Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility

Wash Post ^ | February 18, 2007 | Dana Priest and Anne Hull

[bnelson44]

Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.

This is the world of Building 18, not the kind of place where Duncan expected to recover when he was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from Iraq last February with a broken neck and a shredded left ear, nearly dead from blood loss. But the old lodge, just outside the gates of the hospital and five miles up the road from the White House, has housed hundreds of maimed soldiers recuperating from injuries suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely -- a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients. Almost 700 of them -- the majority soldiers, with some Marines -- have been released from hospital beds but still need treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty.

[KantianBurke]

This article details the inane burecreacy of the Army and its dehumanizing of those wounded rather than plumbing problems. Shame that these soldiers have to resort to talking to the press to see their concerns addressed.

[Doctor Raoul]

This might be one reason there is army also at the Naval Medical Center here in San Diego. This hospital is state of the art.

I believe that the serrvices will single up on an "all service" hospital organization.

Reed has been BRACed and it's functions move to Bethesda. Not sure it it still stays an Army hospital.

[Doctor Raoul]

I've been in Bldg 18, any number of times. Was there today.

Never got the impression that it was as bad as Priest made it out to be in his hit piece.

[SoCalPol]

I think you are correct.
You and the DC FReepers have spent so much time there in support of the troops.

[Doctor Raoul]

In January, Wilson was told that the funds were no longer available and that he would have to submit a new request. "It's absurd," he said. "Seven months of work down the drain. I have nothing to show for this project. It's a great example of what we're up against."

A pool table and two flat-screen TVs were eventually donated from elsewhere.

You lying sack of shit Priest. I was in the rec room off the lobby today. There's been a pool table and a big screen TV in there for at least a six months, probably longer.

[Doctor Raoul]

In January, Wilson was told that the funds were no longer available and that he would have to submit a new request. "It's absurd," he said. "Seven months of work down the drain. I have nothing to show for this project. It's a great example of what we're up against."

A pool table and two flat-screen TVs were eventually donated from elsewhere.

You lying sack of shit Priest. I was in the rec room off the lobby today. There's been a pool table and a big screen TV in there for at least a six months, probably longer.

[KantianBurke]

Again, this article seems to detail the burecratic bs the soldiers deal with rather than building problems. Seeing as they're seriously injured I don't think the Army's policies are appropriate. And WTF is this mustering in the cold regardless of injury nonsense??! Do the Walter Reed brass WANT bad press?

[usmcobra]

If you read the whole article, this isn't so much about one building as it is a slam on the care of the wounded at Walter Reed.

But these complaints are generic in nature in as much as similar complaints can be found in any hospital, nursing home and hospice in the country and frequently are. You can always find a patient that got lost, lost his paperwork, or didn't like the care he was receiving.

This is the future of health care if Hillary care ever gets approved, a national nightmare that sadly this writer will pimp as being the finest on the planet when and if it does happen.

I feel badly for those that clearly need more supervision with their recuperation but where is the writer's recommendations She only rebukes what she finds without suggesting a remedy, now that is really bad medicine.

[Doctor Raoul]

Again, this article seems to detail the burecratic bs the soldiers deal with rather than building problems.

Well I'm giving you my perspective on the part I know about. And the article and slide show DO devote a good bit of space to Bldg 28.

I've heard the stories first hand about MedHold and such from more than one troop. Know on of the guys assigned to look after the others. Been there at the Family Service Center when they didn't have warm hats and gloves for patients scheduled to attend the Army Navy Game the next day. I've got a list of things that I believe are unfair to the wounded and their families, but it's Congress, not the services at fault.

Seeing as they're seriously injured I don't think the Army's policies are appropriate.

Army? Try bitching at Congress first. They're the Board Members of this corporation call USG. A lot of what the Army must do and how they do it comes down from Congress. If you want something now, you better have programmed the money five years ago. And in an emergency, well maybe you can rearrange money that's coming in two years.

The cures proscribed by Congress as their response to a problem are often worse than the original problem.

