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SECDEF SUPPORTS CLOSING WALTER REED FACILITY --
Review group urges that a plan to move the
hospital's capabilities to the Naval Medical
Center at Bethesda be accelerated.
Story here...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/
ap/20070503/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/walter_reed_5
Story below:
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Gates supports Walter Reed closing
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
WASHINGTON - Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the aging hospital heavily
criticized for inadequate care of wounded war veterans, should be closed
as planned, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.
Gates' conclusion, following a review of Walter Reed by an independent
advisory group, runs counter to the recommendation of some in Congress
who have called recently for the Pentagon to reverse its 2005 decision
to close the facility.
The review group, which presented a summary of its conclusions at a
Pentagon news conference with Gates, recommended that Walter Reed remain
on a list of military facilities to be closed. It also urged that a plan
to move the hospital's capabilities to an expanded National Naval
Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., be accelerated.
The review group's central finding, released last month, was that money
woes and Pentagon neglect were mainly to blame for shoddy outpatient
conditions and bureaucratic delays at Walter Reed, the Army's premier
medical center.
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 widespread problems
but neglected them because they knew Walter Reed was scheduled for
eventual closure.
Gates indicated to reporters that he saw little wisdom in pouring money
into Walter Reed to keep it open indefinitely.
"Far better to make an investment in brand-new, 21st-century
facilities," he said, referring to the plan announced in 2005 to expand
the Bethesda medical center and to build a new medical center at Fort
Belvoir, Va.
"And how can we accelerate getting those facilities in place? And how
can you keep high-quality staff at Walter Reed, right up until the day
that people transfer to one of the other hospitals?" Gates added.
He said that based on currently available information it would make
sense to go ahead with the plan to close Walter Reed in 2011.
"But we ought to have the flexibility to make sure that it stays open
until Bethesda and Fort Belvoir are completely ready to take on the
responsibilities of the patients and the staff that are at Walter Reed
now. Walter Reed should not be closed unless those other facilities are
ready to go, in my opinion," he added.
Gates also announced the formation of a committee of senior military and
civilian officials to make sure that recommendations of the review group
and those of a presidential commission are promptly implemented and
coordinated.
Appearing with Gates at the news conference were the two chairmen of the
independent review group: John O. "Jack" Marsh, Army secretary during
the Reagan administration, and Togo D. West, secretary of the Army and
Veterans Affairs under
President Clinton.
Asked why it took the Army so long to recognize the problems at Walter
Reed that came to light earlier this year in a series of Washington Post
reports, March said: "There was a breakdown in a system or methodology
of reporting complaints and concerns. There were some soldiers who had
indicated that they tried to complain about it, but nobody listened."
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Larry Scott --
