Fort Belvoir-DeWitt Army Hospital Prepares For The Next Generation

It seemed appropriate today to check in on the changes at DeWitt Army Hospital as Fort Belvoir gears up for an influx of over 21,000 new military and civilian jobs by 2011.  Why today?  It is my daughter Kara's birthday and she was born early in the morning at DeWitt 28 years ago.  Kara is just one of the 64,000 plus babies that have been born at DeWitt in the last 50 years.

The current DeWitt hospital is a typical military hospital with most of the clinics and services that you will find at any civilian hospital.  The outside of the building is showing its age and might remind someone arriving at the main door more of a bunker than a hospital.  Today the hospital  handles up to 150,000 patients including the families stationed at Fort Belvoir, retirees and their families as well.

Rumor had it that DeWitt was going to change to an outpatient clinic before BRAC was announced but those rumors were unfounded.  The plans for the new hospital were already underway prior to the 2005 BRAC announcement.

The new hospital is under construction as you can see from my photos.  Located just inside Pence gate the site is just down the road from the current hospital but it is easy to see how this new facility will eclipse the old one.  The new DeWitt Army hospital will not be a single building but a complex.  Featuring state of the art technology eliminating the need for hand carrying of medical records from one facility to another, top of the line clinic services and more inpatient services the hospital will rival any top of the line private hospital. 

The new DeWitt hospital is just one of the many changes coming to Fort Belvoir as a result of BRAC.  The final decision on where another 6500 personnel will be working is set to be finalized by September 30, 2008 and will be either Springfield or one of two locations in Alexandria.

If you are headed to Fort Belvoir or any of the other military bases in our area give me a call to discuss your housing needs.  Put my personal and professional experience with military relocations to work for you.