Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, BETHESDA, MD  –   Walter Reed continued its modernization journey with a ribbon cutting for the medical center’s new state-of-the-art Roosevelt Pavilion on June 3.

“Today, we are not just cutting a ribbon. We’re opening the doors to a new era of care, readiness, and innovation – one that builds on a powerful legacy and rises to meet the readiness needs of tomorrow’s force,” said Dr. Stephen Ferrara, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, who served as guest speaker at the event.

A retired U.S. Navy captain, Ferrara is no stranger to Walter Reed, having served as an interventional radiologist at the medical center, where he still actively practices.

Wearing his white medical coat, Ferrara shared that he had just come from making rounds in Walter Reed to the ribbon cutting. “It’s the energy and dedication I witness in our clinical spaces that’s such a powerful reminder of what Walter represents,” he said.

“The [Roosevelt] Pavilion represents the future of military medicine and the best of military medicine. A place where women’s health services, medical readiness, and family-centered care converge in one state-of-the-art facility. A place where cutting-edge technology meets compassionate care, and where the needs of service members and their families are not just met but anticipated.

A place where our newest warriors, our infants, take their first breath in one of the most advanced Mother Infant Care Centers and NICUs in the Military Health System,” Ferrara furthered.

He said the Roosevelt Pavilion also supports medical readiness, “from the clinical layout to the embedded medical teams. The services we provide in this pavilion ensure that our people are medically ready and fully supported whether they are preparing for deployment, returning from duty, or caring for a growing family,” said Ferrara.

“More importantly, this pavilion showcases our core values – excellence in care, dignity for every patient, and an unyielding commitment to those who serve,” he concluded.

U.S. Navy Capt. (Dr.) Melissa Austin, director of Walter Reed, shared those sentiments.

“While patient care is already underway within the walls of [the Roosevelt Pavilion], we would be remiss if we did not stop to officially open the doors and celebrate this achievement,” Austin said as she welcomed a number of Department of Defense medical leaders and dignitaries to the event.

“When President Franklin D. Roosevelt first sketched the iconic tower [for the then Naval Medical Center Bethesda] behind us, he envisioned a flagship center of clinical care, education, and research, and Maj. Walter Reed’s namesake just six miles to the east of us served as the standard-bearer for Army medicine until 2011, when we brought together the best of all three services to create the Walter Reed we know today,” Austin said.

“Over a decade in the making, the Roosevelt Pavilion carries that legacy of service, education, and innovation into the 21st century,” Austin continued. She added that the Roosevelt Pavilion adds over 500,000 square feet of clinical space to the Bethesda campus which Walter Reed now occupies, “enhancing efforts supporting the warfighter, sustaining the skills [of the Walter Reed team], and strengthening our chain [as the premier military medical center and casualty receiving facility].”

The opening of the Roosevelt Pavilion begins another chapter in the Walter Reed story, Austin said.

The pavilion includes six new operating rooms, and more than 1,000 rooms designated for clinical, administrative, and support functions. It includes modern amenities and enhanced accessibility to better support the healing of service members and other MHS beneficiaries. Private single-bed rooms with calming color schemes, ergonomic furnishings, and upgraded infrastructure are also within the walls of the pavilion. Patient-centric amenities include private bathrooms, family seating areas, integrated patient monitoring systems, user-friendly entertainment features, and larger room layouts to accommodate family members for overnight stays and added space for medical teams to continue to deliver the exceptional care that is at the heart of the Walter Reed legacy.

Construction now begins on the second phase of Walter Reed’s Medical Center Additions and Alterations (MCAA) project, MCAA North, expected to last until 2028 that once completed will house various services including optometry, patient transport, the Red Cross, and administrative offices.