photo by gusto

Bethesda (population 63,000) is located in Montgomery County, a suburban area of Washington, DC. The name is a corruption of the Hebrew “Bethsaida,” meaning “house of healing.” Some of Bethesda’s bestknown institutions are medical in nature: the Naval Medical Hospital and the National Institutes of Health.

Founded in 1887, the National Institutes of Health is today one of the world’s foremost medical research centers and a focal point for research within the United States. The Naval Medical Center was established in 1942, and much of Bethesda’s growth after World War II can be attributed to the establishment of various government facilities, which began in 1937 with the National Cancer Institute.