Contract Flap Led to Shortages at Walter Reed

AP ^ | 03/18/2007 | Donna Borak

[ArmstedFragg]

An Army contract to privatize maintenance at Walter Reed Medical Center was delayed more than three years amid bureaucratic bickering and legal squabbles that led to staff shortages and a hospital in disarray

[ArmstedFragg]

Darned if it didn't all start with Clinton's plan to privatize. And there's an interesting point last year when Congressional Democrats stalled the process for a couple of months.

[america-rules]

The hospital isn't in disarray.

Darn reporters suck !

The whole scandel is about a section (Building 18) that they opened that was an old building and not repaired before they opened it back up.

The entire hospital isn't a big heap of junk just this one old building !

[pacpam]

It's about a bureaucratic nightmare that is all too typical. This time it adversely affected those least able to live with 'bureaucracy normal'. It will be fixed, maybe right this time.

[politicalwit]

Did you catch this tidbit?

In August 2006, led by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., lawmakers asked then-Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey to hold off on the contract until Congress finished work on the fiscal 2007 defense appropriations bill. Congress approved that bill Sept. 29.

[ArmstedFragg]

Yeah. I found that the most interesting part, and began to wonder whether a close examination would find there's a setup involved here.

[CutePuppy]

Here's more info on IAP Worldwide :

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/03/walter_reed_dis.html?cid=iwkPrintURL

Remember when Congress wanted to shutdown Walter Reed and transfer everything to another facility months ago - a lot of personnel left then and old facilities became understaffed, particularly outpatient's.

Check out Sonny's comment - he points out real problem :

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"Sonny | Posted on 3/07/2007 11:17 AM EST | Permalink |

The problem at Walter Reed has nothing to do with outsourcing to KBR. It is a misconception to think that a support service contractor can bill the government for the total amount of the contract and keep the money without providing any service. Most Government contractors can bill only for the work they perform on service and support contracts. Keep in mind that none of the professional services at Walter Reed were outsourced to KBR.

However, a large number of the professional medical staff had already left Walter Reed when the government informed them that the facility was to be shut down and that they would have to find other places to work. In fact many of them moved to the Naval Hospital in Bethesda to keep their service and pensions intact. To my understanding, none of the soldiers were affected by the services the medical staff provided, although they were understaffed.

The problem lies with the Government, Congress in particular. They were the ones who wanted to shut down Walter Reed and move some of the professional staff and equipment to the Naval Hospital. They now are just putting on a show to make gullible people think that it is the army's fault for not looking after its own soldiers. Congress should be faulted for cutting off funding to not just Walter Reed but other medical facilities around the country that serve our armed forces, especially for the VA hospitals. Why do some politicians and administration officials use the Naval Hospital, when it is meant specifically for the armed forces? We need to call our congressmen and senators and ask them to ensure that our soldiers and veterans are provided with the best medical care. The problems at Walter Reed simply mirror the problems at all veteran and defense medical facilities."

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[CutePuppy]

Another informative post from : http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/03/walter_reed_dis.html?cid=iwkPrintURL :

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Mike S | Posted on 3/12/2007 17:03 PM EDT | Permalink |

I read these blogs on Walter Reed and am amazed as to how ignorant the bloggers are to what really happened and the misstatement of facts. IAP only started on the contract last month - not last year. Due to numerous protests and then Congressional intervention, the start was delayed many times. So, all of those who speak of IAP's greed and mismanagement, please learn the facts. Also contributing to the mess, was the Congressionally-imposed BRAC of Walter Reed, which resulted in many fine employees leaving the facility. Being a former Federal employee, I know how this situation could play on their minds and long-term employment status. Another factor is that the outsourcing competition was based on pre-war statistics, which were never changed. So, please learn the facts before you jump on a bandwagon and condemn a vendor who was never part of the problem.

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[TxCopper]

Wasn't it the BRAC protocol that advanced the closure of Walter Reed to begin with?

[ArmstedFragg]

Yep. (See post 6)

Once again, it appears we have a situation where the predominate effort is find something to blame on the Administration and the Dems and their lap-dog* media buddies are doing everything in their power to hide the facts from the public.


*my apologies to lap dogs everywhere.

[CutePuppy]

" *my apologies to lap dogs everywhere. "

Accepted :~)

Do you think that someone should send the information on this thread to Rush, so he can cover it nationwide. Congresscritters listen to Rush. This can turn the tables on Democrats.