Veterans supporter says Madigan (Army Medical Center) has problems similar to Walter Reed

[flamingyouth]

The founder of Operation Homefront, one of the nation's top non-profit support groups for wounded soldiers and their families, on Monday said Fort Lewis' Madigan Army Medical Center has problems similar to some surrounding the scandalous conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

"We have concerns about Madigan, including the condition of the rooms," Meredith Leyva, founder of the organization and wife of an active-duty Navy officer, said by phone from Florida on Monday.

Leyva said problems also persist at Madigan and elsewhere with casework and waiting time for psychologically and physically injured soldiers, especially with the Defense Department's so-called "seamless transition" from military to Veterans Affairs Department medical care.

Soldiers in "medical hold" in that transition have been subjected to an evaluation process averaging 18 months until they are discharged from the Army and often settle for low disability ratings -- and lower disability payments -- in order to move on, she said.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/306223_madigan06.html

[Monkeyman]

1. Just the tip

Flood Gates are now open. Report like this will keep coming

[ShockediSay]

2. this shameful problem is system wide and as bad, if not worse

than at Reed

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/03/02/01

[Lasher]

4. It's a matter of funding priorities

From your linked article: "They can either pay these guys benefits for the next 50 years, and if they do that, they're going to take money away from more bullets and bombs."

We've seen funding priorities play out. We're building yet another monster aircraft carrier, named after yet another loser Publican president, to menace the world while military medical centers fall into disrepair. Support the troops.

[salin]

7. given the *huge* dollar amounts spent on, say, the "missle defense

system" (once known as Star Wars and/or SDI) which, at least for years (I haven't followed recently) showed no ability to work - one has to wonder how much of these priorities to spend on (some) weapons over soldiers health, is less about defense and more about crony profiteering. Tragic.

[Lasher]

8. Junior's Maginot Line in the Sky is one of my favorite white elephants.

Remember, Junior promised it wouldn't be deployed before it worked. Then he deployed it and it still doesn't work. I think they've managed to hit some easy targets but half the time it either misses or the missiles won't even launch.

The latest thing is, they want to set up an installation in Europe, possibly in the UK. But nobody seems to want it there. Seems a lot of people think it would draw fire from Russia or whoever in case of a nuclear exchange. Guess Europeans have heard it doesn't work. At least they won't have to pay for it.

Just like you said, salin, crony profiteering. You can create rich contributing CEOs if you buy shiny new dud missiles but what in the world do you get when you pour capital into military hospitals? At best you can promote a few of your friends to general and put them in charge. That's not much. CEOs are better. That's why Junior and his pals have privatized all they could at Walter Reed. And that project turned out to be a SNAFU all on its own.

[maddezmom]

3. they screw around with them for so long, they take anything in the end

Soldiers in "medical hold" in that transition have been subjected to an evaluation process averaging 18 months until they are discharged from the Army and often settle for low disability ratings -- and lower disability payments -- in order to move on, she said.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

:puke:

[fed-up]

5. kick/rec nt

[Solly Mack]

6. "seamless transition" my happy ass

"Soldiers in "medical hold" in that transition have been subjected to an evaluation process averaging 18 months until they are discharged from the Army and often settle for low disability ratings -- and lower disability payments -- in order to move on, she said. "

That's not exactly unintentional

[TechBear_Seattle]

9. Fort Lewis' Madigan Army Medical Center said to have problems

Don't get distracted by Walter Reed: the problem is far bigger than just that one hospital.

Fort Lewis' Madigan Army Medical Center said to have problems

The founder of Operation Homefront, one of the nation's top non-profit support groups for wounded soldiers and their families, said Monday that Fort Lewis' Madigan Army Medical Center has problems similar to some surrounding the scandalous conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

"We have concerns about Madigan, including the condition of the rooms," Meredith Leyva, founder of the organization and wife of an active-duty Navy officer, said by phone from Florida on Monday.

Leyva said injured soldiers faced extended delays in making the Defense Department's so-called seamless transition from military to Veterans Affairs Department medical care -- and suffered because of cuts among the caseworkers who help them through the wait.

Soldiers in "medical hold" during that transition are subject to an evaluation process averaging 18 months until they are discharged from the Army, she said, and they often settle for low disability ratings -- and lower disability payments -- in order to move on.

The story continues at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/306223_madigan06.html

Ain't it grand to see how the Republics and neo-cons support our troops? :sarcasm: (as if the sarcasm tag was needed)

[terip64]

10. The Republicans are finished for a generation, I truly believe that...n/t

[Mrs. Overall]

11. Hospital at Fort Lewis (WA) said to have Walter Reed-type problems

SEATTLE (AP) - Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis has problems similar to some of those at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., leaders of the activist group Operation Homefront say.

Room conditions, caseworker layoffs and delays for injured soldiers moving from military care to the Department of Veterans Affairs were among the complaints raised by Meredith Leyva, founder of the group and wife of an active duty Navy officer, in an interview Monday with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Officials at Fort Lewis, a sprawling post south of Tacoma, referred the newspaper's questions to Madigan, and hospital officials did not return calls from the newspaper Monday.

Skip Dreps, government liaison for the Northwest Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America, said his last count showed 62 active-duty and 179 National Guard or Reserve soldiers in medical hold at Madigan, including who had been waiting 17 months and 10 months, respectively. Active-duty wounded soldiers are sent to the spinal cord injury clinic at the VA Puget Sound Medical Center in Seattle and their average stay has been about nine months, Dreps said.

"When you compile (the case) for a spinal cord injury, the book is pretty well written," he said.

More: http://www.komotv.com/news/6331282.html

[Fridays Child]

12. Whch one will be next?

[Monkeyman]

13. Its over the whole Country