Northern Virginia Rep. Jim Moran is working to accelerate the opening of a $649 million medical facility that will handle part of Walter Reed’s functions when the D.C. hospital closes, his office confirmed on Friday.
The 8th District Democrat is crafting language for inclusion in a fiscal 2008 supplemental Iraq war funding bill that would pay for the faster construction of Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, spokesman Austin Durrer said. A congressional aide said the funding would allow the hospital to open as much as a year earlier than the planned fall 2010 date.
“The legislation is still in its draft form; it’s unclear when it will actually be enacted,” Durrer said.
The hospital expansion, which broke ground at the southern Fairfax County base in November, would convert the existing 45-bed DeWitt Army Community Hospital to 120 beds and add new intensive care and psychiatric functions. Along with Bethesda National Naval Medical Center, it is one of the two facilities that will replace Walter Reed when it closes in 2011 as part of federal Base Realignment and Closure orders.
“Our nation’s veterans and service members deserve the highest level of care possible,” Durrer said. “The new DeWitt hospital will offer state-of-the-art treatment for our soldiers overseas and returning home.”
Some legislators want to accelerate Walter Reed’s closure after a scandal broke over neglect of soldiers in outpatient care. Moran’s bill would apparently not directly address the D.C. hospital.
DeWitt spokeswoman Jennifer Albert declined to comment on the bill on Friday. She said the construction was already on an accelerated track.
The bill will likely come before Congress in January.
