Letters To The Editor

Thu., June 18, 1998

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Yes, please, just job-train our young

As a CEO, I strongly support expansion of the business-intensive programs being offered in our public schools. Corporate America needs trained workers. (It also increases profit margins and CEO bonuses when taxpayers cover the cost of training our personnel.)

Students, otherwise, may develop thinking skills, rather than just the work techniques we require. Corporate America would then have to explain why wage earners have seen almost no inflation-adjusted wage increases during the 18 years of Reaganomics, while the CEOs have averaged 15 percent yearly. This would be difficult, seeing as American workers have vastly increased their productivity.

Wage earners should be happy with the 4 percent increase we finally gave them last year. We CEOs are so proud of this generous act, we’ve given ourselves a 35 percent raise. (I just love prosperity.)

If Americans begin to see past the simplified 10-second media sound bites, they might even wonder why the first fiscal action the Republicans made after taking control of Congress was a capital gains tax break, where 9 out of every 10 dollars went to the wealthiest 1 percent of the population. That 1 percent is corporate America and we deserve those dollars because we paid for them with political contributions.

We also certainly don’t want the average person to wonder why those in the richest 1 percent now own 42 percent of the total wealth of this nation and why that percentage is rising.

Now, if we could only come up with a scheme to make those unions clam up. How does “payroll protection” sound? Vern P. Stevens Moscow, Idaho

HIGHER EDUCATION

CEO selection process mysterious indeed

Community Colleges of Spokane trustee Roberta Greene’s letter (June 4) gave your reporter, Grayden Jones, an F for his article that, gasp, included criticism of candidates for CEO of the community colleges.

We agree. He deserved an F.

Perhaps he wasn’t the only one. Some of our colleagues think Rex Hollowell, who gave the two CEO candidates a C-minus and a D, committed grade inflation.

Others think the candidates, who spent the day waxing vaguely on world-class this or that, were marvelous dressers and nice guys who ought to get an A in dress or niceness in the face of harsh and cruel questions from a nasty person who doesn’t give one whit for public relations or the tender feelings of the poor, beleaguered candidates. Some accuse Greene of being disingenuous, since the search committee has reopened the process - an act that could be viewed as a slap in the face for the candidates who put up with Hollowell’s searing interrogation.

Could it be there are two processes at work: the public process wherein the candidates are trotted about, trying their best to avoid drooling in public, so to speak; and the private process? God knows what goes on there.

Greene probably does and it might be helpful if she would be more revealing about that private process.

Jones may deserve an F for not getting the full story, but what grade should Greene and others in the know receive for not giving the full story? Pete Q. Wyman and Mark E. Doerr Spokane

WSU too costly? Consider alternative

“Where are the affordable colleges?” asks Shanna Klingberg in a June 9 letter. She states her daughter just completed her first year at Washington State University, at a cost of over $13,000. This includes $500 per month for rent at a WSU dorm.

Here is some good news. Tuition is lower at Eastern Washington University than it is at WSU. Also, if you live in Spokane it’s an easy commute to EWU at Cheney, thus saving the dorm cost.

The quality of undergraduate education is probably better at EWU than it is at WSU.

During the summer, check out EWU for a more affordable college education. Greg J. Works Spokane

APPRECIATION

‘Jerry’s kids’ say thanks

All of “Jerry’s kids” in the Inland Northwest join me in thanking everyone for the tremendous reception you gave the Harley-Davidson 95th Anniversary Reunion Ride when it passed through Spokane on June 3.

The motorcycle riders, part of a nationwide force of some 100,000 people, raised more than $1.5 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and I’m proud to say that Spokane did its part. Your support means help to your neighbors affected by 40 different neuromuscular diseases, through research, MDA clinics, support groups, summer camp and more.

Thanks for being such great friends. Jana L. Worthington, district director Muscular Dystrophy Association, Spokane

HEALTH CARE

Medicare ‘reform’ really a benefit cut

One provision in last year’s Balanced Budget Act has the potential to harm senior citizens who rely on Medicare for their health care needs.

Last year, Congress changed Medicare by imposing arbitrary annual limits of $1,500 for outpatient rehabilitation services. This includes a $1,500 cap on occupational therapy and a $1,500 cap on physical therapy and speech-language-pathology combined.

This so-called Medicare reform that Congress claimed credit for last year is in reality a Medicare benefit reduction.

How could this affect everyday Americans like you and me? Let’s say your mom is frail and is being treated for cancer in a hospital. After she is stabilized, she is transferred to a skilled nursing facility where she will receive cancer treatment and chemotherapy. If her treatment goes beyond her Medicare Part A allotment of 100 days, she will likely rely on her Medicare Part B to cover certain costs. One of these costs would be physical therapy, to build muscle strength during the arduous chemotherapy, and speech-language-pathology services, to aid with swallowing difficulty.

Depending on her recovery ability, she could require more than $3,000 in different therapies. For certain common illnesses of the elderly, rehabilitation needs can be two and three times that amount. But Congress has just told you Medicare is going to quit paying after $1,500. What are you going to tell your mother?

Now, it’s time for our senators and Congress members to muster the courage to go back and fix their mistake.

