It's been so long since I made the appointment I'd forgotten:
"In military hospitals, workers say complaints met with retaliation" by Sharon LaFraniere, New York Times December 21, 2014
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Beyond conducting their periodic evaluation of Womack Army Medical Center, one of the military’s busiest hospitals, the inspectors who came here to Fort Bragg in March had a special task.
A technologist had complained of dangerous lapses in the prevention of infections. The inspectors planned to follow up. But Teresa Gilbert, the technologist, said supervisors excluded her from meetings with the inspectors from the Joint Commission, an independent agency that accredits hospitals. “I was told my opinions were not necessary, nor were they warranted,” said Gilbert.
The review ended disastrously for Womack, one of 54 domestic and overseas military hospitals that serve more than 3 million active-duty service members, retirees, and family members. The inspectors faulted infection prevention and many other aspects of care, putting the hospital’s accreditation under a cloud for months.
It was disastrous for Gilbert, too. She said she was reprimanded for being an obstructionist, reduced to part-time hours, investigated for what she called trumped-up charges, and transferred to a clerk’s job.
At any hospital, patient safety and care depend on the willingness of medical workers to identify problems. The goal is for medical workers to be free to speak bluntly to — and about — higher-ups without being ignored or, worse, punished.
In interviews and e-mail exchanges, many doctors, nurses and other medical workers said military hospitals fall short of that objective.
During an examination of military hospitals this year, The New York Times asked readers to recount their experiences via a private electronic portal. Among more than 1,200 comments were dozens from medical workers about how the system thwarted efforts to deliver superior care. Physicians and nurses described in follow-up interviews how they were brushed off, transferred, investigated, passed over for promotion, or fired after they pointed out problems with care.
Senior military officials said they were working aggressively to instill a culture where complaints are welcomed. “We want people to come forward,” Lieutenant General Patricia Horoho, the Army surgeon general, said in a statement.
An analysis of military hospital data by the Times this year found preventable errors are chronic and rates of complications are high in two cornerstones of treatment: maternity care and surgery. The Times also found that hospitals routinely failed to investigate after patients died unexpectedly or suffered permanent harm.
More than a dozen physicians and nurses interviewed for this article said their experiences illustrated why. A former surgeon at Womack said he was passed over for promotion after he said his supervisor had failed to properly examine a patient who later died of cancer. A psychiatrist who worked at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio said her supervisor tried to oust her after she complained that residents were not properly supervised.
“Regardless of whether there is the reality of retribution, if there is a perception of one, that is going to stifle open discussion,” Vice Admiral Matthew L. Nathan, the Navy’s surgeon general, said.
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As if that wasn't trauma enough for the ladies:
"Vets fight for care following sex traumas" by Emily Wax-Thibodeaux, Washington Post December 28, 2014
WASHINGTON — Thousands of female veterans are struggling to get health care and compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs on the grounds that they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by sexual trauma in the military.
The veterans and their advocates call it the second battle — with a bureaucracy they say is stuck in the past.
Judy Atwood-Bell was just a 19-year-old Army private when she was locked inside a barracks room at Fort Devens in Massachusetts, forced to the cold floor, and raped by a fellow soldier, she said.
For more than two decades, Atwood-Bell fought for an apology and financial compensation for PTSD, with panic attacks, insomnia, and depression that she recalls starting soon after that winter day in 1981. She filled out stacks of forms in triplicate and then filled them out again, pressing over and over for recognition of the harm that was done.
The VA labels it ‘‘military sexual trauma,’’ covering unwanted contact, including sexual innuendo, groping, and rape.
A recent VA survey found that 1 in 4 women said they experienced sexual harassment or assault. And the problem is growing more pressing because female veterans represent the military’s fastest-growing population. More than 280,000 have returned home from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
What is strange is that if you do the actual percentages combined with service by gender, there are more sexual assaults on men in total.
A few weeks ago, when Atwood-Bell checked the VA website, as she does every day, she was stunned to discover that the agency had accepted her claim for compensation.
‘‘It’s taken over 20 years, and that should’ve never happened,’’ said Atwood-Bell, who retired and lives in New Hampshire, her voice cracking. ‘‘My fight is not over. It’s not done for so many other women out there. I want to help them to get what we are entitled to.’’
Some will file fal$e charges.
The Pentagon has been conducting a high-profile campaign to prevent sexual attacks and punish offenders amid concerns that defense officials neglected these assaults for years.
But advocacy groups say the VA has been slow to adjust to the rising number of women in the military. Some health centers only recently opened female restrooms. Women who come in for treatment at VA centers say they are routinely asked if they are waiting for their husband or are lost.
And the Pentagon released data on Dec. 4 that showed that 62 percent of those who reported being sexually assaulted had experienced retaliation or ostracism afterward.
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