The Army is launching a new hot line for wounded soldiers and family members, the Army announced Sunday.
The hot line, 1-800-984-8523, was expected to become operational on Monday at 7 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time, an Army news release says.
“The purpose of the hotline’s call center is twofold: to offer wounded and injured Soldiers and family members a way to seek help to resolve medical issues and to provide an information channel of Soldier medically related issues directly to senior Army leadership so they can improve how Army serves the medical needs of our Soldiers and their families,” the news release says.
In the news release, the Army acknowledges many wounded soldiers and families “are enduring hardships in navigating through our medical care system.”
Recently, the Washington Post exposed filthy conditions and bureaucracy facing wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The Post stories have caused an uproar that has led to the ouster of three prominent Army officials: Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley and Walter Reed commander Maj. Gen. George Weightman.
A recent Army Inspector General’s Office report also found several flaws in the Army’s system for determining the extent of soldiers’ disabilities and recommended the Army update its disability rating system to better reflect the extent of soldiers’ injuries.
The new hot line is one way the Army is trying to improve its system of caring for wounded soldiers, said Maj. Gen. Sean J. Byrne in the news release.
“We have designed this call center to be able to collectively hear what the Soldiers say about their health care issues, so as issues are raised, we can identify systemic faults or problematic areas and senior leaders can better allocate resources,” said Byrne, head of U.S. Army Human Resources Command. "
The hot line initially will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EDT and eventually will become operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the news release says.
