European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 11, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28  the stars and stripes wednesday april 11,1990don�?Tt slash medical staffs Gao urges from Page 1 Dod civilians now face Long waiting times for routine appointments and surgery and lengthy delays in obtaining Laboratory results at Many facilities. They  in which important services have been reduced or Are simply unavailable. Because of restricted Access to primary care Many patients with routine medical needs Jam emergency rooms reducing the efficiency of emergency care. Many patients also must travel Long distances to obtain needed care. The Gao visited six military hospitals and nine specially care areas overseas and interviewed about 200 medical providers. The visits were made last fall and Winter. The hospitals were the Lan Stuhl army regional medical Center the army Hospital at bad Cannstatt the air Force regional medical Center in Wiesbaden Navy hospitals in Naples Italy and Okinawa Japan and the air Force Hospital at Clark a in the Philippines. Service members and their families View Access to care As a major concern at All the facilities Baine told a House armed services subcommittee on March 29. The Gao found that medical officials believe there May be Many eligible people who need medical care but decide to forgo it. Inadequate staffing is the main cause of the problems the Gao found. A there Are simply too few physicians nurses physicians assistants and medical technicians As Well As administrative and clerical help to serve the number of people eligible for care overseas it said. The Gao said that although overseas hospitals May be staffed at or near their  Sample of the problems Here Are some of the Access to care problems found by the general accounting office a the number of intensive care Beds at lands nil army regional medical Center was reduced from 23 to 11 in june 1989 because of nursing shortages. A also at the lands nil Hospital complicated deliveries and most deliveries for women who Are normally served in outlying clinic areas Are referred to West German hospitals because of staffing shortages and the inexperience of physicians. No elective surgeries Are performed for these same reasons. None of the obstetrics and gynaecology departments physicians is Board certified and All the physicians Are within their first or second year of residency. A in August 1989, the Lan Stuhl Hospital sent a letter to 430 patients advising them that appointments with an ear nose and Throat specialist could not be scheduled and that they should seek care elsewhere or keep waiting. A an ear nose and Throat specialist at the air Force regional medical Cen Ter in Wiesbaden Aid the Jospi Tawas unable to provide this care beginning in july 1989 for several months be cause of staffing shortages. Previously the typical waiting time for an appointment in this specially was six months. Only one of the nine Well baby visits recommended by the american Academy of paediatrics for children up to age 2 was performed at the air Force medical Center in Wiesbaden from Early 1988 to the fall of 1989. Skin placed children at sign however one additional i significant risk. Paediatrician was assigned to the Hospital in late a Hospital physician said this Condi a Tildren at Lal ried to the nos Piu Well baby checks Are being performed at recommended intervals for infants through 18 months. A at the army Hospital in bad Cannstatt Eadi obstetrician was delivering about 25 babies a month exceed tag the Standard of 15 per month. A the number of Beds at the Naples Hospital was reduced from 109 to 26 because of an earthquake several years ago. The shortage of Beds has resulted in More patients being flown to West Germany for hospitalization or released Early from the Naples Hospital. Theorized Levels this does not reflect whether the number of personnel is adequate. A this is because authorized staffing Levels Are driven by factors other than the demand for health care services a factors such As budgetary constraints previous Levels of authorizations and a reluctance to authorize positions when personnel Are not available to fill them a Baine said. Other causes of poor Access to care in clude a Lack of diagnostic and other equip. Ment facility constraints and the Sieni i cant amount of time medical staff i spend on non medical duties 1t?e�?zga5 a Ohp not accurately measure the full extent of Access problems Beau e appointment waiting lists Are not always maintained at medical facilities and appointments Are not made for More than three weeks in Advance at some locations the Gao said. So none of the Navy air Force and army officers present Dunn the Gao testimony denied that the problems exist. Instead they gave examples of what is being done to solve the problems. For example air Force military medical strength is projected to increase by 1 622 during fiscal 1989 through 1991. While Overall military strength for the air Force will be reduced by about 41,000, said it Gen. Thomas Hickey Deputy chief of staff for personnel at air Force Headquarters in Washington. The army also is working to relieve its Access problems said it. Gen. Frank f. Ledford jr., the army a surgeon general. It is using $20 million that Congress approved for fiscal 1990 to improve ancillary support staffing and is prohibiting reductions in military medical personnel in fiscal 1990 and 1991. Vice adm. Jeremy m. Boorda Deputy chief of naval operations for manpower personnel and training said the Navy is trying to increase the number of its doctors and nurses through better recruitment and incentives. As of feb. 28, 1990, the Navy has appointed or has applications pending for 74 doctors compared with 56 for All of last year he  from Page 1 during presidential Rule in the Republic he said he would