Bush to Visit With Troops at Walter Reed

Forbes.com — President Bush carries a promise of better treatment for neglected war veterans on a tour of Walter Reed Army Medical Center Friday, but critics questioned the timing of the visit six weeks after shoddy conditions were exposed there.

Bobby Muller, president of Veterans for America, said Bush isn’t going to see areas of the hospital most in need of change. He cited Ward 54, where soldiers are suffering from acute mental health conditions, and outpatient holding facilities where soldiers see long waits to get processed out of the Army.”Walter Reed is not a photo-op,” Muller said. “Walter Reed is still broken. The DoD health care system is still broken. … Our troops need their commander in chief to start working harder for them.”

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said “I would disagree with the characterization” that Bush is using Walter Reed as merely a picture-taking opportunity. She said it took some time to clear enough room on the president’s schedule to spend over three hours with patients and staff at Walter Reed, and that Bush intends to find out from them what more needs to be done.

“He is going to spend ample time there to hear from them,” Perino said. “He will talk about … bureaucratic and administrative failures that need to be addressed.”

Walter Reed is considered one of the Army’s premier facilities for treating the wounded. The revelations in mid-February of poor treatment and neglect of those wounded in war was an embarrassment to Bush, who routinely speaks of the need to support the troops and praises the care they receive back home.

Troops and veterans say many of the issues have been well-known for a while, and have long been in need of greater attention.

Bush declared the situation at Walter Reed unacceptable and ordered a full-scale review of care for veterans. He appointed a presidential commission to study the problems. The Pentagon, Veterans Affairs Department and Congress are conducting a slew of reviews.

In the wake of reports of problems at Walter Reed, three high-level Pentagon officials were forced to step down and lawmakers on Capitol Hill were outraged. This week, the House voted to create a coterie of case managers, advocates and counselors for injured troops. The bill also establishes a hotline for medical patients to report problems in their treatment.

On Friday, the president was touring both the main hospital and Abrams Hall, where soldiers were transferred after they were vacated from Building 18, where moldy walls, rodent infestation and other problems went unchecked until reported by the media.

While meeting with soldiers, he was awarding 10 Purple Hearts to those who suffered serious wounds in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Afterward, Bush was speaking to about 100 medical workers to explain what his administration is doing to improve care for veterans at facilities nationwide.

Jennifer Loven, Forbes.com

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