NYT: General is fired over conditions at Walter

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March 2, 2007

General Is Fired Over Conditions at Walter

By _DAVID S. CLOUD_

(http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/david_s_cloud/inde\

x.html?inline=nyt-per)

WASHINGTON, March 1 — The two-star general in charge of Walter Army

Medical Center was relieved of command on Thursday, following disclosures that

wounded soldiers being treated as outpatients there were living in dilapidated

quarters and enduring long waits for treatment.

The officer, Maj. Gen. W. Weightman, a physician and a graduate of

_West Point_

(http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/united_stat\

es_military_academy/index.html?inline=nyt-org) , was fired because

Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey “had lost trust and confidence†in his

ability to make improvements in outpatient care at Walter , the Army said

in

a brief statement.

The revelations about conditions at the hospital, one of the Army’s

best-known and busiest centers for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan,

have

embarrassed the Army and prompted two investigations, several Congressional

inquiries and a rush to clean up the accommodations for outpatients, where

residents lived with moldy walls, stained carpets and other problems.

A series of disclosures published prominently in The Washington Post about

the living conditions, the red tape ensnarling treatment and other serious

problems have challenged the notion promoted for years by the Army, especially

since the war in Iraq, that wounded soldiers receive unparalleled care at

Walter .

Army officials have defended the treatment provided to most patients at

Walter , especially the most serious cases, those admitted to inpatient

wards

on the hospital’s campus a few miles from the center of Washington.

But they have acknowledged that the large number of wounded from Iraq and

Afghanistan, currently around 650 patients, has taxed doctors, nurses and other

care providers and forced them to rely more heavily on overflow facilities to

house outpatients who must remain near the hospital for treatment.

Officials refused to provide the specific reasons for General Weightman’s

firing.

The Army has admitted in recent weeks that the system it uses to decide

whether wounded soldiers who have been moved to outpatient status will be able

to

return to active duty often takes too long and has promised to change the

system. At Walter the process has taken an average of over 200 days, a

source of frustration to soldiers and families who are awaiting decisions about

what benefits they will receive if they retire.

Treatment of wounded soldiers has also been spotlighted recently in a

documentary recounting the treatment received by the ABC News anchorman Bob

Woodruff, who was wounded in Iraq last year. Mr. Woodruff contrasted his care

with

that of soldiers, finding that Veterans Administration regional medical

centers provide retired soldiers with good care but that local V.A. hospitals

are

less skilled at dealing with complex problems like traumatic brain injuries.

Mr. Harvey told reporters Thursday that the Army was also examining

conditions at other medical facilities, both in the United States and abroad.

“We’ll

fix as we find things wrong,†he said.

Paralleling the Army effort, Defense Secretary _ M. Gates_

(http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/robert_m_gates/ind\

ex.html?inl

ine=nyt-per) appointed a panel last week to examine conditions at Walter

and other Defense Department hospitals it chooses, including the Naval

Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Mr. Gates endorsed the decision to relieve General Weightman in a statement

Thursday.

“The care and welfare of our wounded men and women in uniform demand the

highest standard of excellence and commitment that we can muster as a

government,

†he said. “When this standard is not met, I will insist on swift and

direct corrective action and, where appropriate, accountability up the chain of

command.â€

Mr. Gates had signaled earlier, after a visit to Walter , that senior

officials would probably be relieved of command.

A Pentagon official said that, in addition to General Weightman, a captain,

two noncommissioned officers, and an enlisted soldier involved in outpatient

treatment were being reassigned. He said he could not provide further

information because of Defense Department confidentiality rules.

General Weightman assumed command of the North Atlantic Regional Medical

Command and Walter Army Medical Center on August 25, 2006. He oversees

medical facilities in seven other states in addition to Walter and is one

of

the most senior officers to be relieved in connection with the wars in Iraq

and Afghanistan. He could not be reached for comment.

The Army said that command of Walter would be taken over temporarily by

Lt. Gen. Kiley, the Army’s top medical officer.

A 1973 graduate of the United States Military Academy, General Kiley received

a medical degree in 1982 from the _University of Vermont_

(http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/university_\

of_vermont/index.

html?inline=nyt-org) and has held a series of medical commands in the past

two decades, including “land component command surgeon†during the 2003

invasion of Iraq.

In comments to reporters on Feb. 16, just before the first of a series of

articles was published by The Post, General Weightman conceded that there were

problems with outpatient care at Walter , but said that improvements were

being made.

“The family members get a little frustrated because, I mean, we are really

disrupting their lives,†The Associated Press quoted him as saying.

In the last year, General Weightman said, Walter had increased to 17

from 4 the number of caseworkers charged with helping outpatients with the

paperwork and other requirements of the patient disability evaluation system,

which determines whether soldiers can remain in the military or retire with full

benefits.

He said that the process often took months or years at Walter because

the hospital handled some of the most complex medical cases, involving head

trauma and other conditions that made gauging recovery difficult.

Outpatients at Walter have received initial treatment but require

further care or rehabilitation before retiring from the armed forces or

returning

to active duty.

Addressing reports that recovering soldiers were asked to attend daily

inspection, even when under medication, Boyce, an Army spokesman, said that

there would be periodic inspections in the outpatient facilities. Mr. Boyce

added that soldiers who are able were asked to attend a daily morning meeting

where treatment options and other information were discussed but that the

sessions were not inspections.

Mr. Boyce said the worst conditions in the outpatient residences had been

corrected but added the Army was planning to make more repairs, like replacing a

faulty heating and air-conditioning system that was the cause of the mold on

the walls.

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