Leaders propose changes at veterans hospital
TACOMA – Army leaders who met this week with injured soldiers at Madigan Army Medical Center are proposing several changes at the hospital to address service members’ concerns with their medical treatment.
The changes ordered by Fort Lewis commander Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik and Madigan’s Brig. Gen. Sheila Baxter include establishing a special office to investigate complaints by wounded or injured National Guard and reserve soldiers.
Dubik and Baxter met with soldiers Monday.
“We did listen to what was at times both emotional and angry reports,” Dubik said in an e-mailed response to questions from the News Tribune newspaper of Tacoma. “I’m their commander; they have a right to report the facts to me.”
Dubik is at Central Command headquarters in Florida.
On Thursday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker met with Baxter at Madigan to make sure officials had the resources needed to improve the medical system.
“He said we want to be sure we’re not putting Band-Aids on the issue, but that we look at this as a life-building process,” Baxter said Friday. “We’re going to put the resources there to fix it.”
The proposals come in the wake of disclosures of shoddy outpatient health care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army’s flagship hospital and one of the nation’s premier facilities for treating veterans back from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Defense Department plans to inspect medical centers at bases around the country, including Madigan.
Baxter and Dubik have ordered several changes at the hospital south of Tacoma in response to soldiers’ frustrations with their treatment in medical holding companies and the administrative process to evaluate their fitness for duty.
During their meeting, some soldiers complained of being denied access to their medical records. Baxter said that by Friday, those who had difficulty getting their records would have copies made for them.
And, all soldiers could have their cases reviewed with a doctor and a lawyer, the generals said.
Over the next two months, Baxter said, Madigan will dedicate a clinic exclusively for soldiers hurt in Iraq or Afghanistan or while serving on homeland security missions in the United States. This will help create consistency for soldiers who said they seldom see the same medical provider for treatment.
Representatives from the Fort Lewis Inspector General’s Office and the National Guard Inspector General’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Monday will open the office to investigate complaints by injured guardsmen and reservists.
The inspector general can investigate complaints, conduct audits, recommend administrative changes and refer cases to commanders and Army lawyers for possible disciplinary action.
Some other proposed measures include:
“A senior nursing sergeant will work directly in medical holding units to help outpatient soldiers get care, prepare for medical boards and deal with other issues.
“Hiring additional doctors to work directly with soldiers going through medical evaluation boards that determine the extent of their injuries and their fitness for duty.
“Write a guide to help soldiers and their families understand the boards that assess their injuries and fitness for duty.