do so Only if the situation develops into civil conflict Tass reported. Gorbachev has ordered lithuanians to surrender their firearms and warned the Republic not to form Border patrols. Soviet troops have arrested some lithuanians who deserted the red army and they have also occupied several Public buildings in the Republic. However after a meeting last week Between lithuanian representatives and politburo member Alexander n. Yakovlev both sides made conciliatory statements. But on sunday lithuanians prevented hundreds of soviet soldiers from entering a Plant that prints pro Independence newspapers. Pro Moscow communists had ordered the Plant closed. The Republic also told its Young men who will be called up in the soviet draft this Spring that it is up to them whether they want to serve. In Moscow lawmakers opposing Lithuania a Independence drive asked Gorbachev to dissolve the lithuanian legislature and reiterated their demand for direct presidential Rule Over the  from Page 1 from Beirut where they had been dropped off at the French embassy by masked gunmen who arrived in cars with drawn curtains. They were met by jubilant relatives and French officials but made no Public statements. Hout Ekins said the four members of his family still held by the terrorist group were also Well. A they have morale. They Are holding firm a he said. A we expected our Freedom we knew it was coming one Day. The Day of our Freedom has arrived. For those who stay behind we keep  the two refused to discuss some subjects including the death of their second child in Captivity or their living conditions while they were hostages. A boy bom to Valente in Captivity in March 1989 died shortly after birth French government sources said. Because they were believed to have been held in Libya the Case is considered unrelated to the 18 westerners held hostage in Lebanon by pro iranian shiite moslem  from Page 1 $1.5 billion Telescope into orbit. A the universe has been around for a Long time a it will stay around for a couple of More Days a said John Holtz Man of the Lowell Observatory at Flagstaff Ariz. The countdown had gone without a hitch until shuttle commander Loren Shriver flipped a switch to Start the three Power units and one ran erratically. Nasa rules forbid a liftoff unless All three units operate perfectly. N. The Power unit will have to be removed from discovery while the shuttle is in upright launch position. In addition technicians will either have to remove the telescopes batteries and recharge them elsewhere or run equipment out to the pad to charge them. Shaver and his Crew of four had Lam on their backs in the shuttle Cabin for three hours when the launch attempt was called  from Page 1 have named military Sites they want closed or communities the military should vacate. Canada France the United states and West Germany have military installations in Baden Wiir Temberg. Most of the 60 facilities under study Are West German or american Eininger said. The list also includes five or six French installations but no Canadian Sites. The West German defense ministry has first refusal on any property from which the United states or France might withdraw and is the bargaining agent for All proposals involving a change in the use of military property. A we know very Well that we have no jurisdiction in this area a Eininger said adding that the state still insists on an Early role in planning withdrawals. Stephen t. Cochrane the . Forces Liaison officer for Baden Wiir Temberg said he is in almost daily Contact with state officials concerning the troop withdrawal. A this has been going on for months a he said. Cochrane also declined to discuss specific proposals. With 9.3 million people living in its 13,750 Square Miles Baden Wiir Temberg has about the same area and population As Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. The state is one of West Germany a most prosperous. About 77,000 . Troops civilian workers and their dependents lived in Baden Wiir Temberg in october 1988, the most recent period for which . Army Europe statistics Are available. The vast majority Are assigned to 150 army facilities that cover 41 Square Miles in the Northern half of the state mostly in Urban areas. The . Forces spent $1.3 billion in Baden Wiir Temberg in 1988, including $325 million to pay 12,500 non american employees. The total is dwindling slightly with the dissolution of the 56th Field arty come which has custody of Pershing ii missiles at Heilbronn and Mut Langen. The army already has proposed moving several Stuttgart based units to those Sites. Such transfers Are subject to West German Federal government approval. Cities that would Benefit most from a military withdrawal include Heilbronn Mannheim and Stuttgart which have numerous . Facilities and Freiburg Reutlinger and tub Ingen where French troops Are stationed Eininger  Stuttgart military Community consists of 33,Suu americans making it the largest . Con a the state. The crowded City is situated in a Vaizey ringed by Steep Hills so Good building Sites in oped areas Are scarce. For Liiv Eininger cited the Bobingen maintenance facility in suburban Bobingen As an example of . Facility inhibiting Industrial development. That Tion is located 5n the Large site of the old stun Airport wedged Between downtown Oblinge autobahn 831 interchange. Daimler Benz Large firms have plants in the nearby Industry military Community spokesman Ceorge said plans Are being made for possible troop als in the Stuttgart area. What a we do not know at this time we have w locations and what time Frame he said. Is in await the outcome of the cafe conventions Europe talks and anything beyond that a where local officials want to erect housing on in Airfield that the City claims is Seldom use Mannheim where the City is trying to land for the same reason