Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Recovering After Flood

A burst sprinkler pipe and broken steam system caused significant infrastructure failures and wreaked havoc on patient care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in January. 

An email sent to Walter Reed staff from the medical center’s director, Navy Capt. Melissa C. Austin, said 60,000 gallons of water, or enough “to fill a 25x50 foot swimming pool” flooded throughout the facility on Jan. 20 before it was contained, damaging 50 rooms and 6 elevators. 

Frozen pipes burst due to extreme cold, and the issues were exacerbated by aging infrastructure and “deferred maintenance due to underfunding,” the Defense Health Agency (DHA), which oversees Walter Reed, said in a public statement. 

The damage was severe enough to impact patient care. The facility had to evacuate the neonatal intensive care unit as well as several clinics. The steam system outages also meant operating rooms had fewer clean surgical tools available and had to send them to regional hospitals for sterilization, staffers told The Washington Post. Health care workers could not “flash sterilize” equipment in emergencies, further risking patient safety.

Rick McNamara, a spokesperson for the Defense Health Network National Capital Region, confirmed other hospitals are “sharing the burden” to sterilize equipment. McNamara said it could take 6 weeks to complete the immediate repairs, which will cost between $1 million and $2 million.

Patient appointments were delayed, and nonemergency procedures were canceled or delayed. Overall, 212 patients were “deferred or rescheduled,” and 56 other patients were sent to other hospitals to receive care.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Jan. 31 the problem was “real and unacceptable” in response to a video circulating on social media that showed flooding.

Acknowledging that the water damage “temporarily impacted health care operations,” the Defense Department says DHA and Walter Reed staff were “working diligently around the clock” to find and implement solutions while minimizing disruptions to patient care: “High waters and loss of steam pressure impacted the capacity of services delivered, but the ability to deliver the hospital’s core capabilities of safe, quality care was never compromised,” the agency said.

In response to the flooding, the hospital moved quickly to provide the required urgent care: “We are utilizing all the hospitals and clinics in the National Capital Region Network from Malcom Grow at Joint Base Andrews to Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center at Fort Meade to the Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center at Fort Belvoir,” Capt. Austin said. 

DHA is also funding emergency work orders and contract modifications required to return Walter Reed to full operational capability. It is prioritizing resources for repairs and is collaborating with the Naval Installations Command and Naval Support Activity Bethesda to implement necessary repairs.

“This acute issue is being managed aggressively to ensure patient care continues to be delivered safely,” DHA said

A burst sprinkler pipe and broken steam system caused significant infrastructure failures and wreaked havoc on patient care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in January. 

An email sent to Walter Reed staff from the medical center’s director, Navy Capt. Melissa C. Austin, said 60,000 gallons of water, or enough “to fill a 25x50 foot swimming pool” flooded throughout the facility on Jan. 20 before it was contained, damaging 50 rooms and 6 elevators. 

Frozen pipes burst due to extreme cold, and the issues were exacerbated by aging infrastructure and “deferred maintenance due to underfunding,” the Defense Health Agency (DHA), which oversees Walter Reed, said in a public statement. 

The damage was severe enough to impact patient care. The facility had to evacuate the neonatal intensive care unit as well as several clinics. The steam system outages also meant operating rooms had fewer clean surgical tools available and had to send them to regional hospitals for sterilization, staffers told The Washington Post. Health care workers could not “flash sterilize” equipment in emergencies, further risking patient safety.

Rick McNamara, a spokesperson for the Defense Health Network National Capital Region, confirmed other hospitals are “sharing the burden” to sterilize equipment. McNamara said it could take 6 weeks to complete the immediate repairs, which will cost between $1 million and $2 million.

Patient appointments were delayed, and nonemergency procedures were canceled or delayed. Overall, 212 patients were “deferred or rescheduled,” and 56 other patients were sent to other hospitals to receive care.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Jan. 31 the problem was “real and unacceptable” in response to a video circulating on social media that showed flooding.

Acknowledging that the water damage “temporarily impacted health care operations,” the Defense Department says DHA and Walter Reed staff were “working diligently around the clock” to find and implement solutions while minimizing disruptions to patient care: “High waters and loss of steam pressure impacted the capacity of services delivered, but the ability to deliver the hospital’s core capabilities of safe, quality care was never compromised,” the agency said.

In response to the flooding, the hospital moved quickly to provide the required urgent care: “We are utilizing all the hospitals and clinics in the National Capital Region Network from Malcom Grow at Joint Base Andrews to Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center at Fort Meade to the Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center at Fort Belvoir,” Capt. Austin said. 

DHA is also funding emergency work orders and contract modifications required to return Walter Reed to full operational capability. It is prioritizing resources for repairs and is collaborating with the Naval Installations Command and Naval Support Activity Bethesda to implement necessary repairs.

“This acute issue is being managed aggressively to ensure patient care continues to be delivered safely,” DHA said

A burst sprinkler pipe and broken steam system caused significant infrastructure failures and wreaked havoc on patient care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in January. 

An email sent to Walter Reed staff from the medical center’s director, Navy Capt. Melissa C. Austin, said 60,000 gallons of water, or enough “to fill a 25x50 foot swimming pool” flooded throughout the facility on Jan. 20 before it was contained, damaging 50 rooms and 6 elevators. 

Frozen pipes burst due to extreme cold, and the issues were exacerbated by aging infrastructure and “deferred maintenance due to underfunding,” the Defense Health Agency (DHA), which oversees Walter Reed, said in a public statement. 

The damage was severe enough to impact patient care. The facility had to evacuate the neonatal intensive care unit as well as several clinics. The steam system outages also meant operating rooms had fewer clean surgical tools available and had to send them to regional hospitals for sterilization, staffers told The Washington Post. Health care workers could not “flash sterilize” equipment in emergencies, further risking patient safety.

Rick McNamara, a spokesperson for the Defense Health Network National Capital Region, confirmed other hospitals are “sharing the burden” to sterilize equipment. McNamara said it could take 6 weeks to complete the immediate repairs, which will cost between $1 million and $2 million.

Patient appointments were delayed, and nonemergency procedures were canceled or delayed. Overall, 212 patients were “deferred or rescheduled,” and 56 other patients were sent to other hospitals to receive care.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Jan. 31 the problem was “real and unacceptable” in response to a video circulating on social media that showed flooding.

Acknowledging that the water damage “temporarily impacted health care operations,” the Defense Department says DHA and Walter Reed staff were “working diligently around the clock” to find and implement solutions while minimizing disruptions to patient care: “High waters and loss of steam pressure impacted the capacity of services delivered, but the ability to deliver the hospital’s core capabilities of safe, quality care was never compromised,” the agency said.

In response to the flooding, the hospital moved quickly to provide the required urgent care: “We are utilizing all the hospitals and clinics in the National Capital Region Network from Malcom Grow at Joint Base Andrews to Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center at Fort Meade to the Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center at Fort Belvoir,” Capt. Austin said. 

DHA is also funding emergency work orders and contract modifications required to return Walter Reed to full operational capability. It is prioritizing resources for repairs and is collaborating with the Naval Installations Command and Naval Support Activity Bethesda to implement necessary repairs.

“This acute issue is being managed aggressively to ensure patient care continues to be delivered safely,” DHA said