Bush to form panel to review wounded soldiers' care
By Steve Holland 2 hours, 37 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scrambling to answer an outcry over shoddy health care for U.S. soldiers wounded in
Iraq, the White House announced on Friday that
President George W. Bush will appoint a bipartisan commission to review health care for military veterans.
The announcement comes a day after the head of the U.S. Army's top hospital was fired after troops wounded in Iraq and
Afghanistan were found to be living in substandard conditions and struggling with a complex bureaucracy.
Problems at an adjunct building of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington were brought to light by a Washington Post investigation published last month. It found that recuperating soldiers were living in a dilapidated building infested with mice, mold and cockroaches.
The administration also faces questions over a decision to put Army surgeon-general Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley in temporary charge at Walter Reed. An ex-commander of the hospital, Kiley has been accused of ignoring complaints about outpatient care.
The Washington Post reports were particularly embarrassing because Bush has repeatedly visited the wounded in the hospital to show his concern for those who served in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush would announce formation of the commission in his weekly radio address on Saturday. Members of the group will be named in coming days.
They will conduct a comprehensive review of the care that the U.S. government is providing the wounded.
"The review will examine their treatment from the time they leave the battlefield to their return to civilian life as veterans, so that we can assure that we're meeting their physical and mental health needs," Perino said.
WHY KILEY?
An Army statement on Thursday said Maj. Gen. George Weightman was removed from his job in charge of Walter Reed and that top
Pentagon officials had lost confidence in his ability to address solutions for soldier outpatient care.
But the Washington Post reported that Kiley, appointed to take temporary charge, heard years ago from a veterans advocate and a member of Congress that outpatient care at Walter Reed was squalid and disorganized but did little about it.
"Why is Gen. Kiley back in charge at Walter Reed?" the paper asked in an editorial on Friday.
Army spokesman Col. Dan Baggio noted Kiley's appointment was an interim measure and said he had extensive experience with the Army medical system, including running Walter Reed.
"From a very pragmatic standpoint, he's probably the most qualified person for the job," Baggio said.
The White House said the bipartisan panel's review would be separate from a similar investigation ordered by the Pentagon. The Pentagon is looking solely at Walter Reed while the White House panel will look at all veterans' hospitals.
More than 10,000 U.S. troops in the Iraq war and more than 600 involved in the Afghan conflict have been wounded so seriously they were not able to return to duty within 72 hours, according to Pentagon statistics.
(Additional reporting by Andrew Gray)