Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
21

<p>for those of us who are too lazy [or otherwise have real lives] to go about cruising other discussion forums . . . can you give us the Cliff notes?</p>

<p>Wheelah: I was once treated by a navy corpsman for an emergency injury--the circumstances of which are beyond the scope of this forum-- with satisfactory [I would say given the circumstances, outstanding] results.</p>

<p>There will ALWAYS be anecdotal examples of good and bad care givers. Could brigade medical be improved? Probably.
The real point, however, is that military medical and, in particular, VA have made amazing strides in the past ten years. Ask vets about treatment during the immediate post-Vietnam era!</p>

22

<p>GreatAmerican-</p>

<p>Thanks for the update on the rooms!</p>

23

<p>
[quote]
there's a joke in the brigade that you can go down to medical with the flu, a broken arm and food poisoning and come out with the same diagnosis ("viral syndrome") on your siq chit and the same prescription: cough drops and about 50 ibuprofen.

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<p>LOL!</p>

<p>Looks like some things haven't changed a bit in almost 20 years! :D</p>

<p>I've had good and bad experiences with Navy medicine. I can say the same thing about mechanics, employers, and (especially) women.</p>

24

<p>Published in today's Washington Compost:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/19/AR2007021901113.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/19/AR2007021901113.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
For the past three years, Michael J. Wagner directed the Army's largest effort to help the most vulnerable soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His office in Room 3E01 of the world-renowned hospital was supposed to match big-hearted donors with thousands of wounded soldiers who could not afford to feed their children, pay mortgages, buy plane tickets or put up visiting families in nearby hotels....

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25

<p>Posted on NavyTimes.com:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/02/tnspatientcare070220/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/02/tnspatientcare070220/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Stung by media accounts of widespread administrative problems faced by wounded war veterans being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the Pentagon announced late Tuesday the formation of an independent review group that will examine outpatient care and administrative processes at both Walter Reed and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.</p>

<p>The effort will run parallel to and be complemented by probes announced Tuesday by the secretaries of the Army and Navy. Those efforts “have begun,” the Pentagon said....

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26

<p>Jmwrites, I apologize for the random mantra. I still don't understand why you brought up randomly "my location". I just wanted to bring this newsworthy item for sincere discussion. In fact, the Walter Reed general debated with the Veterans Association representative on the News Hour today. </p>

<p>
[quote]
This weekend, at a USNAPC meeting, parent of USNA'98 says son, who holds both Purple Heart and Bronze Star, received NOTHING BUT THE BEST medical treatment possible when wounded on third tour in Iraq. Still serving. Still a line officer. Likely reupping. hmmmm. I will take it from the horse's mouth, rather than rely on the Washington Post.
(where is Las Pulperias?? Honduras??)

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<p>Yesterday, I received congratulations from MIT for NROTC selection and admission to Harvard. I've been looking into military medicine (I have always wanted to be a doctor and I was inspired by the USNS Comfort article in the New Yorker). I've talked to many doctors on SDN (Many former marines->doctors, USUHS graduates, etc.). They have provided much insight and reservations surrounding military medicine. Since I am a senior in high school and selecting career options, their advice has been helpful. </p>

<p>I wish I could enact change. It's not that easy in the military. I would like to quote a Vietnam War veteran and Army Nurse who sued because his daughter almost bled to death by a surgeon who had no license to practice. Nevertheless, her crippled leg was irrecoverable. </p>

<p>
[quote]
Clark's father, retired Master Sgt. Randall Clark, said that after he filed the lawsuit, the Army relieved him of his duties as a nurse at Fitzsimmons and ordered him transferred him to Korea. Asked about the transfer, Lt. Gen. Blanck said: "That's dumb, insensitive, and it's not what we're about."

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<p>
[quote]
"Once a person files a military malpractice claim against the military, the military does everything it can to make the person's life miserable," said Clark, who returned with his family to Westerville.

