Spc. Steven McDonald, who's been a patient at WRAMC for the past year after leaving Iraq with extensive injuries. While at the facility, he's endured multiple surgeries and a lot of physical therapy. And recently, he started the medical board process to determine if he's fit or unfit for duty.

McDonald and his squad leader, Staff Sgt. Nicholas B. Suhling, said the rooms at Bethesda are all designed to accommodate Soldiers in wheelchairs. This allows for wheelchairs to easily move through doorways. The showers allow for the patient to roll right in, all the toilets are accessible, and the sinks and mirrors are able to accommodate those in wheelchairs as well as those able to stand.

"I was very jealous that I wasn't there yet," said McDonald, who believes he might have to retire from the service because of his injuries. He was also able to see his regular doctors at Bethesda and was able to get his final surgery scheduled sooner, rather than waiting a month.

Suhling has been the squad leader with the Warrior Transition Brigade for the past year.

"Some guys are here for a couple of weeks. But I've had one guy who has been here since 2007. Some guys are just single amputees, some are double, triple, quadruple amps, some guys take a little bit longer to heal than others, and some are here for two, three, four, five years 'cause you can't get your head right," Suhling said.

Suhling is responsible for the health, welfare, and morale of multiple Warriors in Transition in medical treatment and rehabilitation status.

"I also give the Soldiers a chance to get away from the monotonous physical therapy and doctors' appointments they have every day by getting them out on fishing and hunting outings and showing them that even though they have disabilities there is still a life full of activities, new and old, that can be performed with their current disabilities," Suhling said.

He said he has guys who donate charter boats so six or seven guys can go out for some deep sea fishing. He has also taken patients up to Pennsylvania to hunt deer, wild turkey and black bear.

Asked if he enjoys this job, Suhling shares what he many never have to think about.

"Honestly, coming from the infantry, I would have loved to stay oblivious to the amount of carnage that war brings," he said. "I guess I was kind of ignorant to the fact that Walter Reed even existed, because when I went to Afghanistan and Iraq twice, I always thought you die or you don't get hurt. I never really thought about anything happening in between. I never really thought about losing a leg or an arm, but then I got here and everybody has lost a leg or an arm."

For more information on the Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical, visit http://www.jtfcapmed.mil/wii-warriors/.