Logan Reid
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. It was located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., and served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the United States Armed Forces. In 2011, WRAMC combined with the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, to form the tri-service Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC).
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) |
| Former Name | Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) |
| Combined with | National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) |
| Location | Bethesda, Maryland |
| Distance from former location | 7 miles |
| Former location | Washington, D.C. |
| Year of merger | 2011 |
| New name after merger | Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) |
| Year of founding | 1909 |
| Year of renaming to WRGH | 1951 |
| Year of founding of WRNMMC | 1942 |
| Year of proposal for a new WRNMMC | 2005 |
| Metro line | Washington Metro's Red Line |
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What You'll Learn
Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) history
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the United States Armed Forces. The center was named after Walter Reed, a U.S. Army physician and Major who led the team that confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes.
The history of WRAMC can be traced back to 1898, when the General Hospital at the Washington Barracks was established. This hospital served as the forerunner of Walter Reed General Hospital. In 1909, the hospital was renamed in honor of Lt. Gen. McNair, who was killed in 1944. The Victorian-era waterfront dispensary at Fort McNair, which houses the current health clinic, is one of America's most historically significant military medical treatment facilities.
In September 1951, "General Order Number 8" combined the WRGH with the AMC, and the complex of 100 rose-brick Georgian Revival-style buildings was renamed the "Walter Reed Army Medical Center" (WRAMC). Over the years, WRAMC expanded and enhanced its facilities, with new buildings and institutes being added to its campus. In 1955, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) moved into Building 54, and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) was established. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing (WRAIN) was founded in 1964. Sadly, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower died at WRAMC on March 28, 1969.
In 1999, the WRAIR moved to a new facility on the WRAMC Forest Glen Annex in Maryland. The main section of WRAMC was located in a residential area of Washington, D.C., while the Forest Glen annex was situated three miles north in Montgomery County, Maryland.
In 2005, the Department of Defense proposed replacing WRAMC with a new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), combining it with the National Naval Medical Center. This merger was overseen by the Office of Integration (OI) and officially took place in 2011, forming a tri-service medical center staffed by Army, Navy, and Air Force medical personnel. The former WRAMC campus is being redeveloped as The Parks at Walter Reed.
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The hospital's namesake, Walter Reed
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. It was located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., and served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the United States Armed Forces.
The hospitals' namesake, Walter Reed
Walter Reed was born in 1851 in rural Virginia. He received his first medical degree in 1869 at the age of 17 from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He then earned a second medical degree in 1870 from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City. After interning at the Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn and working with the Brooklyn Health Department, he joined the Medical Department of the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant in 1875.
Reed served in Arizona for five years, taking care of Army personnel and Native Americans. In 1880, he was promoted to the rank of captain and served at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. He lived and worked at the facility that would later bear his name when he was assigned as Camp Surgeon from 1881 to 1882. After serving in other assignments, he returned as Professor of Medicine and Curator of the Army Medical Museum.
Reed is best known for his work in epidemiology, including studies at Washington Barracks, and his discovery of the transmission of yellow fever. He led a team that confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct physical contact. This discovery was considered the U.S. Army's greatest contribution to the nation's health and made Reed a legend in American medicine.
In 1902, Major Reed underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis at the U.S. Army Medical Treatment Facility and died of complications within the walls of what became his final military duty assignment. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., was named in his honour, and it served as the U.S. Army's flagship medical center for over a century, providing care to thousands of military personnel and their families.
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The National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) merger
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), located in Washington, D.C., was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. It served over 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. The center was named after Walter Reed, a U.S. Army physician and Major who confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes.
In 2005, the Department of Defense proposed replacing WRAMC with a new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). This new center would be located on the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Maryland, just seven miles from WRAMC's original location. The NNMC, dedicated in 1942, was originally intended to provide medical care exclusively to military personnel. However, it has also been used to treat U.S. presidents and their families, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson.
