Health care issues raised at Fort Campbell

Health care issues raised at Fort Campbell

By Kristin M. Hall - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 6, 2009 15:10:21 EDT

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Medical officials at Fort Campbell say they are working to improve access to health care for soldiers and their families and to address complaints about driving long distances to get treatment.

The Army’s medical leaders are trying to balance the needs of a rising number of injured soldiers returning from war with the capacity of doctors and staff at their military hospitals. At Fort Campbell, many units have completed third and fourth tours and the installation has hundreds of soldiers assigned to its wounded warrior unit.

During meetings at Fort Campbell this week, hospital staff and representatives from the Army and Tricare, the military health insurance program, took questions from family members and soldiers.

“We have problems with access,” said Col. Kenneth Canestrini, who works for the Army surgeon general’s office overseeing the Tricare program. “The U.S. Army recognizes that. It’s a fluid environment and we are working on it.”

One complaint from military members and their families was that sometimes they had to drive long distances away from the installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee state line to get certain treatment, officials said.
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Health care issues raised at Fort Campbell