Kilmer Grills Military Health Leader Over Naval Hospital Bremerton Staffing Cuts
BREMERTON — Around 100 positions at Naval Hospital Bremerton have gone unfilled in the past year as the military overhauls its healthcare system, prompting alarm from U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.
The attrition at the hospital is part of a planned reduction of about 18,000 billets aimed at prioritizing military healthcare to those on the front lines of defense. But Kilmer argued at a House subcommittee on appropriations hearing May 25 that loss of staff at the Bremerton hospital will result in a reduction in care for military families and veterans.
"When hospital staff leave, either because they retire or move to another installation, their positions are no longer being filled," Kilmer said, adding later in an email to the Kitsap Sun:" We cannot sacrifice the health of our service members and veterans in the name of readiness."
Kilmer questioned Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director of the Defense Health Agency, about how the overhaul was proceeding. Place responded that the COVID-19 pandemic had "paused" the transition planning but that they are "revalidating" those plans and will publish a detailed report on them later this summer.
The military plans for families and veterans who use the hospital to seek care in the community or at other installations' hospitals if those services are available. If they aren't, Place said, his job will be to "not reduce it within what's happening on the installation."
Kilmer used the example of a service member or veteran having to travel from Kitsap County to Seattle for certain care they could not receive at Naval Hospital Bremerton.
"Unfortunately, this realignment has already impacted access to care for our service members, including our retirees, who have dedicated their lives to serving our country," he said.
Place acknowledged that in more rural areas, the "super sub-specialization" of health care meant that sometimes, patients must endure long commutes for treatment.
Naval Hospital Bremerton spokesman Douglas Stutz acknowledged that military budgets from 2017 to 2021 "contain a myriad of changes to the military health system, which impact manpower and personnel in support of readiness and healthcare delivery."
"Navy Medicine is working to mitigate healthcare delivery gaps, by working closely with TRICARE and our network partners," Stutz said of the military's insurance program.
"We are committed to ensuring all our beneficiaries maintaining access to safe, high-quality care, and we will communicate any changes to our beneficiaries once they are known," Stutz said.
The hospital did not say where cuts are being made. Kathryn M. Beasley, a retired Navy captain and a spokeswoman for the Military Officers Association of America, previously told the Kitsap Sun that the larger reductions would come in pediatrics, obstetrics and care viewed as specialties, including radiology and optometry, and in the pharmacy.
The 49-acre campus, which opened off Austin Drive in 1980, includes three satellite clinics at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor and Naval Station Everett. The hospital had a staff of about 1,400 in 2018.
By: Josh Farley
Source: Kitsap Sun