Emerson joins call for better vet care

New legislation requiring stricter oversight of military medical facilities and swifter action to correct problems will be a good first step toward guaranteeing quality care for wounded soldiers, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said Wednesday.

But those steps won't be enough, Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, said as she announced she is the first Republican to join Democrats in sponsoring the proposal. Additional work to ensure good care through the Department of Veterans Affairs will also be needed to provide for the thousands of young men and women wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, she said.

"There is no excuse that anybody who has been injured on the battlefield to receive substandard care," Emerson said in a news conference conducted by telephone from her Washington office. The legislation Emerson endorsed Wednesday is similar to a bill introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Emerson was reacting to a series of articles in the Washington Post depicting squalid housing conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. The series detailed infestations of bugs and rodents, rotting floors and ceilings, and molding walls. The series also depicted examples of inadequate care, including soldiers recovering from head wounds who waited weeks for treatment.

The dormitory described in the article held soldiers who had recovered enough to live outside the hospital but still required extensive outpatient treatment and, at times, psychological counseling.

"I have never been as disgusted as I have been over what has been uncovered at Walter Reed," Emerson said. "It is very sad that things had to wait this long for things to be dealt with."

Since the series was printed, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has sacked the secretary of the army and the general who was in charge of the hospital. But Emerson said the army's surgeon general, Gen. Kevin Kiley, should also resign. "He needs to go," she said.

In addition, both the House and Senate have held a series of hearings. President George W. Bush has appointed a commission headed by former Sen. Bob Dole, a World War II veteran with a paralyzed arm, and Donna Shalala, a former secretary of Heath and Human Services, to study care for soldiers.

The veterans health system run by the VA is also in danger of being overwhelmed, Emerson said. She recalled several encounters she has had with returning veterans who said they have endured lengthy waits for care. "People are waiting far too long," she said. "It is like pulling teeth sometimes."

The system isn't completely broken. Emerson said. Doctors, nurses and others in the VA system are "caring, compassionate caregivers." But legislation to streamline the bureaucracy and to help families that must care for wounded soldiers will improve matters, she said.

At the Cape Girardeau VA clinic, doctors and nurses handled 15,300 patient visits in 2006, said Chuck Hayden, public affairs officer for the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo. If returning veterans are having problems, Hayden said. "they haven't made us aware of it."

The Poplar Bluff facility, which is in charge of the Cape Girardeau clinic as well as two others in Missouri and one in Arkansas, has received generally good marks on reports from the VA's Office of Health Inspections.

"We do have systems in place for people who are not satisfied with their care," Hayden said. "We can help them, explain what the issue is or why we may not be able to provide a particular service."

At the Cape Girardeau clinic Wednesday, Vietnam veteran Gregory Ruff said he's generally satisfied with his care. The local clinic is one of the better ones he has used, Ruff said. "This is the best time I have had," he said. "I haven't found anything wrong. They take their appointments on time, and the doctors answer questions."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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