Tranquility Hall Barracks – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center – Bethesda
On Thursday, August 11, 2011, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, and the Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical held a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the completion of a new Wounded Warrior Building 62 - Tranquility Hall Barracks.
"We are very excited. This represents the continuum of care for a wounded warrior. We pride ourselves in military medicine on being able to take world-class care of somebody the minute they are hit or hurt on the battlefield. Here, we surround them with acute care while they are rehabilitating and recuperating in an environment where they feel embraced by modern architecture, a world-class dining facility and as much comfort of home as we can give them as we prepare to get them ultimately back into society and their families," explained Rear Admiral Matthew L. Nathan who currently serves as commander, National Naval Medical Center Bethesda, and Navy Medicine, National Capital Area.
Tranquility Hall Barracks
- 295,000 sq feet provides 153 two-person Residential Suites, two center Administration floors, and a Dining Hall serving 1,500 meals daily.
- The "Suites" include a double or queen bed, desk and computer.
- Living Room: Chair, love seat, flat-screen TV.
- Full kitchen with a washer and dryer in closet.
- Extra outlets for prosthetics that need charging.
- Disability accessible bathrooms.
- The barracks will house an Austin's Playroom, a drop-in activity center, which will provide certified child care providers for those staying in the barracks and personnel in need of temporary child care when they attend medical appointments.
Adjacent Support Complex:
Fitness Center with 50-meter indoor pool (wheelchair accessible ramps), basketball, volleyball and racquetball courts, cardio, and weight lifting areas and indoor track
"This is an important, key factor in making our wounded warriors believe that America and their military families care about them and they want to see them in the type of surroundings that are commensurate with the sacrifice each service member has made for their country." Rear Admiral Matthew L. Nathan said.
There are plans to begin building an additional lodging facility, Sanctuary Hall, for wounded warriors and their families later this year. In a more secluded area of the base on the current site of Building 141, the 200-bed facility will have single- and two-bedroom suites. Near this facility, there will be a new garage with about 460 spaces.
