Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Politics

Walter Reed is beyond repair, panel concludes

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 12, 2007

WASHINGTON - Money woes and Pentagon neglect are to blame for shoddy outpatient conditions and bureaucratic delays at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, an independent review has concluded.

Calling for major changes in troop care, the Independent Review Group said the aging hospital in Washington, D.C., was beyond the point of repair. It urged a quick infusion of funds to relieve short-term problems and said the Pentagon should accelerate plans to build a facility in Bethesda, Md.

"The American ethic is that America always takes care of its wounded," said John O. "Jack" Marsh, Army secretary during the Reagan administration and co-chairman of the review, noting that problems probably extended to other Army hospitals around the nation.

"We must make certain that America continues that ethic," he said.

Citing lapses in leadership and oversight as main reasons for the problems, the nine-member independent group concluded that the Defense Department was, or should have been, aware of the problems but neglected them because it knew Walter Reed was slated for eventual closure.

In addition, the Pentagon made problems worse by holding down costs and expenses even as Walter Reed began experiencing an influx of thousands of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

While making clear the problems lie with outpatient treatment, the report also faulted the Army's complex disability ratings, which critics contend are manipulated to limit disability compensation.

The review group said the Pentagon should establish a "center of excellence" in partnership with the Veterans Affairs Department that would be geared specifically for brain injury and post-traumatic stress cases.

And it urged a separate review to determine whether overworked Walter Reed staffers are being adequately paid, noting that many wounded soldiers are being left to fend for themselves in navigating the bureaucracy.

Maj. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, the new commander of Walter Reed, said the Army was aggressively looking into the growing number of cases of brain injury and was working to fix problems.

[Last modified April 12, 2007, 01:50:30]