Editorial: A time for urgency

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.

This week Pentagon officials announced their plans to rectify the substandard outpatient treatment that wounded American soldiers have received at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The Pentagon vows to provide more health screenings, simplify its disability claims system and reduce other red tape to make Walter Reed more efficient. Wounded soldiers cannot afford any more foot dragging.

Former Army Secretaries John O. "Jack" Marsh and Togo D. West, co-chairmen of an independent committee that blamed the hospital's many problems on neglect and lack of money from the Pentagon, told a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on Tuesday that the recommended changes at Walter Reed must be implemented quickly.

The advice from Marsh and West must be heeded. As we noted in a recent editorial, the hospital can expect to continue receiving a steady flow of soldiers who will return home with injuries from Iraq or Afghanistan. Given the surge of troops the Bush administration has ordered for Iraq, Walter Reed's workload isn't likely to decrease anytime soon.

Of all the subjects that deserve congressional oversight, it is hard to think of any more worthy of scrutiny by lawmakers than the level of health care provided to wounded American soldiers. These men and women put their lives on the line to defend the country. At the very least they are owed the finest health care available.

Congress must do its part by providing oversight to ensure that the care delivered by the hospital does not backslide to the deplorable levels of the past.

Ideally, the Pentagon should deliver to Congress periodic reports that will show measurable improvements in outpatient care. Walter Reed should come to symbolize the best in health care.