{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-demands-defense-department-reverse-reported-downgrading-of-missouri-army-hospital/", "Hawley Demands Defense Department Reverse Reported Downgrading of Missouri Army Hospital", "2024-12-10", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Senator Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin regarding reports that the Defense Health Agency may downgrade the General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital to a clinic.\n\n\u201cThe planned downgrade of the newly built hospital at Fort Leonard Wood is an insult to service members, their families, and rural Missourians in the area. Eliminating a hospital at a major Army training center is frankly shocking,\u201d Senator Hawley wrote. \u201cHow does DoD expect to conduct any training, including Basic Combat Training and the various advanced schools at Ft. Leonard Wood, if the nearest emergency room is over 40 miles away?\u201d\n\nThe Senator also outlined the safety factors, economic impact, logistical impositions, and burden to taxpayers that downgrading the hospital would cause and called on the Department of Defense to immediately reverse course.\n\nRead the full letter here or below.\n\nHonorable Lloyd J. Austin III\n\nSecretary of Defense\n\nU.S. Department of Defense\n\n1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, D.C. 20301\n\nDear Secretary Austin,\n\nDecember 9, 2024\n\nI write with great concern over reports that the Defense Health Agency (DHA) is considering downgrading the General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital to a clinic. The Department of Defense (DoD) should immediately reverse course and ensure that Fort Leonard Wood keeps its hospital.\n\nThe planned downgrade of the newly built hospital at Fort Leonard Wood is an insult to service members, their families, and rural Missourians in the area. Eliminating a hospital at a major Army training center is frankly shocking. How does DoD expect to conduct any training, including Basic Combat Training and the various advanced schools at Ft. Leonard Wood, if the nearest emergency room is over 40 miles away?\n\nThe DHA frames the pending decision as a cost saving measure, but the decision would only shift expenses onto Fort Leonard Wood officials and service members. Any injuries at Fort Leonard Wood requiring more than outpatient services would require significant transit to reach a hospital, using limited manhours at the expense of military readiness.\n\nFort Leonard Wood\u2019s hospital has also served the nearby community for decades, providing service members and their families with necessary care. Eliminating the hospital would place enormous burdens on service members. For instance, instead of receiving local treatment, wives of service members would now have to travel long distances to receive obstetric care. Fort Leonard Wood\u2019s hospital also serves nearby Missourians, who would have to travel hours otherwise to receive emergency treatment.\n\nTaxpayers, too, should be outraged by DHA\u2019s decision making. Fort Leonard Wood\u2019s newly built hospital is scheduled to open in early 2025. For years, DHA has been onboard with upgrading Fort Leonard Wood\u2019s medical facilities. But after $400 million in taxpayer dollars, DHA suddenly wants to end the hospital\u2019s most critical functions.\n\nI demand that you immediately end any planned actions to downgrade Fort Leonard Wood\u2019s hospital into a clinic. Please also provide my office with a full explanation as to why DHA did not inform Fort Leonard Wood and Congressional officials sooner about such a drastic decision.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-demands-defense-department-reverse-reported-downgrading-of-missouri-army-hospital/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9214780293405056, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}