SAN ANTONIO (AP) - President Bush paid an emotional visit Thursday to soldiers maimed or badly burned in combat and said his administration is determined to mend the nation's system of caring for veterans. Medical advances provide troops with treatment unimaginable just a decade ago, but the system for managing that care has lagged, Bush said."Our system needs to be modernized," the president said after touring a new $45 million, privately funded rehabilitation center for veterans at Brooke Army Medical Center. "We have an outdated system that can bog down some of those recovering in a maze of bureaucracy and that's what happened at Walter Reed," he said, referring to the Army medical center in Washington, D.C.
Bush's visit to Brooke comes amid scrutiny of veterans' care and discontent among returning troops after extended tours in Iraq. The president said his administration had put in place recommendations of the commission he created after reports about substandard outpatient treatment at Walter Reed. He urged Congress to act on others that require legislation. "There were serious problems (at Walter Reed) caused by bureaucratic delays and administration failures, and that is unacceptable," Bush said. 'It's unacceptable to me as the commander in chief, it's unacceptable to the families of those who deserve the best care and it's unacceptable to the American people."
The administration recently announced it would hire workers to individually guide seriously wounded soldiers and their families through their recuperation. An agreement signed by the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department creates coordinators to oversee the medical care between the agencies. The first 10 coordinators, scheduled to be hired by Dec. 1, will work at Walter Reed; the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.; Brooke; and Balboa Park Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
According to the White House:
_Work is under way to set up a single disability exam to replace ones now required from both the VA and Defense Department.
_A new center for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury has hired its first workers and moved into temporary offices near Bethesda.
_A single Web site is in development to allow members of the military to track their medical recovery.
_A new regulation to update the disability schedule for traumatic brain injury and burns will be ready soon for public comment.
The VA will begin two reviews that will help provide the information necessary to modernize veterans' disability system, Bush said.