Army Medical Center On The Mend, Patients Say

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
March 18, 2007
By Luis Fabregas, Tribune-Review
WASHINGTON -- They don't want to talk about the roaches.
They don't want to talk about the mouse traps or the moldy plaster.
On this rain-soaked morning at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the patients don't want to dwell on the negative headlines of the last month.
"Yes, Walter Reed has a problem," says Derek Gagne, 20, of Wilson, Mich., as he exercises in a gym-like room with dozens of other amputees. "But this place should not have a bad reputation. I'm getting first-rate care."
It's been four weeks since a series of Washington Post stories created an uproar over the care of wounded veterans at one of the most well-known medical facilities in the Army.
Pete Geren, who became the Army's top civilian March 2, is under pressure from Congress to fix the problems. Geren took Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporters on an exclusive tour Friday of several buildings at Walter Reed in Washington D.C.
"Our outpatient system is very bureaucratic," Geren, the acting secretary of the Army, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "There are steps we need to take to make it more responsive for the soldier's needs, and we are working to do that. And that's not going to happen overnight."
The published reports alleged substandard living conditions and bureaucratic problems and sparked an outcry that ended careers, deflated spirits, tarnished the facility's reputation and prompted concerns of larger, deeper problems within the military's medical system.
The Army has responded with a leadership shakeup, building renovations and an overhaul of administrative operations.
Several soldiers and their families testified this week before a Pentagon review board that problems persist.
"Over the past month, the perception of Walter Reed has gone from the flagship of our military health system to a glaring problem," Rep. John F. Tierney, D-Mass., said during a congressional hearing March 5.
Geren, who was visiting Walter Reed for the third time in a week, arrived under a light drizzle, escorted by a half dozen aides.
His first stop was Abrams Hall, an outpatient residence with 274 rooms.
He wanted a tour of this building because it houses most of the soldiers who had lived at Building 18, a now vacant residence exposed as a haven for rats and roaches in the Post stories.
Geren said he cringed at the Post report.
"I was saddened and angered by it," he said.
Soldiers at Abrams have been preparing for Geren's visit. Soldiers stand guard at every entrance and elevator. A sergeant picks up a piece of blue lint from the floor and puts it in his pocket.
Two wounded soldiers who lived at Building 18 had been selected to show off their new, clean rooms. They are freshly painted and fitted with amenities worthy of a hotel: flat screen TVs, Mac computers and microwave ovens.
"I never considered Building 18 the disaster that it was portrayed to be," says Sgt. 1st Class Brian Levensailor, 44, of Guilford, Maine, who was injured in Afghanistan. "I was quite happy with my accommodations."
Geren, wearing a gray suit and black wing tips, peppered the staff with questions: How many outpatients are living on campus? What contact do they have with their unit? How do we make sure we're meeting their needs?
Officers in camouflage gear responded quickly, and Geren, a lawyer and former Texas congressman, listened intently.
"I would say not a day goes by that we don't have senior-level leadership addressing this, focusing on these issues several times a day," he said. "Most of my time has been spent on this issue and will remain that way."
During Geren's visit, Army officials talked up some of the most critical changes of the last two weeks.
They include the creation of the Wounded Warrior Transition Brigade, which assigns no more than nine soldiers to a platoon sergeant who helps them with appointments and paperwork.
"We just want to make sure we can take care of them as smoothly as possible," said Col. Terry McKenrick, who leads the brigade.
At the heart of the overhaul is the expansion and restructuring of a one-stop center where soldiers and their families receive guidance immediately after being discharged from the main hospital into outpatient facilities.
Instead of having to walk to six different offices and deal with mountains of paperwork, soldiers are seen in the same room by the center's staff, who provide answers about medical records, lodging, travel and other personnel matters.
"We know we have a huge black eye, but so much good is coming out of it," said Col. Ladonna W. Howell, who is overseeing the center. "The mind-set has changed."
Geren said the bureaucracy is frustrating and unacceptable.
"I can assure you that the commitment is there to get set and correct it, and not only correct it here, but correct it throughout the system," he said.
At the physical therapy room, Geren approached Gagne.
The young soldier lost part of his right leg and his left eye in Baghdad and has been at Walter Reed since Jan. 26.
"Thanks for your service," Geren told him and asked how he's being treated.
As he adjusted his prosthetic leg, Gagne, 20, didn't complain.
"I'm having great care," Gagne said, his mother beside him crocheting an American flag. "There's nowhere better."
Geren said soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are surviving with serious wounds that would have killed them in other conflicts. While that has clogged the Army's medical system, Geren said there are problems beyond that issue.
"We did have increased input into the system, and I think it pointed up stresses that were already there, just the additional surge into the system exposed flaws that had been unaddressed," he said. "But you've got a bureaucracy that's very complex. Soldiers shouldn't have to hire lawyers to navigate the process."
 
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