And WTF is this mustering in the cold regardless of injury nonsense??!

They're not outside at muster and if I remember the layout correctly, the gym in question is across from Abrams Hall and pretty much in back of Mologne. It's a hike from Bldg 18, but I don't know that they muster there. Priest is a bit over the top on that one.

It's a real bitch getting Chinese/pizza delivered because you have to hike out to the Main Gate after hours because the drivers aren't allowed on post.

Do the Walter Reed brass WANT bad press?

Who has to wish for bad press when the Washington Post and Dana Priest work so hard to manufacture bad press.

[Doctor Raoul]

feel badly for those that clearly need more supervision with their recuperation but where is the writer's recommendations She only rebukes what she finds without suggesting a remedy, now that is really bad medicine.

Funny how FEMA looked so incompetant until Sean Penn showed up with his rowboat and he immediately started taking on water. Penn was more disorganized than FEMA. These things are never as easily solved as the scorn of liberals and the press imply.

Priest isn't out to help these patients, the intent is to hurt Bush.

[SkyPilot]

'They won't be able to continue. They won't be able to do the deployment. They won't have the equipment, they don't have the training and they won't be able to do the work. There’s no question in my mind.”
– John Murtha

[centurion316]

Most of the posts on this thread reflect an astonishing degree of naiveté. No doubt this is a Dana Priest/Washington Post hit piece. That's what they do.

But, don't believe all of the puff pieces about how wonderful Walter Reed is. Are they doing great things? Yes. Is some of the medical the very best that can be provided? Yes. But, is it all sweetness and light? NO. Military medicine is what Hillary wants to visit upon the entire country. Military medicine is socialized medicine. The government regulates supply and rations the services that it provides. If it provides world class care to wounded soldiers (and it should), then somewhere else patients are getting no care or poor quality care. Don't fool yourself if you think that's not true.

Our soldiers deserve better than they are getting. Some of these problems can be solved by better leadership, which is sometimes hard to find within the Medical Corps. Other problems are more endemic. Socialized medicine just doesn't work very well, even if you dress it up in a uniform.

[andysandmikesmom]

While my husband was in the military we received medical treatment at Womack Hospital at Ft. Bragg, and then treatment at Madigan medical Center at Ft. Lewis...

When we just needed regular care, we always found things to be quite satisfactory...but when our older boy was diagnosed with leukemia, he received what I can only describe as incredibly wonderful care at Madigan...

I cannot speak about other peoples experiences with Military hospital, and medical centers, only our own...from our own personal experience we always received, what I considered to be excellent care...we never had reason to complain...

[NonValueAdded]

You are on fire, my FRiend, and rightfully so! If one in 50 did a tenth as much as you and the other volunteers, what a difference it would make!

Regarding one patient being responsibile for another. I have no medical training but the program sounds to me like there might be decent science behind it. Aren't our magnificent troops trained to work as a team? Isn't watching out for your buddy the touchstone of a soldier's duty? Assigning a troop with problems to look out for a buddy purportedly to be worse off than him or her sounds like it could be wonderful therapy. Takes one's mind of one's own problems, is a call to their duty and honor, gives one a reason to summon their own reserves to help another in need, etc.

Also consider that the reporter is fitting Gen. Sherman's profile, as DJ Taylor so appropriately reminds us, reporting rumor as fact. Who is to say that there is not supervision over ALL of the soldiers in that program of watching over each other? The patients wouldn't necessarily know and telling them the strategerie might break the fragile bonds the docs are trying to rebuild. So the reporter reports rumor as fact without a clue as to the difficult task of rebuilding a psyche as well as a body.

[centurion316]

Well, I'm glad to hear that, and no doubt that there are others who have had experiences similar to yours. But, many others including myself have seen a less satisfactory result.

[andysandmikesmom]

OH, that is for sure..I was actually in the emergency room, one evening, at Madigan...something did not seem right..but no one would be forthcoming with what was wrong...