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<p>The doctor in charge of the department, whose license had been revoked in several states, was later promoted to colonel. The doctor who performed the surgery received no suspension of privileges. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1998/national-reporting/works/Day2/2.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1998/national-reporting/works/Day2/2.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Another example:
The late Admiral Rickover fought "tooth and nail" against military mismanagement of funds (Hundreds of billions!). He was forced to retire by the Reagan administration. The guy who made a fortune escaped to Greece. Perhaps, it’s ironic, that those who stay, are often awarded Civilian Distinguished service medals (as patriotic business leaders of our military industry) by our administration for endangering sailors with shoddy equipment. </p>

<p>
[quote]
On January 31, 1982, at age 82, after 63 years of service to his country under 13 presidents (Woodrow Wilson through Ronald Reagan), Rickover was forced to retire from the Navy as a full admiral by Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, with the knowledge and consent of President Reagan.</p>

<p>In the early 1980s, structural welding flaws – whose nature and existence had been covered up by falsified inspection records – led to significant delays and expenses in the delivery of several submarines being built at the General Dynamics Electric Boat Division shipyard. In some cases the repairs resulted in practically dismantling and then rebuilding what had been a nearly-completed submarine. While the yard tried to pass the vast cost overruns directly onto the Navy, Rickover fought Electric Boat's general manager, P. Takis Veliotis, tooth and nail at every possible turn, demanding that the yard make good on its shoddy workmanship. Veliotis was later indicted by a federal grand jury in 1983 for taking kickbacks from a subcontractor. He escaped into exile in his native Greece where he remains a fugitive from U.S. justice.[4][5]</p>

<p>Although the Navy eventually settled with General Dynamics in 1981, paying out $634 million of $843 million in related claims, Rickover was bitter over the yard's having effectively and successfully sued the Navy for its own incompetence and deceit. Of no small irony, the U.S. Navy was also the yard's insurer – though incompetence and deceit were novel claims, the legal basis of the Navy payouts to General Dynamics was insurance compensation.</p>

<p>Outraged, Rickover furiously lambasted the settlement and its main advocate: Secretary Lehman. In fairness to Lehman, his main motivation in seeking a settlement was to put the entire submarine shipyard episode behind him in order to continue to focus on President Reagan's goal of a 600-ship Navy.

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<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral_Rickover%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral_Rickover&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

27

<p>Am I the only person getting a wee whiff of an agenda here?</p>

28

<p>General Says He Will Oversee Repair of Soldiers' Lodging</p>

<p>Published in the Washington Compost:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/AR2007022101179.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/AR2007022101179.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
A top Army general vowed yesterday to personally oversee the upgrading of Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Building 18, a dilapidated former hotel that houses wounded soldiers as outpatients.</p>

<p>Gen. Richard A. Cody, the Army vice chief of staff, used terminology similar to that of a military campaign to describe his plan to overhaul the broken building, including giving it a more "appropriate" name, and the sluggish bureaucracy for outpatient care....

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29

<p>"quack"</p>

<p>Is that a duck? </p>

<p>Indeed, congrats on your acceptances. Seems you're headed in the right direction for your interests.</p>

30

<p>A whiff, perhaps, of C23?</p>

31

<p>Several news channels in our area reported repairs underway at Building 18, and to several other areas of Walter Reed.... guess the media/news attention got the right wheels in motion, even if a bit late. </p>

<p>The general that was interviewed commented on several areas with opportunity for improvement, and the plan to do the same. It came across loud and clear that everyone wants the best for these servicemen and women, but it also is apparent the system is bulging at the seams right now, stressing the system in all sorts of ways.</p>

32

<p>Report From Long-Running Army Probe Notes Problems; Official Orders Fixes</p>

<p>Published in today's Washington Compost:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022401425.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022401425.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
The preliminary findings of a nine-month Army investigation confirm problems in the administrative procedures at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other hospitals, and Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey has ordered the service to begin fixing them, a spokesman said yesterday.</p>

<p>The Army inspector general's probe said that the service needs to standardize its training of workers who assist patients, that its information-management databases are inadequate and that there are "policy disconnects" between Army regulations and Defense Department instructions....

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33

<p>Complaints About Walter Reed Were Voiced for Years</p>

<p>Published in today's Washington Compost:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022801954.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022801954.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Top officials at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, including the Army's surgeon general, have heard complaints about outpatient neglect from family members, veterans groups and members of Congress for more than three years.</p>

<p>A procession of Pentagon and Walter Reed officials expressed surprise last week about the living conditions and bureaucratic nightmares faced by wounded soldiers staying at the D.C. medical facility. But as far back as 2003, the commander of Walter Reed, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, who is now the Army's top medical officer, was told that soldiers who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were languishing and lost on the grounds, according to interviews....

