Feb. 10, 2025 | By Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Office of Communications
BETHESDA, Maryland – Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is making significant progress in its recovery efforts following a series of infrastructure failures in January.
Since the January 11 break of a base water main supplying the facility, Walter Reed also experienced a steam leak that temporarily shut down its Sterile Processing Department (SPD) and a major sprinkler pipe burst that released approximately 60,000 gallons of water into the walls, ceilings, and floors of five connected buildings.
Repairs began immediately, with teams prioritizing patient safety to ensure no harm came to patients in or near the impacted areas. Leaks were stopped the same day, and restoration efforts were swiftly initiated to safeguard patients and staff. Initial restoration focused on securing critical healthcare areas before expanding to training and administrative spaces. Repairs to the steam system were completed on Jan. 31, restoring the steam supply to SPD and working towards full capabilities. Staff were promptly relocated to unaffected hospital areas to maintain continuity of care.
Based on the current pace of repairs, Walter Reed Chief of Staff, Navy Capt. Juan Rosario stated, "We should be back to pre-water and steam intrusion capabilities in about six weeks." While some services were briefly diverted during the events, Walter Reed continues to admit patients. Some routine and non-urgent surgeries are still being diverted due to SPD limitations, but the facility remains able to provide all required capabilities.
Walter Reed is also working with the Army, Navy, and Air Force to deploy portable SPD units and has received support from community partners offering excess sterilization capacity. The hospital is both procuring a commercial SPD trailer and exploring options to contract out sterile processing until local capabilities are fully restored. Multiple solutions are in progress to ensure uninterrupted care.
In the midst of challenges, the National Capital Region Network was able to quickly adapt and collaborate, while ensuring continuity of care. By shifting surgical cases to other network military treatment facilities and leveraging external resource-sharing agreements, Walter Reed has maintained critical healthcare services for its beneficiaries.
“Many of our patients have shared that they would rather wait until the hospital is ready than go anywhere else for their care. They know the quality of care that Walter Reed provides,” Austin said. “We are their hospital. We are their home.”
Although some routine and non-urgent surgeries at the hospital have been postponed or canceled, nearly 20% of those canceled have been rescheduled to be performed at other National Capital Region facilities, with teams prioritizing the most critical cases. To help maintain surgical capacity, Walter Reed is also utilizing a newly established external resource-sharing agreement, allowing its surgeons to perform procedures at a nearby private sector facility.
