Walter Reed says patient data may be compromised

Walter Reed says patient data may be compromised
By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 55 minutes ago


WASHINGTON - Sensitive information on about 1,000 patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals was exposed in a security breach, sparking identity theft concerns and an investigation by the Army.


Names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and other information was released, hospital officials said Monday. The computer file that was breached did not include information such as medical records, or the diagnosis or prognosis for patients, they said.

War's Wounded Find Guidance in Aftermath

War's Wounded Find Guidance in Aftermath
Walter Reed Chaplains Help Amputees, Other Soldiers Confront Unpleasant Realities
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By Greg TrotterReligion News Service Saturday, March 29, 2008; Page B10
Capt. Darrick Gutting is the friendliest guy in Ward 57.
The bald-headed, 40-year-old Pennsylvanian roams the halls, engaging passersby -- soldiers and medical staff -- in conversations that are equal parts jive and heartfelt concern.
"Sorry, man, but this is part of being a chaplain, too," Gutting said after talking with a male nurse for 10 minutes about a favorite hunting store in West Virginia. "You gotta let the people know that you care."

Editorial: Medical scandal goes beyond Walter Reed

Editorial: Medical scandal goes beyond Walter Reed
Stories tell of poor care in many places and for a long time.
Published: March 06, 2007

A WIDER PROBLEM
"The living conditions were the worst I'd ever seen for soldiers. Paint peeling, mold, windows that didn't work. I went to the hospital chaplain to get them to issue blankets and linens."
Capt. Leslie Haines, of Ft. Knox, Kentucky hospital in 2004, in Washington Post.
Washington Post's Anne Hull and Dana Priest ignited a firestorm in Washington two weeks ago when they reported on the abysmal outpatient care provided at Water Reed Medical Center. The center's commander has been fired; the secretary of the Army has resigned, and President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have had to reiterate what should never have been in doubt -- that this nation will provide the best possible care to those wounded in military service.

Squalor surrounding wounded Iraq veterans shocks America

Squalor surrounding wounded Iraq veterans shocks America
The Bush administration has gone into damage control as the scandal over the treatment of injured soldiers grows, Sarah Baxter reports from Washington
March 05, 2007
WHILE he was recovering from a double amputation at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington, Latseen Benson, 27, met a parade of VIPs.
Every time the President, the Vice-President or the Defence Secretary passed by, the military hospital would be thoroughly scrubbed. But the improvements would not last long, according to Diane Benson, the mother of the injured Iraq war veteran.
"I wasn't so bothered by the rats, although there were a lot running around outside, but I really wanted his room to be swept and kept clean," she said.
"You couldn't get people to mop the blood and urine from the floor while my son was there with his legs wide open."

Military Times coverage of the controversy at Walter Reed

Military Times coverage of the controversy at Walter Reed
Posted : Friday Mar 2, 2007 18:54:42 EST

Francis Harvey, caught under the giant shadow cast by the controversy over outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, resigned today as secretary of the Army, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced Friday afternoon at the Pentagon.
Read all Military Times coverage about Walter Reed Army Medical Center:
Official: Gates sought Harvey’s resignation (March 2)
Walter Reed topic of five hearings next week (March 2)
Maj. Gen. Eric Schoomaker named new Walter Reed head (March 2)
Committee subpoenas former Walter Reed chief (March 2)
Walter Reed chief fired; critics say more must go (March 2)
Army denies patients face daily inspections (Feb. 28)
Walter Reed patients told to keep quiet (Feb. 27)
Walter Reed soldier wins small victory (Feb. 27)
Gates’ candor on hospital woes lauded (Feb. 27
Pentagon names members of Walter Reed panel (Feb. 23)
Renovations underway at Walter Reed (Feb. 22)
Wounded and waiting (Feb. 17)

Soldiers at Walter Reed Building 18 moved

Soldiers at Walter Reed Building 18 moved
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writerPosted : Monday Mar 5, 2007 11:40:18 EST

The soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Building 18 moved to Building 14 Sunday, a soldier in the Medical Hold Unit told Military Times.
Read complete coverage of the Walter Reed controversy.
At the recently remodeled building, there wasn't a rodent to be seen. But there were plenty of mice — the kind attached to computers.
At their new digs, the soldiers found new Apple computers, Internet access and a 32-inch HDTV.
"It's great," the soldier said, still speaking on the condition of anonymity after last week's order not to speak to the press. The Building 18 soldiers had a separate formation from the rest of the Medical Hold Unit where they were ordered to go through their chain of command if they had problems and to tell reporters to talk to public affairs personnel — and not to soldiers, the soldier said.

'I failed,' says fired Walter Reed general

'I failed,' says fired Walter Reed general
By Johanna Neuman, Times Staff Writer12:53 PM PST, March 5, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The general who was fired after reports of substandard medical care for veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center said today he agreed with critics that there was a failure of leadership at the facility.Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates "called this 'a failure of leadership.' I agree. We can't fail one of these soldiers, one of these patients, and we did."
Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who was fired as commander at Walter Reed after the Washington Post published a series of gripping stories about the soldiers' shoddy medical care, argued that most patient care for returning soldiers "is superb."

Shameful treatment of injured GIs should have us up in arms

Shameful treatment of injured GIs should have us up in arms
March 4, 2007
Support our troops: It's a sentiment you can subscribe to fully whether or not you want those troops to be on the battlefield, which, in the case of the profoundly painful, perplexing conflict in Iraq, can take the form of a roadway or public square or food market. It's also a sentiment you can get behind in calling for the proper treatment of wounded GIs when they return home. Shockingly, many soldiers who made a physical sacrifice for their country in Iraq and Afghanistan have been denied that kind of support at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the country's best-known facility for the treatment of veterans.
Embarrassed by a series of reports in the Washington Post on the substandard outpatient conditions at Walter Reed, and investigations by Congress and the Army itself, the military fired Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who was in charge of the hospital, and Army Secretary Francis Harvey resigned. President Bush pledged to name a bipartisan commission to review the level of care our wounded servicemen and women are receiving at all such facilities.

Duckworth Nominated To Investigate Walter Reed

Duckworth Nominated To Investigate Walter Reed
http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/local_story_064180249.html
Durbin Urges Bush To Name Her To Presidential Commission


(CBS) CHICAGO The despicable conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have prompted congressional hearings and motivated an Illinois senator to nominate a local war hero to the committee looking into the mess.CBS 2's Mike Parker reports that Illinois' senior Sen. Dick Durbin is urging President Bush to name Tammy Duckworth to the presidential commission that will investigate conditions at Walter Reed and other military hospitals.

Internal Walter Reed Memo Identifying Problems (pdf)

Internal Walter Reed Memo Identifying Problems (pdf)

Soldiers Testify Over Poor Care at Walter Reed

Soldiers Testify Over Poor Care at Walter Reed
By MICHAEL LUO
WASHINGTON, March 5 — Members of Congress heard wrenching testimony on Monday from wounded soldiers treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and contrite promises from top Army officials to correct the conditions there.
The general who most recently commanded Walter Reed, a premier military hospital in Washington, and the Army’s surgeon general accepted responsibility for the situation faced by some wounded troops, including poor housing, neglect and a hopelessly complicated bureaucratic maze.
The Army officials said they were working to address the problems at Walter Reed and were examining the situation at other medical centers.
“We have let some soldiers down,” said Pete Geren, the acting secretary of the Army, addressing the panel before the hearing began.

Cleland on the Veterans’ Health-Care Crisis

Cleland on the Veterans’ Health-Care Crisis

The military health-care system can’t keep pace with the flood of battlefield casualties. Max Cleland—Vietnam vet, triple amputee, and former U.S. senator—on the roots of the crisis, and what needs to be
March 5, 2007 - The controversy touched off by an investigative series in The Washington Post on the state of the military health-care system is growing. At a congressional hearing Monday, military officials said they were checking conditions at other hospitals—not just Washington’s Walter Reed, where the Post uncovered run-down living conditions for soldiers and mismanagement. Several congressmen also addressed the bureaucracy at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where a Newsweek investigation turned up long waits for veterans seeking medical care and disability payments.

