Gen. Michael S. Tucker, deputy commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, spoke to several future sergeants major at the U. S. Army Sergeants Major Academy on Biggs Army Airfield Sept. 26. Tucker has been in the Army for the last 35 years and is tasked with formulating and implementing the Army Medical Action Plan. Photo credit: Daniela Vestal.
Walter Reed CG speaks
Tucker discusses hospital problems, solutions with USASMA students
Gen. Michael S. Tucker, deputy commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, is tasked with cleaning up the mess at Walter Reed.
He spoke to several future sergeants major at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy on Biggs Army Airfield Sept. 26 to let them know what has been done, what will be done, and what they can do to help.
Tucker found 156 problems that he has set about fixing. He is about halfway through, with 19 pieces of legislation going through to Congress.
The problems at Walter Reed really began with the Army becoming a victim of its own success, he said. There are many more survivors today than there were in wars past. A Soldier with metal in his or her body has a 92 percent chance of survival compared with a 20 percent chance in World War II. The Army now has a more efficient evacuation system, better first aid kits, and every medic is also an emergency medical technician. All these factors helped contribute to an overflow of patients, he said. Before 9/11, Walter Reed had 120 patients; after the war in Iraq, that number rose to 739.
The buildings were allowed to run down and maintenance contracts expire because Walter Reed was planning a move to Bethesda, Md. Bldg. 18, where the Soldier-patients were once housed, was one big mold incubator, he said. That building has since been closed and the Soldiers now stay in the barracks that originally housed the hospital staff. They have flat-screen televisions, computers with Internet access, and are only 50 feet from the hospital.
Barracks are a top priority, Tucker said. Wounded Soldiers can now get government housing for their families and non-medical attendants. People heal better in a home environment, he said. Allowing families to get quarters also alleviates the stress of several family members living in a hotel room for months at a time. Monthly town hall meetings will be conducted for Soldiers and their families, and they will be attended by medical treatment facility commanders, Warrior Transition Unit commanders and the garrison commander.
All medical hold and medical holdover units have been consolidated into single WTUs. The job of these Soldiers is to get well, Tucker said. All wounded warriors will be put into a WTU regardless of how they came to be wounded. Only 13 to 18 percent of Soldiers are wounded in combat, Tucker said, which leaves 8,000 more wounded Soldiers requiring care.
Another top priority is the implementation of trained leaders for WTUs. The Soldiers who had been charged with leadership of these platoons never had any leadership training, said Tucker. Soldiers leading WTUs need to not only have leadership skills but additional skills to deal with the concerns of family members and the many non-routine problems that arise. They will now get three weeks of additional training, special duty pay of $225 and recognition in promotion boards, he said.
Wounded Soldiers are now able to choose where they would like to receive care, Tucker said. Once they have chosen a location, they will be met at the airport and escorted to their new unit. These Soldiers will be electronically tracked from their point of injury. Commanders and rear detachments will receive a letter telling them where their Soldier is within 24 hours of the Soldier being evacuated, and a promise that if a response is made it will be taken to the Soldier and read to them if they cannot read it for themselves. If the Soldier's command would like to visit, those visits will be facilitated.
Wounded Soldiers will receive priority for medical appointments over all others except Soldiers preparing to deploy. They have access to a 'myMEB' site where they can keep track of their medical process. They are now able to have a non-medical attendant who is not a family member, such as a fiance or childhood friend. Any awards the Soldiers is due will be given in a timely and ceremonial manner.
Issues surrounding family members and non-medical attendants were another problem requiring revamping.
"Everything was an exception to policy," said Tucker. "We took all those exceptions and made them policy."
Family members are now escorted from the airport to one location that contains everything they need, from finance to housing. No longer do they have to spend days wandering around trying to find military offices and communicate in Army acronyms they have no experience with, Tucker said.
A hotline has been set up for wounded Soldiers and their family members at (800) 984-8523.