PORTSMOUTH, Virg.  –   Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP) welcomed representatives from J&J Worldwide Services, a facilities services government contractor, for an OR (operating room) construction project groundbreaking ceremony, Jan. 18.

J&J coordinated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama office under the direction of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) on a Repair/Renewal Surgical & Pediatric Intensive Care Modernization or OR construction project at a cost of $210 million, according to Michael Waro, NMCP Base Operations Medical Installations (BOMI) department head and Director of Engineering.

“The project was awarded as a design build,” said Waro. “They took the final plans that we developed years ago and modified them, met with the staff here, and put a lot of energy in with their design team to create something that will be very useful for medical center down the road.”

Before anyone used a sledgehammer on one of the walls to be removed in the renovation area, Travis Hawver, J&J senior project manager, spoke to the group.

“Welcome to the wall-breaking ceremony to signify the beginning of active construction of this project that has been in the works for years, and we appreciate you coming to be a part of this,” said Hawver to the various NMCP department representatives who will directly benefit from the new construction.

Hawver added that the project will renovate approximately 110 thousand square feet, creating an entirely new surgical department including 19 operating rooms, with administration, preoperative, and postoperative spaces being built out first. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2029.

Additionally, the work package repairs and renovates the Anesthesiology Department, Perioperative Surgical Services, and provides a new Central Procedures Unit (CPU), while also relocating and modernizing the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), collocating it with the adult ICUs.

First up with a sledgehammer to officially start the renovation was Capt. Brian L. Feldman, NMCP director/Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Portsmouth (NMRTC) commander, and he was followed by the various NMCP staff members in attendance.

Ultimately, this project represents DHA’s commitment to a modernized, integrated, and resilient health delivery system that provides exceptional care to the nation’s most deserving beneficiaries. The renovations are replacing building systems that were commissioned in 1999 and have exceeded their useful economic lifecycle, modernizing layouts to accommodate the latest advancements in surgical equipment, and introducing technology that enhances the care environment and enables more efficient systems.

NMCP is a nationally acclaimed, state-of-the-art military treatment facility, and its Branch and TRICARE Prime Health Clinics in the Tidewater area provide medical care for warfighters, veterans, and their families. Additionally, the medical center is a premier readiness and training platform that provides superior medical training for military medical service members at the United States’ oldest, continuously operating military hospital. NMCP supports pioneering research and teaching programs to prepare new doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and hospital corpsmen for combat operations and public health crises.