Working Environments
From the lab to the operating room, the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth provides cutting-edge care to half a million military patients each year in a beautiful and historic setting.
Portsmouth
The oldest hospital in the U.S. Navy, the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, is also the most modern. Recently dubbed a “Center of Excellence” by a joint commission that applied the highest standards of performance, the facility is known for embracing new technology without forsaking the human touch.
“NMC Portsmouth brings new meaning to the phrase taking care of your own that goes beyond merely treating the patient and their illness,” said Vikki Garner, associate director of Health Care Quality Improvement. “There is a definite unity between the staff, the patient, and the patient’s family. This is not a business – it is health care provided at its best.”
That kind of quality care has been delivered from the current location for over 175 years. The Portsmouth complex occupies a 112-acre site along the Elizabeth River in downtown Portsmouth, Virginia. Located on the original site of Fort Nelson, which was built in 1776, the first building of the current hospital was completed in 1830.
As the military establishment grew, the Naval Medical Center became a major military medical facility with health-care professionals serving Active Duty Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard servicemembers. They also care for military families and retired personnel, and others authorized for treatment in uniformed services clinics and hospitals.
Through its extensive graduate Medical Education Programs, the Naval Medical Center conducts internships and residency training in medicine, dentistry, psychology and pastoral care. Naval Medical Center Portsmouth is one of three major teaching hospitals in the Navy, with residency programs in 13 specialty areas. Each year, approximately 75 Officers complete internships at the Naval Medical Center.
Over the years, there have been numerous additions to the Naval Medical Center. In June 1990, ground was broken on a major construction project designed to build a modern replacement hospital with extensive support facilities and services.
Completed in 1998, the new Charette Health Care Center is an over one-million-square-foot, cutting-edge facility. The center contains over 300 clinical exam rooms, 140 specialty exam rooms and 17 operating rooms. In its first year there were over 392,000 outpatient visits, 859,115 pharmacy visits and over 5,500 inpatient surgeries.
From the lab to the classroom to the operating room, the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth is poised to serve the medical needs of half a million military patients well into the next century.
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