Walter Reed Army Medical Center Improving Care, Still Lacks Adequate Staff, According To GAO

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 29 Feb 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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The Army has improved its support for service members receiving medical care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals, but the facilities continue to face staff shortages and other gaps, Government Accountability Office officials told the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, the Washington Post reports.

GAO in September 2007 reported that the Army faced staff shortages in new soldier transition units, established to help wounded veterans navigate the medical system. Since then, the Army has increased its staff in key positions by nearly 75%, although more than one-third of the units are still understaffed, according to GAO.

John Pendleton, acting director of health care for GAO, said, "Challenges remain, but the trend is in the right." Army Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, who took command of Walter Reed one year ago after problems at the hospital were reported by the Washington Post, said a "total transformation the Army is undergoing in the way we care for soldiers and families" has led to the improvements.

Subcommittee Chair John Tierney (D-Mass.) added that although progress has been made, it is "equally clear we have a ways to go," adding that the subcommittee will continue to hold hearings on the progress at Walter Reed. He said, "If past is prologue, none of the work by these groups will mean anything unless there is the political will and resolve to fundamentally improve the system and to make the difficult choices necessary to actually implement some of the most wide-ranging recommendations" (Vogel, Washington Post, 2/28).

C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" on Wednesday included a discussion with Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, about conditions at Walter Reed ("Washington Journal," C-SPAN, 2/27). Video of the segment is available online.

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