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A report from a presidential commission investigating failures at Walter
Reed Army hospital recommends a system focusing on the specific needs of
each patient.
By James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
10:27 AM PDT, July 25, 2007
WASHINGTON - A presidential commission appointed to investigate the
treatment of wounded service members and veterans called today for
"fundamental change" in the military and veterans healthcare system to
overcome problems that prompted an outcry over shoddy treatment and
bureaucratic failures.
In a report released today, the President's Commission on Care for America's
Returning Wounded Warriors said the nation must move beyond "merely patching
the system" and apply "a sense of urgency and strong leadership," building a
system focused on the specific needs of individual patients.
President Bush, who met with the panel leaders this morning, created the
commission in March after media reports raised awareness of the shabby
conditions in some sections of Walter Reed Army Medical Center; delays and
neglect faced by outpatients; and failures in the care provided separately
by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The panel's report calls for creating a "patient-centered recovery plan" for
each seriously injured service member, for which "a corps of well-trained,
highly skilled recovery coordinators" needs to be organized.
The individualized recovery plans would be intended, the panel's report
said, "to ensure an efficient, effective and smooth rehabilitation and
transition back to military duty or civilian life," while also creating a
single point of contact for patients and families.
One of the chief complaints has been the difficulty patients and family
members have had in getting information and promptly planning a course of
recovery in appropriate facilities. Often, they are forced to repeat the
same information over and over to multiple doctors and others in the
healthcare chain.
Former Sen. Robert Dole, a commission co-chairman, called the proposal "one
of the most important recommendations." Donna Shalala, a former secretary of
Health and Human Services and a commission co-chairwoman, said it could be
implemented, without legislation, by the Pentagon, Veterans Affairs and the
Department of Health and Human Services.
The commission also called for an overhaul of the disability and
compensation systems to update current programs; "eliminate parallel
activities; reduce inequities; and provide a solid base for the return of
injured veterans to productive lives."
It called for aggressive efforts to prevent and treat post-traumatic stress
disorder and traumatic brain injury, and taking steps to remove the stigma
from such injuries. It said, however, that augmenting the Pentagon's mental
health workforce would not be easy, given national shortages in mental
health professionals.
It found that of the roughly 1,700 troops and former fighters it polled, 59%
of active duty military personnel, 52% of reservists and 65% of retired or
other former military members reported such conditions.
Dole, a Republican from Kansas who was seriously wounded in World War II,
and Shalala, a Democrat who served in the Clinton administration, brought
special credibility and the stamp of bipartisanship to the commission at a
moment when the Bush administration was already being hammered over the Iraq
War. Reports of failures in the treatment of the soldiers complicated the
administration's efforts to hold on to dwindling support for its Iraq
policy.
At the commission's final session, Shalala said of the recommendations: "We
believe they are doable."
Bush, thanking Dole and Shalala, said during an Oval Office meeting: "We owe
wounded soldiers the very best care and the very best benefits and the very
easiest to understand system."
The scandal over conditions at Walter Reed, once considered a jewel in the
military's network of hospitals and other facilities, brought a shake-up at
the top of the Army's medical command.
The Army's surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, a former commander at
Walter Reed, retired under pressure, and Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, the
Walter Reed commander when the scandal came to light, was removed from his
post, as was Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey.
The most disturbing problems arose among soldiers who had improved enough to
be treated as outpatients, and prompted a series of congressional hearings
that left Republicans and Democrats expressing outrage, and some of the most
senior military officers embarrassed and deeply apologetic.
At a commission meeting last month, families of injured soldiers told of
paperwork lost by the military, endless hours on a telephone helpline that
produced little help, and month after month spent trying to correct the
military's errors that forced a lapse in disability checks.
The commission held seven public meetings at which it took testimony and
made 23 visits to military bases, veterans hospitals, and treatment centers.
In other recommendations, the panel called for:
Strengthening family support programs. It found that of the wounded troops
it surveyed, 21% of those on active duty, 15% of reservists and 24% of those
who had retired or otherwise left the service said friends or family had to
give up a job to be with them or act as a caregiver.
Ensuring the rapid transfer of patient information between the Pentagon and
Veterans Affairs.
Providing continued support for Walter Reed, which the Pentagon has said it
plans to close, through 2011. The hospital, just miles from the White House,
has become one of the primary sites for treating some of the most seriously
wounded soldiers
Reed Army hospital recommends a system focusing on the specific needs of
each patient.
