Bob Wilson Naval Hospital
Encyclopedia
Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD), also known as Bob Wilson Naval Hospital and informally referred to as "Balboa Hospital", is a technologically advanced Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 medical treatment facility. Located within the grounds of Balboa Park
Balboa Park (San Diego)
Balboa Park is a urban cultural park in San Diego, California. The park is named after the Spanish maritime explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa...

 in San Diego, the hospital has played a role in the history of San Diego for more than 80 years. The goal has remained constant, to provide the finest medical care in a family-centered care environment to operational forces, their families, and veterans. Organizationally, the hospital is first and foremost a military command.

Development

As the United States entered World War I, San Diegans offered the nearly empty Balboa Park after the 1915 Panama–California Exposition to be used by various branches of the U.S. military for barracks and training purposes. During this time, a hospital tent was set up at the present location of the San Diego Natural History Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum
The San Diego Natural History Museum was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. The present location of the museum in San Diego's Balboa Park was dedicated on January 14, 1933....

. In 1919, city leaders set aside a 17 acres (6.9 ha) parcel from Balboa Park
Balboa Park (San Diego)
Balboa Park is a urban cultural park in San Diego, California. The park is named after the Spanish maritime explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa...

 for use in constructing a permanent Naval hospital. This donation, along with other purchased land, allowed for the development of a 85 acres (34.4 ha), 89-building complex with 2,600 beds. The first unit opened in 1925.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, due to large numbers of casualties coming from the Pacific Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...

, the hospital expanded to include most of the buildings in present day Balboa Park
Balboa Park (San Diego)
Balboa Park is a urban cultural park in San Diego, California. The park is named after the Spanish maritime explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa...

. For instance, the Navy Nurses were housed at the House of Hospitality and the California Building, Fine Arts Gallery and the Natural History Museum were converted into hospital wards. The Lily Pond was used for swim training, the Japanese Tea Garden as a Red Cross Servicemen's Center, the House of Pacific Relations as officers' quarters and the Palisades as a Hospital Corps School named Camp Kidd. The Balboa Complex, to include the main Naval Hospital, treated approximately 172,000 patients with a maximum occupancy of 12,000 in December, 1944. In 1946 the Balboa Park grounds and buildings were returned to the city.

During the Vietnam War-era, the complex was the largest military hospital in the world.

An entirely new $270 million hospital complex was built in Florida Canyon, north of the original hospital, during the 1980s; the site was chosen at the urging of then-U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 Bob Wilson
Bob Wilson (US politician)
Robert Carlton "Bob" Wilson was an American politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the Republican Party.-Biography:...

, after whom the new hospital complex was subsequently named. A 39 acres (15.8 ha) portion of the original site was returned to the city of San Diego and restored to Park use.

Current status

The center has five medical mobilization teams including the hospital ship
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....

  whose personnel are drawn from the hospital staff. These teams deploy to the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 at various times during the year.

The hospital is a major training facility associated with the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. The hospital is affiliated with the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...

, Children's Hospital and Health Center, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla and other institutions where Navy trainees perform rotations as integral parts of their residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...

 or fellowship programs. The hospital also maintains a school on the grounds for training enlisted medical personnel.
The hospital operates clinics at area military installations, where ambulatory care is provided to the active duty population. Nine other clinics are located in San Diego and are available to family members and retirees.

Research and testing

A leader in the medical field, the hospital is also a major teaching and research center.

As Navy medicine's most active teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...

, graduate medical education programs are conducted in anesthesiology, dermatology
Dermatology
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....

, emergency medicine
Emergency medicine
Emergency medicine is a medical specialty in which physicians care for patients with acute illnesses or injuries which require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency medicine physicians diagnose a variety of illnesses and undertake acute...

, general surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

, internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

, obstetrics and gynaecology
Obstetrics and gynaecology
Obstetrics and gynaecology are the two surgical–medical specialties dealing with the female reproductive organs in their pregnant and non-pregnant state, respectively, and as such are often combined to form a single medical specialty and postgraduate training programme...

, ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

, otolaryngology
Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....

, orthopedics
Orthopedic surgery
Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system...

, pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

, pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

, psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...

, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

, radiology
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...

, urology
Urology
Urology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...

, general practice dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...

, oral and maxillofacial surgery
Oral and maxillofacial surgery
Oral and maxillofacial surgery is surgery to correct a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. It is an internationally recognized surgical specialty...

, nurse anesthesia, and hospital pharmacy
Pharmacy school
The basic requirement for pharmacists to be considered for registration is an undergraduate or postgraduate Pharmacy degree from a recognized university. In most countries this involves a four- or five-year course to attain a Master of Pharmacy...

.

Namesake

On May 8, 2008, the hospital Medical Center San Diego was dedicated to San Diego Congressman Bob Wilson. Bob Wilson Drive, leading to the hospital inside Balboa Park, is also named for him.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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