President Bush ordered a review of all U.S. military and veterans hospitals on Tuesday following testimony about unsanitary conditions and bureaucratic red tape that has hindered treatment of soldiers returning from Iraq. Bush tapped former Sen. Bob Dole and Donna Shalala, the former Health and Human Services Department secretary, to head a bipartisan panel to review the hospitals and complaints from veterans and active-duty military personnel.
The president ordered the probe into allegations of shabby treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and to determine whether similar conditions exist at other hospitals. “I am as concerned as you are about the conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center,” Bush told an American Legion conference. “It's unacceptable to me, it's unacceptable to you, it's unacceptable to our country, and it's not going to continue.”
The announcement comes as Congress continues its probe into conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center following Washington Post reports that detailed lack of maintenance in hospital rooms and poor handling of patients. A comprehensive review of all military and veterans' hospitals would be undertaken to improve service to combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as treatment of those who served in the armed services, Bush said. |