By James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
10:27 AM PDT, July 25, 2007
WASHINGTON - A presidential commission appointed to investigate the
treatment of wounded service members and veterans called today for
"fundamental change" in the military and veterans healthcare system to
overcome problems that prompted an outcry over shoddy treatment and
bureaucratic failures.
In a report released today, the President's Commission on Care for America's
Returning Wounded Warriors said the nation must move beyond "merely patching
the system" and apply "a sense of urgency and strong leadership," building a
system focused on the specific needs of individual patients.
President Bush, who met with the panel leaders this morning, created the
commission in March after media reports raised awareness of the shabby
conditions in some sections of Walter Reed Army Medical Center; delays and
neglect faced by outpatients; and failures in the care provided separately
by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The panel's report calls for creating a "patient-centered recovery plan" for
each seriously injured service member, for which "a corps of well-trained,
highly skilled recovery coordinators" needs to be organized.
The individualized recovery plans would be intended, the panel's report
said, "to ensure an efficient, effective and smooth rehabilitation and
transition back to military duty or civilian life," while also creating a
single point of contact for patients and families.
One of the chief complaints has been the difficulty patients and family
members have had in getting information and promptly planning a course of
recovery in appropriate facilities. Often, they are forced to repeat the
same information over and over to multiple doctors and others in the
healthcare chain.
Former Sen. Robert Dole, a commission co-chairman, called the proposal "one
of the most important recommendations." Donna Shalala, a former secretary of
Health and Human Services and a commission co-chairwoman, said it could be
implemented, without legislation, by the Pentagon, Veterans Affairs and the
Department of Health and Human Services.
The commission also called for an overhaul of the disability and
compensation systems to update current programs; "eliminate parallel
activities; reduce inequities; and provide a solid base for the return of
injured veterans to productive lives."
It called for aggressive efforts to prevent and treat post-traumatic stress
disorder and traumatic brain injury, and taking steps to remove the stigma
from such injuries. It said, however, that augmenting the Pentagon's mental
health workforce would not be easy, given national shortages in mental
health professionals.
It found that of the roughly 1,700 troops and former fighters it polled, 59%
of active duty military personnel, 52% of reservists and 65% of retired or
other former military members reported such conditions.
Dole, a Republican from Kansas who was seriously wounded in World War II,
and Shalala, a Democrat who served in the Clinton administration, brought
special credibility and the stamp of bipartisanship to the commission at a
moment when the Bush administration was already being hammered over the Iraq
War. Reports of failures in the treatment of the soldiers complicated the
administration's efforts to hold on to dwindling support for its Iraq
policy.
At the commission's final session, Shalala said of the recommendations: "We
believe they are doable."
Bush, thanking Dole and Shalala, said during an Oval Office meeting: "We owe
wounded soldiers the very best care and the very best benefits and the very
easiest to understand system."
The scandal over conditions at Walter Reed, once considered a jewel in the
military's network of hospitals and other facilities, brought a shake-up at
the top of the Army's medical command.
The Army's surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, a former commander at
Walter Reed, retired under pressure, and Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, the
Walter Reed commander when the scandal came to light, was removed from his
post, as was Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey.
The most disturbing problems arose among soldiers who had improved enough to
be treated as outpatients, and prompted a series of congressional hearings
that left Republicans and Democrats expressing outrage, and some of the most
senior military officers embarrassed and deeply apologetic.
At a commission meeting last month, families of injured soldiers told of
paperwork lost by the military, endless hours on a telephone helpline that
produced little help, and month after month spent trying to correct the
military's errors that forced a lapse in disability checks.
The commission held seven public meetings at which it took testimony and
made 23 visits to military bases, veterans hospitals, and treatment centers.
In other recommendations, the panel called for:
Strengthening family support programs. It found that of the wounded troops
it surveyed, 21% of those on active duty, 15% of reservists and 24% of those
who had retired or otherwise left the service said friends or family had to
give up a job to be with them or act as a caregiver.
Ensuring the rapid transfer of patient information between the Pentagon and
Veterans Affairs.
Providing continued support for Walter Reed, which the Pentagon has said it
plans to close, through 2011. The hospital, just miles from the White House,
has become one of the primary sites for treating some of the most seriously
wounded soldiers
