Senator Marshall Demands Defense Department Immediately Halt Proposal to Downgrade Kansas Military Hospitals

Washington D.C. - Today, in a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Health Agency (DHA), U.S. Senator Marshall, M.D. called for DHA to reconsider its proposal to downgrade hospitals at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth to acute care clinics.

"If actualized, these downgrades of the hospitals at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth would be devastating to the servicemembers, their family members, the veterans in the surrounding communities, and the tens of thousands of Kansans in the local areas who rely on these institutions," said Senator Marshall in his letter to DHA. "Combined, these hospitals service more than 75,000 individuals. At this point, it is unclear how the DHA and the Department of Defense will address shortages of care that will undoubtedly occur following this change."

The Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth hospitals are currently classified as emergency care centers and outpatient centers, respectively, providing valuable and necessary care to active-duty military personnel, their families, and veterans in each community and surrounding region.

Changes in the classification of these hospitals will substantially impact the Army's military readiness at a time of heightened tensions across the globe.

You can read the entire letter here or below.