Defense Secretary Robert Gates sent a medical team to a historic veterans’ retirement home in Northwest Washington to investigate an increase in deaths and allegations of blood- and feces-spattered rooms.
The allegations come on the heels of reports of poor living conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a scandal that has led to the ouster of three high-ranking Army officials.
The latest allegations involve health care conditions at the Armed Forces Retirement Home, also known as the Soldiers’ Home, a 272-acre historical landmark that housed President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.
Now, there are 1,100 veterans call it home.
Gates this week ordered the investigation after the Government Accountability Office reported that health care workers found maggots crawling in the leg wound of an 87-year-old veteran and residents hospitalized with pressure sores from inadequate care.
“My view is shine light on all these things,” Gates said Thursday. The inspector general and congressional staffers are visiting today.
Timothy Cox, chief operating officer for the retirement home at 3700 N. Capitol St. NW, said in a statement that “the allegations are without merit.”
Cox said the home fired eight health care workers in August after the medical staff discovered a maggot in the patient’s leg wound.
He said the home has problems that are consistent with a large nursing home environment.
Half of the who live on the campus are over the age of 80, and many are frail and suffer from chronic health conditions, Cox said.
The campus is located just minutes from the White House and U.S. Capitol.
The home was opened in 1851 and has housed four U.S. presidents. Four of the original buildings still stand and are listed as national historic landmarks.
Examiner Staff Writer Rowan Scarborough contributed to this report.