I found out a day or two later, when I read in our local paper, that a little boy, who had split his lip, in a tricycle accident I think, had been taken to the hospital emergency room...the doctor said he need stitches, and apparently, there was some sort of what they call a 'cocktail' that they gave this little boy, I guess its like a sedative to keep kids still while they are getting stitches...

I guess the routine that is supposed to be followed, is that the nurse stays with the child, after he is given the sedative to make sure that he does not have an adverse reaction...in this case I speak about, the nurse apparently did not stay with the boy, she was busy doing something else, and in the meantime, and the little boy had a violent adverse reaction, and died...

I dont know why the mother was not with the child, I cannot remember the explanation for that...but there was a big lawsuit, and a large out of court settlement for the parents...but no money can replace a beloved child...

Bad things can and do happen in hospitals, military and civilian...

[usmcobra]

if you view the pictures from the article there is only one picture that shows the conditions described and that is of one soldier's room showing peeling wall paper and mold.

No hole in the ceiling,
No Mouse turds and belly-up cockroaches,
No stained carpets and cheap mattresses (call cheap mattresses to lead the reader to envision not a hospital bed but instead a smelly stained mattresses on the floor)

In fact the building they show as being the quarters for these soldiers was at least 1970's vintage or newer, not one built between the two world wars as described in the story.

The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.

This is the world of Building 18, not the kind of place where Duncan expected to recover when he was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from Iraq last February with a broken neck and a shredded left ear, nearly dead from blood loss. But the old lodge, just outside the gates of the hospital and five miles up the road from the White House, has housed hundreds of maimed soldiers recuperating from injuries suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That building 18 isn't some 1920's 1930's vintage building built between World War's to house our soldiers, That building is newer then almost all the barracks at any of our recruit depots or Marine Corps bases.

Being called a journalist is not a license to lie or distort the facts, and clearly the facts are being manipulated here.

[Doctor Raoul]

Regarding one patient being responsibile for another. I have no medical training but the program sounds to me like there might be decent science behind it.

I don't think they're talking about medical type care. What I'm aware of is soldiers there from long term outpatient care being assigned to the look after the administrative matters regarding the other soldiers assigned to their care.

The Army is a huge organization even after Clinton drunken spent the "peace dividend". Bureacracy isn't necessarily a bad management tool for routine, well defined tasks in a large organization. You lay out the rules and you assign a manager who can determine the facts of a situation, apply the rules and get an answer on what to do.

The problem I've observed with the military is that there are so many rules, they change and it's tough to find out what the rules are. A lot of younger troops are goal oriented and want to bore in straight ahead. It's the one with some experience that realize that admin can be an art form in getting results. It's like a violin, it's hard to play but an expert makes beautiful music.

I've heard "Med Hold" used as a single four letter word more than once.

The Carter jokes have given me a idea to look into that might help.

[Doctor Raoul]

Regarding one patient being responsibile for another. I have no medical training but the program sounds to me like there might be decent science behind it.

I don't think they're talking about medical type care. What I'm aware of is soldiers there from long term outpatient care being assigned to the look after the administrative matters regarding the other soldiers assigned to their care.

The Army is a huge organization even after Clinton drunken spent the "peace dividend". Bureacracy isn't necessarily a bad management tool for routine, well defined tasks in a large organization. You lay out the rules and you assign a manager who can determine the facts of a situation, apply the rules and get an answer on what to do.

The problem I've observed with the military is that there are so many rules, they change and it's tough to find out what the rules are. A lot of younger troops are goal oriented and want to bore in straight ahead. It's the one with some experience that realize that admin can be an art form in getting results. It's like a violin, it's hard to play but an expert makes beautiful music.

I've heard "Med Hold" used as a single four letter word more than once.

The Carter jokes have given me a idea to look into that might help.

[oneamericanvoice]

As a vet, there are things that I have seen, but nothing that comes close to what is being described here. You know that too. As another poster so aptly referred to it "hit piece". Shame on the slime!