In November 2005, the Office of Integration (OI) was formed to oversee the merger of WRAMC and NNMC. The goal of this merger was to create a single, tri-service medical center in the National Capital Region (NCR) that would reduce maintenance costs for the government. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility took place on July 3, 2008, with President George W. Bush in attendance.
On September 14, 2011, the NNMC was officially renamed the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, combining the services of both WRAMC and NNMC. The new WRNMMC serves as the headquarters for the National Capital Region Medical Directorate, providing command and control for most medical treatment facilities in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey. It is one of the largest and most prominent military medical centers in the United States, offering a wide range of services for military personnel, veterans, and their families.
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Location: Washington, D.C
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was located in Washington, D.C. It was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. The center was named after Walter Reed, a U.S. Army physician and Major who confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes. Located on 113 acres, it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The history of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., dates back to the late 19th century. The site has a long tradition of military medical use. The Victorian-era waterfront dispensary at Fort McNair, which predates the hospital, is one of America's most historically significant military medical treatment facilities. The hospital itself served as a precursor to the Walter Reed General Hospital, operating from 1898 to 1909 as the General Hospital at the Washington Barracks.
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center grew and evolved over time. It started with a bed capacity of 80 patients and eventually expanded to approximately 5,500 rooms covering more than 28 acres of floor space. The construction of the hospital, designed by the firm of Marah & Peter and built by Cramp & Company, began in 1907, and the first ten patients were admitted on May 1, 1909.
In 2005, the Department of Defense proposed replacing the Walter Reed Army Medical Center with a new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) on the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, just seven miles from its previous location in Washington, D.C. This merger was overseen by the Office of Integration (OI), formed in November 2005, to create a single tri-service medical center in the National Capital Region. The new WRNMMC officially combined the services of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center in 2011 and continues to serve members of the military, veterans, and their families.
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Medical care for US presidents
The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) is a United States military medical center located in Bethesda, Maryland. It is one of the largest and most prominent military medical centers in the United States, providing medical care for several US presidents and their families since its opening in 1940.
The center is named after Walter Reed, a US Army physician and Major who discovered that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes. The original Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), established in 1909, was the US Army's flagship medical center until 2011, when it combined with the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, to form the tri-service WRNMMC.
Since its opening, WRNMMC has been the site for medical evaluations and treatments for US presidents. The medical center includes a presidential office suite controlled by the White House, featuring a sitting room, kitchen, conference room, hospital bedroom, and an office for the White House Chief of Staff. It has earned the nickname "The President's Hospital."
Several US presidents have received medical care at WRNMMC, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump. Roosevelt received treatment for paralysis of his lower extremities, while Johnson was hospitalized for a common cold with tracheal and bronchial irritation. Biden, at the time a presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, underwent a routine physical at WRNMMC and was deemed "fit to serve" by his physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor. However, in 2024, after leaving office, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which doctors deemed "inconceivable" for not being caught earlier. Trump underwent his annual physical examination at Walter Reed Hospital, with the results released to the press.
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Frequently asked questions
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) was located in Washington, D.C. In 2011, WRAMC combined with the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, to form the tri-service Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC).
The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is located in Bethesda, Maryland, seven miles from WRAMC's former location in Washington, D.C. It can be accessed by the Medical Center station on the Washington Metro's Red Line.
The National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) was dedicated in 1942 to provide medical care exclusively to military personnel. In 2005, the Department of Defense proposed replacing WRAMC with a new WRNMMC on the grounds of NNMC. The merger was overseen by the Office of Integration (OI), which was formed in November 2005. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 3, 2008, with President George W. Bush officiating. On September 14, 2011, NNMC was rechristened as the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
WRNMMC serves as the location of the headquarters for the National Capital Region Medical Directorate, providing command and control for most medical treatment facilities in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey. The center provides various services for members of the military, veterans, and their families.
Walter Reed was a U.S. Army physician and Major who led the team that confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes. He lived and worked at the facility when he was assigned as Camp Surgeon from 1881 to 1882. After serving on other assignments, he returned as Professor of Medicine and Curator of the Army Medical Museum. Major Reed underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis at the facility in 1902 and died of complications.
