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John P. Murtha (December 1, 2012) |
The center has inpatient and outpatient components and support services such as nutrition, genetics and support groups. The center employs more than 330 military, civilian and contract personnel.
Shriver said he had the pleasure of knowing Murtha when the congressman began working for the Department of Defense.
"I do know the legacy of what the naming of the center means," he said.
He said it is a great honor for him to be named director of the cancer center.
U.S. Rep. Mark Critz, who was a Murtha staff member before running in a special election to fill his term after Murtha's death, said when his boss would grab hold of something, "he (didn't) let go." Critz said Murtha told him about the first time military spouses came to him and discussed their concerns over not having access to mammograms.
"The military pushed back and he pushed the issue," he said. "Over the course of 20 years he was able to make a lot of this stuff happen. He moved health care forward not only for the military but the nation as a whole."
Critz, who will be attending Monday's ceremony, said that Murtha believed that supporting the military meant not only helping servicemen and women, but their families as well. He pushed for prevention, education and cancer research.
"This is something he championed over the course of two decades, and now we see it come to fruition," he said.
For more information about the center visit www.wrnmmc.capmed.mil online.
