black…MYstory

It appears that the mess that was seen at the Walter Reed Army Hospital (see here, here and here) was not unique. The horrible conditions under which some soldiers were (ware)housed, has some looking at veterans’ care with a new sense of scrutiny.

The latest news on this is that the Pentagon is now investigating a veterans’ home in northwest Washington, DC. This comes as a result of a report issued by the Government Accountability Office, which highlighted some alarming conditions at the Armed Forces Retirement Home.

In the report, the GAO stated that residents of the homes were admitted to Walter Reed with “serious pressure wounds” and, in one instance, a patient was admitted with maggots — yes, maggots — in a wound.

The chief operating officer of the facility, Timothy Cox, takes exception to the report indicating that the patients of his facility “may be at risk” and called the claims of the report “without merit”, labeling them as “inflammatory allegations.”

But, then, he basically confirms these allegations:

During a tour of the home yesterday, Cox confirmed that a resident had been found in August with maggots in a leg wound. Cox said the man was “noncompliant and combative,” and did not want his dressing changed.

Cox said the dressing should have been changed anyway. Eight employees were eventually fired because of the incident, he said. The man, who was 87, later died of causes unrelated to the wound. “It was an isolated incident,” Cox said.

Cox said the reports of human waste in the rooms may have stemmed from an outbreak in February of highly contagious norovirus, which infected more than 100 residents. “When you’re sick with vomiting and diarrhea, sometime you miss the john,” he said.

But, this is probably most telling:

Cox was hired from private industry in 2002 to bring down costs. In the past three years, the workforce has been cut from 736 to 447, and the operating budget has been reduced from $76 million to $54.7 million, according to figures provided by the home. The maintenance staff has shrunk from 127 to nine, despite a rising population, according to the senators’ letter.

So, once again, veterans get the short end of the stick. This is just one more example of the lack of Congressional oversight that has been typical during Bush’s tenure. I shudder to think of what else will come out in regards to veterans’ care.

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