thedrifter
01-23-07, 10:34 AM
Keep Walter Reed open, lawmakers urged
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 23, 2007 10:48:08 EST
Though the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington seems set, a hearing on Capitol Hill Friday showed feelings still run strong for the 98-year-old hospital.
“Walter Reed should remain open and fully funded,” retired Brig. Gen. Michael Dunn, former commander of the hospital, told the House defense appropriations subcommittee. “It should continue for the duration of this war for the Army, because it sets the standard for critical care.”
In 2005, Walter Reed made the Pentagon’s base-closure list and is slated to shut down in 2011. Its staff and clinic — including an amputee ward that is under construction — will move to Bethesda, Md., near the National Naval Medical Center.
But Dunn said the timing for the change is bad, in part because the proposed joint military health system is “underpowered and under-researched.”
A new, joint operation should be piloted first and involve a “less-pivotal” location than Walter Reed, he said. And the changes should not come during a war.
“I’m saying your first game shouldn’t be the Super Bowl,” he said.
Walter Reed has 61 teaching programs, 28 of which are unique to the Army and to Walter Reed, he said. He called it the strongest medical center for amputee, brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder care.
Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, Army surgeon general, said the move to Bethesda needs to be funded properly to be done right.
“There probably wasn’t anyone more upset in the U.S. Army than I was” about the decision to close Walter Reed, he said. “My sense is Congress will support us” on the funding.
William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said $2 billion has been invested just in the Washington metro area for reconfiguring the military’s health care infrastructure. New plans for the joint operation in Bethesda include consolidating research and development under the Army, consolidating education and training, and looking at consolidating procurement and technology, he said.
However, he asked for immediate help in funding the military health care system. He said the Defense Department expected to save $735 million this year through a plan to increase Tricare fees for some beneficiaries. That plan was rejected by Congress last fall, leaving the health care system in need of more money.
“We’re short $1.2 billion,” he said. “We expect to run out of funds within 30 days without help.”
Committee members said they would do what was necessary to keep the system operating.
Ellie
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 23, 2007 10:48:08 EST
Though the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington seems set, a hearing on Capitol Hill Friday showed feelings still run strong for the 98-year-old hospital.
“Walter Reed should remain open and fully funded,” retired Brig. Gen. Michael Dunn, former commander of the hospital, told the House defense appropriations subcommittee. “It should continue for the duration of this war for the Army, because it sets the standard for critical care.”
In 2005, Walter Reed made the Pentagon’s base-closure list and is slated to shut down in 2011. Its staff and clinic — including an amputee ward that is under construction — will move to Bethesda, Md., near the National Naval Medical Center.
But Dunn said the timing for the change is bad, in part because the proposed joint military health system is “underpowered and under-researched.”
A new, joint operation should be piloted first and involve a “less-pivotal” location than Walter Reed, he said. And the changes should not come during a war.
“I’m saying your first game shouldn’t be the Super Bowl,” he said.
Walter Reed has 61 teaching programs, 28 of which are unique to the Army and to Walter Reed, he said. He called it the strongest medical center for amputee, brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder care.
Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, Army surgeon general, said the move to Bethesda needs to be funded properly to be done right.
“There probably wasn’t anyone more upset in the U.S. Army than I was” about the decision to close Walter Reed, he said. “My sense is Congress will support us” on the funding.
William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said $2 billion has been invested just in the Washington metro area for reconfiguring the military’s health care infrastructure. New plans for the joint operation in Bethesda include consolidating research and development under the Army, consolidating education and training, and looking at consolidating procurement and technology, he said.
However, he asked for immediate help in funding the military health care system. He said the Defense Department expected to save $735 million this year through a plan to increase Tricare fees for some beneficiaries. That plan was rejected by Congress last fall, leaving the health care system in need of more money.
“We’re short $1.2 billion,” he said. “We expect to run out of funds within 30 days without help.”
Committee members said they would do what was necessary to keep the system operating.
Ellie