Trying Some Disney Attitude to Help Cure Walter Reed

A video montage of Disney-related images, ranging from Mary Poppins to Pirates of the Caribbean to Hannah Montana, followed. It was meant to demonstrate the sheer expanse of the Disney empire.

Not everyone in the crowd looked impressed. "If you are skeptical right now, that's okay, I am with you," Donnelly said.

Lafferty, who was a Navy lawyer before she started a second career with Disney, led the audience in a discussion of similarities between Disney and the Army hospital. (Both are dedicated to "making people feel better"; both are "subject to media scrutiny"; both are named after famous people named Walter. )

The Walter Reed employees learned the Disney lexicon. Employees are called "cast members." Customers -- or patients -- are "guests."

Then it was on to what Lafferty called the "Disney difference": "You have to know and understand your guests."

Much of it involves paying attention to details that matter to patients and visitors, Lafferty noted. "If I go to the doctor's office and all the plants are dead, I don't have a good feeling," she said.

A wheelchair with frayed padding on the arm rests leaves a lasting impression, Donnelly said.

As a contrast to the irate Donald Duck, the trainers showed a slide of a beatific Snow White, holding a broom in a spic-and-span room and surrounded by happy animals. (Lesson: "You can't sweep it under the rug," Lafferty said.)

During breaks, some Walter Reed employees expressed surprise at the relevance of the training to their jobs.

"This is good," said Jan Yatsko, head nurse for vascular surgery at the hospital. "It's not what we expected."

Navy Lt. J.D. Garbrecht, a physical therapist who treats multi-trauma patients, said the seminar was a useful reminder of the need to combat the "one-size-fits-all" mentality that often pervades Walter Reed.

"The guys from the line units, they don't like it touchy-feeling, but the 65-year-old grandmother wants a different perspective," he said.

"It's a good thing that we desperately need at Walter Reed," said Dorothy Clinton, a nurse in the pulmonary and sleep section, where she helps patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries. "Everybody who works here at Walter Reed realizes that there are issues, and this is a good indication that the command recognizes that."

Late in the day, Donnelly gave some advice that seemed to resonate with his audience: "Get in a wheelchair and look at these processes through the shoes of your patient."

Staff writer Daniel LeDuc contributed to this report.