Troop Talk
The following questions
came from E Btry., 3-2 ADA following a run I had with them July 8.
Several Soldiers expressed concern about WBAMC regarding incidents of
poor customer service, long wait time at the ER (six to eight hours),
and inability to get medical appointments for several days. It appeared
to one Soldier that the hospital was understaffed and there were simply
not enough doctors to handle the workload. What can be done to improve
the customer service and decrease the ER and appointment waiting times?
If the hospital is understaffed now, what will happen when the population
of the post expands? Will the hospital be able to hire additional doctors,
nurses, etc? Patients should be aware that they are not seen in order
of arrival, but in order of urgency. Patients are triaged on arrival
into one of five categories. Priority I is the most serious. It
is serious danger to life, limb or sight and the patient needs immediate
attention. Priority II is urgent care. Priority III is delayed
care. All patients in these three categories will be seen before
other patients who present to the ED. Patients without an emergency
do increase wait times for others because we have to determine if there
is an emergency. Additionally, most soldiers who present to the
ED should more approximately be seen at sick call. The use of
the ED for routine appointments is the largest contributor to long wait
times in the ED. Soldiers should check with their units to determine
the sick call screening and referral to the Soldier and Family Medical
Clinic. As an additional benefit WBAMC has a Tel-A-Nurse line,
569-4444, that is staffed by registered nurses to answer your healthcare
questions. These nurses use protocols approved by WBAMC physicians
and can offer medical advice on hundreds of routine medical topics. If
you have other concerns, call 569-2692
Are there any opportunities at Fort Bliss to conduct urban combat training?
Improvised Explosive Device, mini-MOUT site training, and EST 2000 (weapon
simulators) and 88M simulated training is being conducted by 6th Bde
and available to units on post.
Several Soldiers had complaints about the length of time that it took
to get housing work orders completed. One Soldier claimed that he was
told that he would have to wait three weeks for an exterminator to come
to his quarters and another Soldier had a plumbing problem that was
still not fixed after three attempts. Is the housing service going to
improve when GMH takes over? As of July 1, GMH assume the responsibility
for upkeep, repair, renovations, restoration of historical homes and
the building of new homes. They are now responding to routine work orders
in 48 hours, so this is a marked improvement over the services a resident
has experienced in the past.
What can be done to improve the flow of traffic, particularly at Remagen
Gate, both prior to the start of PT and immediately following PT? Soldiers
remarked that sometimes the gate guards move the traffic cones to allow
for increased flow into post prior to PT and then move the cones again
to allow increased flow off post following PT. This measure helps traffic
flow significantly but it is not done on a consistent basis. The traffic
pattern at Remagen Gate is adjusted from 5 to 8 a.m. to facilitate the
traffic flow entering the installation during PT hours. This allows
for two lanes of inbound traffic and one lane of outbound traffic. After
PT hours, the lanes are readjusted by moving the traffic cones back
from 8 to 11 a.m. which will allow for two lanes of outbound traffic.
This movement of traffic cones will be done on a consistent basis and
monitored by the Provost Marshal’s office.
Will 31st Brigade move to Fort Sill as a result of the BRAC recommendations?
The Soldier that asked this question was concerned with having to move
his family to Fort Sill after just recently moving to Fort Bliss. Other
Soldiers were concerned because they owned houses and wanted to know,
if and when they have to move? Any brigade moves, will not be decided
until late this year or early next year.
Brig. Gen. Robert P. Lennox
Fort Bliss Commanding General