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President Bush Attends Ceremonial Groundbreaking of National Military
Medical Center
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 3, 2008

President Bush Attends Ceremonial Groundbreaking of National Military
Medical Center National Naval Medical Center Bethesda, Maryland

˙ /news/releases/2008/07/20080703-2.wm.v.html ˙˙Presidential Remarks
˙˙Audio ˙˙Photos


THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Deputy Secretary England, for that
generous introduction. I am so honored to be here at Bethesda National
Naval Medical Center. This is often called the "President's Hospital." The
reason why is this is where the President gets medical care. But I'm
relieved today not to be on the treadmill, weighing in and getting a blood
test. (Laughter.) I also will tell you that the care that the President
gets here is extraordinary.

I am so excited to be here for what is a grand occasion. This is a big
deal, the breaking ground of a new joint medical facility for the men and
women of our Armed Forces. Thank you all for joining us.

In a few years the current campus at Walter Reed will close, and many of
its services will be relocated to the new complex here on the grounds at
Bethesda. The two hospitals will be merged into one central campus, which
will be called the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. At this
new center, wounds will be healed, medical knowledge will be advanced,
lives will be rebuilt. And those who wear our nation's uniform will be
reminded that they have the enduring gratitude of the American people. I
thank all who serve Walter Reed and Bethesda. I love being with the healers
and caregivers, and incredibly compassionate people who makes our current
facility successful and will make this new center a great success.

Congressman, thank you very much for joining us. I know you are proud that
this new facility is in your congressional district. Thank you for working
hard to see vision become a reality.

Lieutenant Governor, proud to be with you. This man wear [sic] the uniform
of the United States military, and I'm proud to be with this veteran, and
now public servant for the state of Maryland.

Members of the administration who are here, thank you all for coming.
Chaplain York, thanks for the blessings. And all those who wear the
uniform, thanks for sacrificing for the country.

This morning, we gather in a place that was chosen by another President to
be the site of a world-class naval hospital. When President Franklin
Roosevelt dedicated Bethesda in the early years of World War II, he placed
this facility on the front lines of what he called the "battle against
disease, disability and death." The military "surgeons and nurses,
scientists and technicians," he said, "are anonymous heroes of
this war."

More than six decades later, our nation is engaged in a very different
battle for our freedom. Yet our success still relies on these "anonymous
heroes" -- the healers who care for the troops, those troops who keep the
American people safe. In this new war, giving our troops the care they
deserve requires cutting-edge medical facilities. And that is what this new
medical center will provide.

When the construction is complete, this facility will encompass 345 beds
and 6.7 million square feet. It will join the resources of the Army, Navy,
and Air Force, and make it easier for medical professionals in all three
services to collaborate and care for the patients. Our troops and their
families will no longer have to travel between Bethesda and Walter Reed to
see multiple specialists. The new complex will also benefit from the good
work of the Dole-Shalala Wounded Warriors Commission, which has issued
recommendations for modernizing and improving our military health care
system. Those recommendations will provide a strong foundation for
effective, accountable care here at the new Walter Reed National Military
Medical Center.

This new medical center will be a place of healing. Every day, our military
doctors and nurses and medical staff demonstrate their immense skill and
their caring hearts. You soothe the pain and fear of patients. You console
families who keep constant vigil over their loved ones. You share the joy
of a neurology patient's first recovered words, and an amputee's first
steps. When required, you can show tough love -- but you also like to
remind patients that laughter is the best medicine. And we look forward to
the day when the joy of recovery echoes through the halls of the new
medical facility that will be built here.

This new medical center will be a place of innovation. Major Walter Reed
was the Army doctor who found that Yellow Fever is transmitted by
mosquitoes -- a discovery that has saved countless lives. The new
institution bearing his name will continue his legacy of lifesaving
research. Today, our nation's military doctors are revolutionizing how we
approach traumatic brain injuries, Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder, and
amputee care. In many fields, you are far ahead of civilian medicine. And
when Bethesda and Walter Reed merge into one campus across from the
National Institutes of Health, this will be the site of many more promising
breakthroughs that will benefit not only our troops, but all mankind.

This new medical center will be a place of compassion. At Bethesda and
Walter Reed, volunteers organize holiday celebration, poker nights and
field trips. They distribute care packages from thousands of Americans who
want to show their gratitude for our troops. Recently, schoolchildren from
New York made pillows for soldiers at Walter Reed, and sent letters along
with the gifts. The children wrote: "[You are] everyone's hero."
"Thank you
for fighting for our freedom." At this new center, the Americans who fight
for our freedom will get the compassion and support they deserve.

This new medical center will be a place of courage. Our wounded warriors
show that while the human body is fragile, the human spirit is strong.
Anybody who has met the wounded at Walter Reed and Bethesda cannot help but
be incredibly impressed by the courage and sacrifice of our troops.

Recently, I saw this strength in a young Air Force Staff Sergeant named
Scott Lilley. Scott was serving in Iraq when an IED left him with a severe
brain injury. I think it was last 4th of July that you came to the White
House. Yes, I was one who felt like this guy had no chance. And yet, he --
the doctors here used state-of-the-art technology and aggressive treatment
to get Scott better. Their perseverance paid off. And so has his. I
welcomed he and his mom and dad to the Oval Office the other day. He was
more eloquent than I was, which isn't all that hard. (Laughter.) He drives
a car, he goes to baseball games, he loves to joke.

His doctor calls Scott's recovery "miraculous." And thanks to the
extraordinary care he received at Bethesda, as well his own extraordinary
resolve, he is now back on active duty in the Air Force. And we are glad
you're here. (Applause.)

The greatest privilege of serving as President is to be the
Commander-in-Chief of such an extraordinary group of men and women who wear
our nation's uniform. And I'm pleased to help start construction on the new
hospital that will continue to provide the excellent care our troops
deserve. It is fitting that this new facility be built in a place called
Bethesda, which draws its name from the Biblical pool of healing. It is
there that a lame man was made to walk, and was dispatched with the words:
"Behold, thou art made whole."

I pray that this will be the site of many miracles of healing -- where the
lame will walk again, where broken bodies will be made whole, and where
you'll always know that you're in our prayers and in the hearts of the
American people.

May God bless you, and may God continue to bless our country. (Applause.)

END 10:15 A.M. EDT

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