In news that triggered “$900 screwdriver” flashbacks, the U.S. government has contracted with General Dynamics to provide design and installation services for the nures call system at Bassett Army Community Hospital. The Army Corps of Engineers is building a new 43 bed hospital at Bassett to replace the existing structure. For those interested in savoring the absurdity, that's over $25,000 per bed for design, cabling, installation, and hardware.

Certainly someone at General Dynamics is more interested in publicizing new contracts than ensuring they cast General Dynamics (and the Army) in a good light. There must be more to this than a simple nurse call system.