Decreasing Disability Processing Days for Soldiers in the U.S. Army Through Initiatives in Human Resource Management Support Systems: A Two-Tiered, Three Year Evaluation

Bernard Kerr, Jr., Nicholas Coppola, Mark Diana

This essay highlights the findings of a two tiered, three year evaluation. The first tier studied human resource and quality management initiatives at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) Washington, DC from 1992-1994. The second tier researched disability records through the United States Army Physical Disability Agency, Bethesda, Maryland in 1996. The first tier found that Total Quality Management reduced the average length of stay (ALOS) and size of the disability population from 220 days and 240 disability cases to 65 days and 57 disability cases over 24 months. The second tier studied 8,301 soldiers whose disability records were processed in Fiscal Year 1996. The research shows only administrative variables affect ALOS. The authors recommend a program of disability case management and increasing emphasis on transition assistance programs to reduce ALOS in the PDES.

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