ìHuman capital is the most important part of the organization,î said WRHCS Commander Col. Norvell Van Coots, host of the town hall with Navy Capt. Louis A. Damiano, Walter Reedís deputy commander for integration.

ìThis organization could not run, the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center will not be able to run, [nor will] the new hospital at Fort Belvoir [Va.] be able to run, without the human capital,î Coots said.

He added that a lot of effort has been put into ìmaintaining and retainingî staff since the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) announcement. ìWe have been mandated that we maintain high-quality health care here on this campus at Walter Reed until we turn out the lights and lock the doors and transition over to [WRNMMC in Bethesda, Md., or Fort Belvoir]. In order to do that, we have to retain our high-quality staff.

ìWith the government [guarantee] placement program (GPP), that guarantees [current staff] a federal job, [but not] necessarily the exact job [or] location,î Coots added. ìSome capabilities are not going to transition to Bethesda, some are going to go to Fort Belvoir. Some may morph and transition into something else, depending on the capability. But under the [GPP], it guarantees you a job in the federal service.î

Coots said based on employeesí responses to a retention survey issued earlier this year, people would be willing to continue working at Walter Reed until it closes if appropriate incentives are offered. ìThe bulk of these, the vast majority of these incentives, were financial. What people want and what people need, particularly in todayís environment and economy is money and the guarantee of pay and standard of living.î

But Coots frequently referred to plans regarding jobs, BRAC, integration and transition as ìworks in progress.î

Damiano explained that although integration and Base Realignment and Closure are often discussed simultaneously, there are distinctions.

ìBRAC is about buildings and space, and occupying those building and space,î he said. ìIntegration is about people and relationships.î

Transition is a term that will also be used more frequently, Damiano added.

ìTransition involves the movement of all aspects of our existing world-class patient-care delivery systems into a future world-class family and patient center jointly operated health-care system in the [Joint Operating Area],î he explained.

He said for Walter Reed, this means moving patients, employees and equipment to WRNMMC in Bethesda, Md., or to Fort Belvoir when those multi-million dollars facilities are completed.

ìThis is going to be a very detailed plan that will require a lot of input,î Damiano said.

Groundbreaking for the WRNMMC was in July, and the $970-million project for the 345-bed 6.7 million-square-foot facility, is expected to be completed in fall of 2011.

Groundbreaking for the Fort Belvoir hospital was in fall of last year. The hospitalís design calls for a 1.2 mllion square feet, six-level hospital with 120 inpatient beds, 10-bed intensive care unit, 10-bed behavioral health inpatient unit, a cancer center, an emergency department, pharmacy, 10 operating rooms, diagnostic centers such as pathology and radiology, and modular clinic space dedicated to outpatient services. The $747 million hospital is expected to be completed in the summer of 2010.

ìIntegration does not stop when the doors to the new hospital open,î Damiano said. ìIntegration is something thatís going to go on for a while past the end of the BRAC period of 2011. In my opinion, the sooner you do it the better because it makes it more cohesive to come together as a single unit before you move into a new building.î

Coots said people with questions regarding jobs, BRAC, integration and transition can e-mail him or anyone in the command group with their concerns.

Coots said he will also begin his commanderís blog as part of the communication plan to keep staff informed of BRAC progression.