"Too many soldiers in new care centers, inquiry says" by Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press | November 3, 2008
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - In a rush to correct reports of substandard care for wounded soldiers, the Army flung open the doors of new specialized treatment centers so wide that as many as half the soldiers currently enrolled do not have injuries serious enough to justify being there, the Associated Press has learned.
Army leaders are putting in place stricter screening procedures to stem the flood of patients overwhelming the units - a move that eventually will target some for closure. The units provide coordinated medical and mental health care, track soldiers' recovery, and provide broader legal, financial, and other family counseling. They serve Army active-duty and reserve soldiers.
(Blog author is so angry and disgusted right now. Yeah, "support the troops!")
Just 12 percent of the soldiers in the units had battlefield injuries while thousands of others had minor problems that did not require the complex new network of case managers, nurses, and doctors, according to Brigadier General Gary H. Cheek, the director of the Army's warrior care office. The crowding was a "self-inflicted wound," said Cheek, an assistant surgeon general.
Yeah, like the SOLDIERS poisoned and injured their bodies and minds themselves!!! The LYING WAR MONGERS had NOTHING to do with it!!!
By restricting use of the coordinated care units to soldiers with more complex, long-term ailments, the Army hopes to close or consolidate as many as 10 of the transition units, Cheek said during an interview in his Virginia office near the Pentagon.
You know what? NOTHING is TOO MUCH or TOO GOOD for these American heroes!!! FIND the $$$$ SOMEWHERE ELSE -- like some WEAPONS CONTRACTS!!!
In the past, a soldier with a torn knee ligament would have surgery and then go on light duty, such as answering phones, while getting physical therapy. But last October, the Army began allowing soldiers with less serious injuries to go to the warrior units. The expansion came after reports about conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, including shoddy housing and bureaucratic delays for outpatients there.
So? Why should the vet now have to GIVE BACK his SERVICES? They have SERVED YOU, government!!!
Brigade commanders began shipping to the transition centers anyone in their unit who could not deploy because of an injury of illness. That burdened the system with soldiers who really did not need case managers to set up their appointments, nurses to check their medications, and specialists to provide counseling for issues such as stress disorders.
Translation: You and your PTSD are ON YOUR OWN, G.I. Joe!!
The Army's goal now, as spelled out in a recent briefing, is to screen out those who do not need the expanded care program, shifting them to regular medical facilities at their military base or near their homes. --more--"
What if you need care and the Army says no?
Because THAT is what has been HAPPENING!!!
