President Bush gestures as he speaks at the Red Cross Hall during his visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Friday, March 30, 2007.
President Bush: Americans must understand that the problems recently uncovered at Walter Reed were not the problems of medical care. The quality of care at this fantastic facility is great. And it needs to remain that way. Independent analysis have given extremely high marks for the quality of care here. In other words, this isn't my assessment, nor is it the assessment of people I have talked to -- the families -- although that's what they believe. It is also the assessment of a joint commission, which accredits thousands of American hospitals. And this commission has given Walter Reed the highest possible rating, a gold seal of approval.Recently, the commission performed a surprise inspection -- they didn't give a bunch of notice, they showed up and verified the high quality of care here. I want to congratulate you for what you're doing. (Applause.)
The problems at Walter Reed were caused by bureaucratic and administrative failures. The system failed you, and it failed our troops. And we're going to fix it.