Walter Reed problems seen as systemwide

Walter Reed problems seen as systemwide
House panel chairman says failure of veterans process is ‘deeper story’

NBC VIDEO

MSNBC and NBC News
Updated: 7:41 p.m. ET March 5, 2007
UpdateTimeStamp('633087385130600000');
WASHINGTON - Well-documented failings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are just the tip of the iceberg and will require a top-to-bottom review of how the military cares for its wounded veterans, outraged members of Congress from both parties said Monday.

Bush `troubled' by care for wounded soldiers

Bush `troubled' by care for wounded soldiers
PROBE ORDERED; ARMY SECRETARY RESIGNS
By Ron Hutcheson and Chris Adams
McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - In more fallout from reports of appalling conditions at the Army's top medical facility, Army Secretary Francis Harvey resigned Friday and President Bush announced a far-reaching investigation into the quality of health care for wounded soldiers.
Bush said he would appoint a bipartisan commission to examine the treatment of wounded military personnel ``from the time they leave the battlefield through their return to civilian life.'' He said he was ``deeply troubled'' by reports of substandard care at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where some recuperating veterans complained of being neglected and left in moldy, deteriorating facilities.

Tour of Walter Reed- Video

Recovering at Walter Reed
Reporters Dana Priest and Anne V. Hull discuss their recent stories about Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Questioning the treatment of Iraqi veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center

Questioning the treatment of Iraqi veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center
DONNA TERESA Homefront Journal
Donna Teresa
When I wrote my January column, "Taking Care of Veterans," I had no expectations on the feedback I would receive. The e-mails I received from veterans was overwhelming.
A few days ago, I received another e-mail from a veteran who sent me a copy of an article that was written by Dana Priest and Anne Hull from The Washington Post called "Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration at Army's Top Medical Facility."

Who supports the troops?

Who supports the troops?
American soldiers wounded in Iraq have been living in a flop house on the grounds of the Army's most prestigious hospital. As they languish in a building with holes in the ceiling and mold on the walls, the broken and maimed veterans are harassed by bureaucracy and tangled in red tape.The Army was doing nothing about it until Washington Post reporters interviewed patients and their families and documented the appalling condition of their quarters at Walter Reed.Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the building is being fixed as quickly as possible and that whoever is found responsible will be "held accountable," whatever that might mean.So far, none of the officers in charge has been demoted or removed from command. As Gates's predecessor might have explained, you go to war with the hospitals you have. And the hospitals you don't.

Donnelly forms veterans board

Donnelly forms veterans board
Says he will seek Walter Reed probe.
JAMES WENSITS
Tribune Political Writer
SOUTH BEND -- U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-2nd, said Monday he hopes to help launch investigations into poor physical conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center when he returns to Washington today.Donnelly also announced that a proposed veterans clinic in Elkhart County could open as early as next year

Troops deserve better

Troops deserve better
Army must focus on repairing systems
Article Launched: 02/27/2007 06:41:55 AM PST

The U.S. Army thankfully has responded quickly to reports that war-time outpatient facilities at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center are in disrepair, with bad plumbing, mold problems and rodents crawling around.
Such conditions are unfit for U.S. troops who must convalesce there after being seriously wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan. Some 700 soldiers housed in the deteriorating outpatient building suffer from severed arms and legs, broken necks and backs, organ damage and brain injuries.
Now the military needs to fix the bureaucratic mess that has left many recuperating troops scrounging for disability benefits.

Tammy Duckworth- Video

Iraq vet on shoddy hospital care
Feb. 20: “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann talks to Maj. Tammy Duckworth, who lost both of her legs in combat in Iraq, about the treatment of veterans.