Bethesda plans on 500,000 patients a year

Naval Hospital Expansion Starts Soon
Steps Being Taken to Minimize Traffic Disruption in Bethesda


By Miranda S. Spivack
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 9, 2008; Page B01

The Bethesda naval hospital's multimillion-dollar expansion will get underway in the next two weeks as the military moves to consolidate medical operations in the area and create a world-class trauma center.



The Navy formally gave the green light to the project this week and, in a reversal, agreed to ask the Pentagon to consider paying for some road and Metro improvements. Initially, the Navy said that none of the $71 million in transportation projects around the National Naval Medical Center met the criteria for federal funding, but last week it signaled a willingness to change course.

The hospital's expansion, part of the Pentagon's base realignment and closure plan, known as BRAC, ultimately will double the number of annual patient visits to 1 million and will add 2,500 employees. Plans call for closing Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the District and moving much of the care of wounded soldiers to Bethesda.

Construction could start as soon as next month on the facility, which Pentagon officials said will be "the crown jewel" of military medicine. The project is expected to be completed by late 2011, and medical operations will be transferred in phases beginning early that year.

The expansion plans have caused anxiety among Montgomery County's leaders, who are concerned that already-jammed roads will become gridlocked around the hospital, which is just north of downtown Bethesda and across from the National Institutes of Health.

The Navy has asked the Pentagon to approve funds to help with traffic control and improve access to the Medical Center Metro station, which would include building a new entrance in front of the hospital with high-speed elevators and a tunnel beneath Route 355. It is not clear whether Pentagon brass will approve the plans, but Montgomery officials say they are optimistic, now that the Navy has agreed to request funds.

Officials also have been concerned about possible traffic tie-ups during two years of planned construction, but the project's manager said the Navy had taken several steps to limit jams.

"We are very sensitive about not having a negative impact on our community, which has been very supportive of our campus," said Ollie Oliveria, who is managing the project for the hospital. "We cannot say enough for the great support they have given us, and we don't want to do anything to jeopardize that. They are patriots all the way."

Phil Alperson, who is coordinating Montgomery County's efforts, said the Navy and the county "want to work together on this to make it work as smoothly as possible. We all want it to work.

You can't just plunk down 2,500 new employees and 500,000 new patient visits a year in the middle of an urban area and not address those traffic issues."
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