Army seeks to reduce patient backlog at base

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/10/20/sick.reservists/index.html

The U.S. Army will send specialists to help reduce a backlog of National Guardsmen and reservists seeking medical care at Fort Stewart, Georgia, military sources said Monday.

The additional medical personnel will come from the Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, the sources said.

The move is part of an initiative to reduce what Army officials have acknowledged is a backlog problem at Fort Stewart.

Troops have complained of a lack of timely medical care and substandard living conditions. United Press International editor Mark Benjamin first reported on the complaints after a visit to the U.S. Army base in southeast Georgia.

A Fort Stewart spokesman described living conditions as "Spartan" and "austere" but "safe."

[TahitiNut]

1. I wonder what it'd cost to 'privatize' non-warzone medical care for ...

... the military? Funny, we seem to support socialization of medical care for some, but not for others. Where are all the advocates of "better and cheaper living through free market economics"? :eyes:

[RobertSeattle]

2. Ugh - Fort Stewart

Was probably runner-up to Guantanimo for the the Al Qeda prisoners.

About 1/2 the post is essentially a swamp. The local "Army Town" Hinesville is a real disappointment, and the local "big city" Savannah is about an hour's drive away. It's not really a glamourous post.

The primary reason the Army chose to start it up again during the Reagan era was purely because of it's closeness to east coast ports.

Been there.

[Don_G]

3. Sure....

Now that the media has reminded the Pentagon that there are more military hospitals in the US than Ft Stewart to rely upon and won't close on Rummy's say-so.

The "initiative" should have occured when the Pentagon was notified that that one base was ill-equipped to handle a large number of casualties and other efforts should have been taken. Ireland Army Hospital at Ft Knox, KY comes to mind where the Guard can take training flights to fill an underutilized hospital.

That "they" need to but didn't tell me (along with other news) that ShrubCo needs to but---can't hide their incompetence and distain for the average American---serving overseas unless everything ane everybody is "cleared" first.

Am I wrong or is there something I haven't thought of yet?

[alcuno]

4. The report on Lou Dobbs was hysterical

Jamie McIntyre was trying to shill for the Pentagon and said, "well the conditions under which they are being held are not cruel and unusual," and Lou said, "I don't think that cruel and unusual ought to be the standard."

[leetrisck]

5. Are soldiers on medical hold at other

bases besides this one? Where? How many? The only reason anyone is looking into this is because it became public - the others need to be public also. Am betting there's many more.