Opening of Fort Belvoir Community Hospital on Schedule

The new, state-of-the-art Fort Belvoir Community Hospital will be ready to provide troops and their families “world class” care when it opens in about two weeks, a panel of military officials said Thursday.

During a press conference and tour of the new, 1.2-million-square-foot facility, commanders assured reporters that the transition and opening would go smoothly.

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process called for the construction of the new hospital. Along with the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, the new hospital will replace Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and other facilities at Fort Belvoir and Andrews Air Force Base.

Fort Belvoir Community Hospital has room for 120 beds, three times as many as nearby DeWitt Army Community Hospital, which opened in 1957.

“We’re able to provide excellent healthcare in [DeWitt,] an aging facility,” said Rick Repeta, director of integration and transition at the new hospital. “And now we’re going to be able to provide excellent healthcare in a world class facility. I think you’re going to see a lot of smiles on people’s faces.”

The new hospital will be staffed by 3,000 people and is expected to see 571,000 patients a year. Those patients will begin arriving on Aug. 31.

Injured soldiers coming back from tours in Iraq or Afghanistan will most likely be treated at the new facility in Bethesda, said Col. Susan Annicelli, commander of the DeWitt Healthcare Network. Patients with serious trauma, such as amputees and patients with brain injuries, will go to Bethesda.

Fort Belvoir will help patients in need of psychological treatment. Soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse issues and other ailments will be able to have their illnesses treated jointly at the new facility.

On Thursday, 750 staff members participated in “day in the life” exercises, to prepare for the new facility’s opening. The exercises were designed to acquaint staff members with new equipment and ensure quality care in the coming weeks.

Army Maj. Trisa Giuliani participated in a mock surgery. “Not only is the hospital new, but for a lot of us, the equipment is new,” she said. “So just like an airline pilot would test-drive his new [plane], we do the same for our patients.”

A fleet of ambulances is scheduled to transport as many as 150 patients from Walter Reed on Aug. 28 and from DeWitt on Aug. 31.