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34

<p>Published in the Washington Compost:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/01/AR2007030100999.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/01/AR2007030100999.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
The Army today relieved the commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, saying it had "lost trust and confidence" in his leadership in the wake of a scandal over outpatient treatment of wounded veterans at the Washington, D.C., hospital complex.</p>

<p>Army Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and of the Walter Reed center, was relieved of command by the secretary of the Army, Francis J. Harvey, at 10 a.m. today, the Army announced in a news release. It said the action was under consideration for the past several days and that a decision was made yesterday....

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<p>It took 11 days from the original article in the Washington Compost for this to happen. Bob Woodward couldn't have done better himself.</p>

35

<p>Published in today's New York Crimes:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/washington/02general.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/washington/02general.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
The two-star general in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center was relieved of command on Thursday, following disclosures that wounded soldiers being treated as outpatients there were living in dilapidated quarters and enduring long waits for treatment.</p>

<p>The officer, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, a physician and a graduate of West Point, was fired because Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey “had lost trust and confidence” in his ability to make improvements in outpatient care at Walter Reed, the Army said in a brief statement....

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36

<p>Published in the New York Crimes:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/washington/03veterans.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/washington/03veterans.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey was forced to resign Friday over the handling of revelations that wounded soldiers were receiving shabby and slow treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.</p>

<p>Even as the grim-faced defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, announced Mr. Harvey’s dismissal, the Army put a new general in charge of the hospital, the second change of command in two days, and a clear signal that Mr. Gates wanted a clean break from the status quo....

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37

<p>All of this because of the danged media. Can't trust anything they write! Remember?</p>

38

<p>Okay. So they're right 1 time out of 1,000. :rolleyes:</p>

39

<p>I think asking Secretary Harvey to resign was a rash over-reaction and another example of this administration’s tendency to shoot first and ask questions later. That, after all, is what got us in this situation in the first place – not thinking about the consequences and stresses a long war would put on the ancillary requirements to support a sustained conflict.</p>

<p>Let’s look back 27 months ago to when Dr. Harvey was sworn in. The Army had been without a Secretary for over a year. We were in the middle of a war that the Army was primarily responsible for executing and was under-funded to the point where it represented an historic low as a percentage of the defense budget. The Army’s major modernization program was in jeopardy of being canceled by Congress. Recruiting was falling off the table having missed quarter after quarter of recruiting and retention objectives. And the first week Dr. Harvey was on the job the up-armor issue hits the media.</p>

<p>Since that time funding and procurement changes have been made to quickly up-armor necessary vehicles. The operational budget and sustainment funding are in place. The Future Combat System is being managed and making progress in a fashion that Congress is fully funding the Army modernization and even it critics like John McCain are supporting it now. Recruiting and retention goals are being met. Enhanced safety and lean and six sigma programs have improved the operations of the Army in many ways big and small.</p>

<p>Harvey’s leadership style is to get to the root cause of the problems and make the changes necessary to permanently change things for the better – not just to get past the next news cycle. Kiley was clearly part of the problem, because he never reported up the chain what was going on, and temporarily putting him back in place was a judgment call that at first blush didn’t make sense to the media and pundits who go an inch-deep on everything; which spun up everything else. But if you want to get at the root of the problem you want to be able to get the full cooperation and what knowledge those around while it was going on have before you put in new people to run the improved system.</p>

<p>Would Harvey’s approach been as successful at Walter Reed as it was with Future Combat System and recruiting? We’ll never know. Gates and the Bush will get through this news cycle by shooting the Secretary of the Army and creating a Commission. My guess is that the Commission will come back with a nicely bound report that will get put on the shelf and the President will declare “Mission Accomplished”. </p>

<p>Harvey’s record and service to the Army deserves better than the rash reactions of Gates and Bush.</p>

40

<p>Published in the Washington Compost:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030500676.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030500676.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Senior Army commanders today apologized for failures that forced some wounded outpatient soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to live in substandard conditions and wage lengthy bureaucratic battles over their treatment, and they vowed to improve a system that they said had been overwhelmed by the numbers of wounded combatants and the complexity of their injuries.</p>

<p>Appearing at a House subcommittee hearing held in an auditorium at Walter Reed, the generals spoke after listening to emotional testimony from two wounded soldiers and the wife of a third about their struggles at the Washington, D.C., hospital complex....

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