For Our Patients
The Comprehensive Breast Center
At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
Clinical Facilities:
For the clinical care pillar, both the Walter Reed and Windber sites have built state-of-the-art comprehensive breast centers, which form the foundation of the ongoing collaborative efforts of the rest of the project pillars. At the Walter Reed site, the space for the new breast center was designated and approved by the command and in-depth architectural design and development plans were made in conjunction with the Patient Advocacy Group, which consists of military and civilian breast cancer survivors. The rest of the Project totally relies on high-volume patient flow through these clinical centers.
The ground breaking ceremony at Windber was at the end of August 2000 for their wonderful new facility, and the equivalent ceremony, that is the Space Dedication, was held at Walter Reed on February 8, 2001 and we were honored by the presence of Mrs. Joyce Murtha, wife of the Congressman. The Walter Reed Comprehensive Breast Center opened for patients on July 31, 2001, and the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center in Windber opened on February 17, 2002.
The Comprehensive Breast Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center is comprised of a Reception Area, Waiting Room/Patient Education Area and Quiet Room, Patient Examination Rooms, A Surgical Suite, Doctors and Nurses Work Stations, A Conference Room and Pathology Lab. Go to "Tour the Breast Center"
to see the facility.
The Reception Area greets patients with an ADA compliant counter fully accessible to wheelchair patients.
The Waiting Room has a waterfall which is a triple-paneled self-contained unit with the ability to regulate the flow of water so that it can provide soothing outdoor sounds from a babbling brook to a high Andes waterfall. The water is extremely clean, being sterilized continuously with an ozone sterilizing unit and filtered through a heppa-filter. The Plasma Screen on the wall is linked to a DVD player playing soothing visual images of nature. The Patient Education Area has three computers linked to various educational sites so that patients and their significant others have access to research sites as well as their e-mail. The Quiet Room is a place for patients and their support systems a place to meet privately with their doctors and nurses.
Patient Examination Rooms have music piped into each room that can be controlled in each exam room. Wood flooring, royal lavender exam tables and furniture make for a dignified, yet welcoming environment. Exam tables have heated drawers providing patients with warm gowns for clinical exams.
The Surgical Suite is a fully functioning unit that features pre-op teaching and counseling, intravenous sedation capability and a fully monitored recovery room. The Operating room itself features a ceiling-mounted Plasma Screen attached to a DVD player. Patients undergoing biopsy are encouraged to bring their favorite movie or concert or take advantage of our library and watch the show while having their procedure. Studies have shown that providing surgical patients with some form of distracting entertainment results in less pain and a decreased need for sedative medications.
The Operating Room light projects a combined beam intensity of 30,000 foot-candles. This is actually brighter than any light in any Operating Room in the main suite at Walter Reed!
Doctors and Nurses Work Stations contain computers linked to the LAN and internet, to allow providers to access the clinical database.
Laboratories:
The Pathology Laboratory is a fully functioning, pathology lab with a dedicated pathologist responsible for completing an extensive data pathology form and the diagnosis and preparation of each tissue and serum specimen deposited in the extensive and pristine biorepository.
Other:
The Murtha Conference Room is a state of the art Digital conference Center named in honor of the honorable John Murtha, D-PA. This conference room is fully integrated digitally, containing Projection Screen, three 65 inch LCD flat panel Plasma Screens, Video-Teleconferencing capability, , a 300-disk DVD player, and full computer support to include high-speed internet access and internet presentation capability. The plasma screens each have 24-bit, 16.7 million tiny photoelectric fluorescent bulbs firing simultaneously via computer control for unsurpassed video screen resolution. The plasma Screens have a parallax of 176 degrees, meaning that they can be viewed clearly from all angles of the room with no concavity or distortion. This conference room will be used by the CBCP to video-conference regularly with the clinician-researchers at Walter Reed, the scientists at Windber Research Institute and our partners at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, MD.
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