GAO: Vets Healthcare Not Meeting Standards

Army Has Yet To Fully Staff New Units Created To Fix Problems At Walter Reed

(AP)  The Army has yet to fully staff the new "warrior transition units" being put together because of poor conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, according to a congressional report made public Wednesday.

As of mid-September over half of these units had significant shortfalls in one or more critical position, the Government Accountability Office said in a report presented to a House hearing on treatment of wounded soldiers.

Many of the current staffers, said John Pendleton, author of the report, are borrowed, presumably temporarily, from other offices. Ultimately, hundreds more nurses, social workers and mental health specialists will be needed to handle such issues as traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder, he said.

The GAO also noted that the Pentagon and the Veterans Affairs Departments were behind schedule in starting a pilot program under which the two departments would adopt a single medical examination and a single disability rating performed by the VA.

"We are seven months into this process and we are just now getting off the ground," said Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security. "Why has it taken so long to get going on that?"

Maj. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, commanding general at Walter Reed, said staffing of warrior transition units at health care facilities was now 65 percent, and they were on "the projected glidepath" to full staffing by January.

Under the Army plan, each injured service member is to be assigned three key people - a doctor, a nurse case manager and a squad leader - to manage the member's care.

The GAO said that as of mid-September, 17 of the 32 warrior transition units created around the country had less than 50 percent of staff in place and 46 percent of eligible service members had not been assigned to a unit.

Better case management was one of the main recommendations of several commissions formed after the problems at Walter Reed were revealed.

Another was to streamline the disability evaluation process to coordinate Pentagon and VA standards and reduce the bureaucracy that results in veterans waiting for months for decisions on their claims.

Retired Adm. Patrick Dunne, the VA's assistant secretary for policy and planning, told the hearing that the pilot program to set up a unified disability evaluation system should be completed by the second quarter of 2008. If successful, it will be expanded beyond the Washington capital region to become universal.

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., top Republican on the panel, said his office hears every week from wounded soldiers stuck in an evaluation system they don't understand and that is complicated by different ratings coming out of the Defense Department and the VA. "Having to run that double gauntlet causes additional pain and confusion, literally adding insult to injury. That has to stop."

Schoomaker also listed improvements made at Walter Reed over the past seven months, including installing phones, cable TV and Internet in each patient room, providing 24-hours-a-day family counselors and setting up a one-stop assistance center to provide family assistance, finance and personnel services.

[signof4]

I''''''''m a Combat Veteran of Vietnam. I have friends who are in the VA System .......
Posted by MCVet

Were you killed in combat? I think you left the best part of your brain over in the rice paddies of Suk Mi province of Chu Ma Wang. Isn''t that were you and Agent Orange were stationed?

[signof4]

Wow.....no bodies to report from Iraq. Hmmmm.....what other anti-America, anti-Bush stories can we make up to compensate for the lack of bad news coming out of Iraq?!

[antoniof123]

I am so sick of the conservatives and there they volunteered garbage. First of all nut cases they volunteered to defend this country not commit to your war of vanity they want to defend us not commit your murders. I will be voting along with a lot of Americans in November and I can tell you this much each day brings us closer to the blood bath the Republicans will be facing they refuse to listen to their masters THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. You know what happens to bad slaves don''t you.

[afmca]

You have to remember that Bush and Cheney believe that all patriotic soldiers either fight or die. To come back wounded and demand expensive medical care should not be an option in their book. To have to spend money on rehabilitation when it could be going to their wealthy friends at Haliburton is enough to make them ignore another Constitutional amendment. Bush won''t pay for veteran''s or children''s health care but he will gladly through another $190BILLION in the pot for Halliburton.

[getloud1]

**** TAKE AMERICA BACK ****
**** STOP THE WAR & Corporate Corruption****

He has NEVER voted:
* to raise taxes
* for an unbalanced budget
* to raise congressional pay
* for a federal restriction on gun ownership
* to increase the power of the executive branch

He HAS voted:
* against the Iraq war
* against the inappropriately named USA PATRIOT act
* against regulating the internet
* against the Military Commissions Act

He will eliminate the IRS, Wasteful Government Spending & Stop The Iraq War Immediately!

Most importantly, he voted NO on anything in Congress that is not allowed by the Constitution.

He is the only candidate not a member of the CFR!

Shouldn''t ALL members of Congress uphold the Constitution? Aren''t they SWORN to uphold it? You can bet Paul WON''T call the Constitution "just a G**D***ed piece of paper" like George Bush is reported to have.

If you want a candidate you can TRUST due to a proven track record, visit www.ronpaul2008.com and get busy spreading the word. The Mainstream Media is Blacking Out The Truth Spoke By Ron Paul!

Join The ReVoLuTiOn In Your City Stand Up America:
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/cities/

Also checkout http://www.youtube.com search for: RON PAUL

[pwrslm]

GW Bush and his Republican criminals would rather give money to big corporations then to wounded soldiers.

Posted by mcdazz

Another one of the stories without any basis in the truth?

They call those myths in the DNC. In the real world, we just call them lies.

[pwrslm]

i work in VA maintenance. i have been using alot of salvaged parts in repair these last 4yrs. some things you have to have new, but have been told for 2wks there is no money for repair. but plenty money for rebuilding iraq.

Posted by tech77usa

That has nothing to do with this. Your fiscal year just ended. Tell the unit commader to magage his allotments better and you would have this problem next year. Your budget runs out on 30 Sept of every year.

[pwrslm]

I''''m a Combat Veteran of Vietnam. I have friends who are in the VA System .......

Posted by MCVet

so mr ego, get real here...exactly what did this administration do that was so terrible? attribute facts to the exact nature of the cause, just because you want us to think you have some type of authority on this issue does not mean squat....other than you are making a spectacle of yourself

fact is, the VA is screwed up, top to bottom, this "system" was screwed up long before Bush ever got into the White House....clear back to Nam days...so dont sit there and tell us that "this administration" caused it all...its a lie...which leads us to believe that your claims of military service could be a lie too....

so it really doesnt matter what claim to fame you are grasping at, if the facts dont pan out, you are still a mislead/misleading gossip mongeror.....

[mcvet]

If you folks would put as much effort into making changes in America, as you do in blowing off your ignorant mouths about things you know nothing about, a lot of good could happen. But, it''''s always easier for you to sit back on your rears and complain. After all, it does take effort to accomplish anything.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ago5675 at 06:40 AM : Sep 27, 2007
+ report abuse

I''m a Combat Veteran of Vietnam. I have friends who are in the VA System and IF people do not point out the ENORMOUS and CONSTANT Incompetence of this Administration, how does anything change. These people do NOT just sit back and complain, they are talking to their fellow citizens about change and making this nation better. YOU are the problem. YOU are the "Stay the Course" idiot who would still be buying the "We''re winning" line along with the "The Insurgency is on it''s last legs". You people are a disgrace and an embarrassment. Combat Vet, USMC, RVN, 1968

[ago5675]

If you folks would put as much effort into making changes in America, as you do in blowing off your ignorant mouths about things you know nothing about, a lot of good could happen. But, it''s always easier for you to sit back on your rears and complain. After all, it does take effort to accomplish anything.