Biden Calls for "Immediate Action" at Walter Reed Outpatient Facility
Biden Calls for "Immediate Action" at Walter Reed Outpatient Facility
In the wake of recent press reports that detailed the deplorable conditions and bureaucratic struggles facing U.S. soldiers living in the outpatient facilities at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) today called on the U. S. Secretary of Defense to take immediate action to remedy the situation Biden called "utterly inexcusable." Biden urged the Secretary to: immediately move affected soldiers and their families into suitable quarters at Walter Reed or, if necessary, outside the hospital; ensure that case managers meet with patients at least twice a week so that no one is "lost" in the system; and improve the training of case workers.
The complete text of the letter follows:
Dear Secretary Gates:
Like most Americans, I was appalled to read about the outpatient conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It is utterly inexcusable. We have a sacred obligation to care for those we send into battle. To have soldiers, marines, and their families living in such conditions is wrong and contrary to everything Americans value.
I hope you and the Army leadership are focused on finding the right permanent remedies.
To have military personnel recovering from wounds and illness living in mold, roach, and rodent infested housing is unacceptable. They must be given better quarters immediately. If there are no suitable living quarters for these soldiers and their families at Walter Reed, then the Army must look for other housing options in the area.
In addition, starting today, every patient should hear from their case manager at least twice a week. No outpatient should ever be "lost" or wonder when they have an appointment.
We also must improve the training of case managers. Outpatients told the Washington Post that complaints and concerns raised at Town Hall meetings and to leadership were never addressed. Paperwork was regularly lost. The case managers must be able to navigate the various Army bureaucracies that process wounded personnel. While the Army system normally encourages self-reliance, this culture must be changed for patients. The burden cannot be placed on a soldier recovering from a brain injury or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or other wound.
Long term, we may also need to amend regulations or the budget to ensure adequate housing and other resources are available to military personnel and their families while they are at Walter Reed and other military medical facilities.
The amazing work done by Walter Reed and the rest of the military medical community to save soldiers and marines on the battlefield must not be compromised by what happens when they become outpatients. I look forward to working with you to make sure that we provide whatever is needed to fix these problems in the short-term and the long-term.
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