Cold Snap, the floods cause chaos for patients at the flagship hospital in the Department of Defense

The patients of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland were referred elsewhere last month for surgeries, and 212 others were postponed due to a failure of the steam factory of the establishment and the floods that have ruined more than 50 rooms.

The problems of the flagship establishment of the American army began more than two weeks ago when temperatures fell to the low adolescents of the Washington, DC, DC,.

According to an information document of January 31 sent to the members of the media of Walter Reed, a steam leak in mid-January and the problems with the aging steam plant of the medical center have disrupted the operations of the department which sterilize equipment surgical, forcing the installation to move 56 cases to other military hospitals and Tricking Region network hospitals.

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The failure of the sterilization system also reported 212 procedures and relying on sterilization processes in facilities such as the National Institutes of Health; Very BelvoirVirginia; And Air Force Andrews base And Fort Mead In Maryland for the equipment used in what continues to be a limited number of emergency procedures at Walter Reed.

The Washington Post, who first pointed out the problems at the medical center on FridaySources cited according to which Walter Reed generally performs around 40 surgeries per day, this number is now one figure.

“The main mission of this place is to be ready to take care of people who are seriously injured in supporting combat operations. … And we cannot do it for the moment,” said the newspaper.

In addition to the failure of the steam plant, a watering pipe broke out on January 20 on the top floor of one of the central buildings of the installation, discharging 60,000 gallons of water in five other buildings, including the emblematic tour of the installation, an Art Deco style hospital designed by President Franklin Roosevelt.

The specific cause of the leak “is still unknown”, but “a non -seasonal time and the age of the physical facilities of the factories have probably contributed to the flight”, according to the information document.

The damage caused by water affected more than 50 rooms, five elevators and 11 corridors.

Friday, in a separate declaration, the Defense Health Agency said that the staff had “worked with diligence” to solve problems, funding emergency work and contracts, and minimizing care disruptions to care Patients.

“This acute problem is aggressively managed to ensure that patient care continues to be provided in complete safety,” officials wrote in the press release.

The installation that houses the medical center, Bethesda naval support activityDate of 1942, when the National Naval Medical Center began to accept patients, but many buildings that house medical services are new or have been renovated in the past 20 years.

In 2011, the Walter Reed Army The medical center, about four kilometers south-east of Bethesda hospital, moved its patients in the establishment, creating the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a joint medical center that treats soldiers from all branches of there armed forces.

It was the former medical center of the Walter Reed army which was the subject of a major scandal in 2007 on the deplorable state of housing and treatment of injured soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.

But up to 2022, the current Walter Reed National Military Medical Center also aroused criticism of the conditions of his barracks For more than two years, according to the navy.

Among the recent floods and failures of the system, the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said that the situation was unacceptable.

“This is the result of deferred maintenance under the last administration,” wrote Hegseth on the social media platform X Friday. “My staff favors the correction of this, and under this president, our troops will only receive the best care.”

The Defense Health Agency allocated $ 806,000 in emergency financing to support cleaning and catering efforts, which are underway. He could take up to six weeks for the hospital to return to full operations, according to the agency.

According to installation managers, retail stores and fast food restaurants along the hospital “main street” have reopened for business, and surgical teams work to “maximize the number of cases that can be made On peripheral sites “, including very Belvoir.

Repairs have been completed in a neonatal intensive care service and unit, and the hospital no longer diverts labor and delivery services.

“At no time was patient care,” DHA officials said in a statement.

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History continues