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Politics & Government

Fort Belvoir Hospital Opens for Military Beneficiaries

Military Health Care beneficiaries are set to recieve state-of-the-art care

When beneficiaries of the military medical system walk into a hospital or clinic, they usually find old buildings, cold décor, bad color choices, and a feeling of dingy, outdated care. When Fort Belvoir Community Hospital opens today, beneficiaries will experience medical care taken to a level once considered inconceivable. 

The $1 billion dollar, 1.3 million square-foot hospital complex will set standards for the next 10 years, and will define what military care will be for the next half century according to U.S. Army Col. Alan Shoupe, Deputy Commander of Health Care Operations & Future Strategy at FBCH.

“This is the hospital I have always wanted to work in,” Shoupe said. 

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Getting Better Care

There are over 500,000 active duty military, family members, veterans, and retired personnel eligible to use the new hospital living in the National Capitol area.

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Outlined below are the best ways for patients to reach the care they need with an ease of access never experienced in the military health system.

Pence Gate is the closest available entry point. It is open seven days a week from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 

When appointments are made as of August 31, beneficiaries will need to call (571) 231-2334, the new phone number for the hospital.  With set appointments, patients will be told which pavilion their clinic is located and in what garage to park.

Parking in the correct garage is very important because it is a quarter of a mile walk from one end of the hospital to the other. A map of the facility can be found at the FBCH website. The two new parking garages have over 3,500 parking spaces and there are an additional 400 ground spaces in front of the hospital. 

With 1,327 providers, appointment wait times will shorten compared to Dewitt primary care appointments. Each provider has two exam rooms to expedite care. Weekend and evening appointment availability will also increase.

Another new concept to the hospital and MTF’s is the use of proactive care. Providers will begin reaching out to their primary care patients to schedule routine exams. Shoupe said the hospital’s new outpatient goal is to “take care to where the patients are,” making specialty clinics and referrals easier on beneficiaries.  

More than 270,000 beneficiaries live in the South National Capital Region, and having these facilities closer will ease the burden of traveling for care.  

The hospitality team from Walter Reed transferred to FBCH. They are available to assist patients in finding their clinic, provide directions, and answer questions.  

Advanced equipment in the hospital includes a neonatal intensive care unit, labor and delivery rooms and mother/baby rooms with pull-out sofas for Dads. The oncology clinic includes two linear accelerators and there are 10 state-of-the-art operating rooms. The specialty clinics and transferred care will be fully operational by mid-to-late September. 

The Emergency Room is going to be one of the largest changes for Fort Belvoir. The ER waiting room in the new hospital is bigger than Dewitt’s entire ER. Located in the Oaks pavilion, the ER has 30 patient rooms, its own radiation department and CT scanner. The hospital wants all patients in and out in 60 minutes or less.  

Patients may notice the hospital's sloped roofs; these collect and redistribute rainwater for landscape irrigation. 

If patients are at FBCH for extended periods or just need to get a snack, there is The Servery, a full service cafeteria with many varieties of food. There is also a grab-and-go food stand with extended hours and a Starbucks Coffee. The cafeteria has indoor and outdoor seating for up to 400 people and open from 5:00 a.m.- 1:00 a.m. every day.

On a large scale, the new hospital boasts many impressive features, but it is the small details that take FBCH to a new level. The use of natural light will give patients visual cues and help them stay oriented in the hospital. There are on-stage and off-stage areas where daily tasks and patient movements will not be noticeable to outpatient visitors. A Vocera communications system will allow hands free communication between providers and staff. A pneumatic tube system will allow fast delivery of medical supplies quickly and efficiently. The most noticeable will be the nature-inspired décor to promote healing. 

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