This benefit cut goes into effect on Jan. 1, 1999. Kelly Rhoads Spokane

Free market not a fair or kindly healer

Re: “Health care belongs in free market” (Letters, June 16).

By calling health care a want instead of a need, John Hodde implies that it is a luxury instead of a necessity. Is health care a luxury when a person has a heart attack?

People in greatest need (not want) of health care are often too ill to work to earn money. As far as the free market is concerned, these people should drop dead and be forgotten. The so-called free market works well for people who have money but not so well for those who don’t. Americans are more polarized by money than anything else.

Basic health care is a human right that should not be denied because of money. A truly free country is not free when basic human rights are denied to some of its people. Alan J. Gnehm Spokane

Doctor, nurse are capable, caring

In its simple-minded attempt to report on the recent malpractice suit award (“$7.3 million awarded in malpractice suit,” June 13), The Spokesman-Review did a disservice to the tragedy that befell three people on the day of Nancy Hogan’s operation.

Our sympathy, of course, first must go to Hogan, who has suffered irreparable damage. I am sure she would gladly exchange the money to get her health back. But as a fellow anesthetist and human being who must daily labor under the fear that a mistake on my part will permanently harm the patient I am sworn to protect, I also feel tremendous sympathy for Beth Naser, CRNA, and Dr. Stuart Fealk, two kind and caring people who have provided many years of safe and life-preserving service to the people of the Inland Northwest.

Fealk, at my request, gave an emergency anesthetic to my own daughter, and I would not hesitate to have him do it again.

Naser and I have often worked side by side, and I have witnessed firsthand her care and concern for her patients. She, too, is on the short list of people I would gladly see give an anesthetic to me or my family.

My heart goes out to all those involved in this terrible ordeal. I hope that Naser and Fealk will also be able to heal and that they will continue to provide the high quality care for which they are known. Dan C. Simonson, CRNA Spokane

Column sheds light on mental illness

Doug’s Clark’s enlightening column on mental illness (“Woman bags more than a full-time job,” June 11) and Vicky Lamont’s achievement as employee of the year for Yoke’s was, hopefully, an eye-opener for those who don’t understand mental illness.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in January. My symptoms were compulsive behavior, paranoia and impaired judgment. It was extremely difficult for me to finally acknowledge that something was wrong with me until I had a psychotic break and was hospitalized for the second time.

For those of us who know someone who may have a mental illness or who has been diagnosed with one, please don’t turn away. Try not to be afraid. It is with the loving support of family, friends, doctors, employers and co-workers (if we’re fortunate enough to have a job), as well as medication, that allows us to get better. I was blessed because I had that kind of support.

Think about mental illness this way. If your leg is broken, you go to the doctor. If your mind is off kilter, hopefully, you will recognize this and seek help. If someone you know recognizes it, please listen.

I didn’t listen; I didn’t want to believe I had a problem and I suffered unnecessarily.

My medication is allowing me to function normally. Now, if only insurance companies would recognize mental illness on the same level as physical illness and would compensate equally, I would say we have made progress.

Congratulations to Yoke’s for giving Lamont a chance. Perhaps after reading Clark’s column, other employers will follow Yoke’s fine example. Anita L. Oliver Spokane

Bulimia rooted in emotional ills

Re: Kathleen Brown’s June 8 column; specifically, her question and answer about bulimia and response to a 30-year-old mother of three. Brown says Bulimia is a medical problem and that eating disorders are a complex combination of genetic characteristics and neurophysiological dysfunction. That all sounds very officious but, unfortunately, it’s just not true.

Eating disorders come from emotional problems and are not a medical problem to begin with. They can eventually turn into a medical problem and will then need to be treated not only with medication but also with counseling.

This is another example of medicalizing emotional problems, which leads to the bulimic person believing they have no choice in this problem. Since they have no choice about it, it’s just the luck of the draw. You either have bad genetics or a bad brain, or you don’t.

This is a very scary way to define problems like this. People need to be responsible for their behavior and they need to know that they have choices about what they do. Dick Silk Spokane

Pro-epidural article a disservice

Besides being blatantly pro-epidural, “The epidural option” (June 2) insults today’s young women as well as their mothers.

If you check it out thoroughly, you’ll find that many women are looking for options other than epidurals for pain control during labor. According to recent childbirth education publications, the swing is actually away from epidural anesthesia.

No childbirth educator I know would say something like the nurse quoted in the article. “These were women who were … geared to believing in their bodies and what their bodies were capable of doing” is used as a put-down of anyone who chooses to try something “less” than an epidural. She says that today’s woman “does not trust her own body to work efficiently.” Why should a woman trust her own body when she’s been brainwashed since birth to believe that without a Tylenol, life can’t go on? Articles like this continue to convince women they can’t do anything on their own.

I’ve been a certified childbirth educator for over 21 years. I’ve always encouraged women to explore all their options. You need more than an epidural to get through childbirth. You need knowledge of what’s happening and tools like a supportive partner, relaxation, breathing patterns, aroma therapy, warm showers or baths, position changes, massage, movement, medical staff supportive of your decisions and anything else (within reason) that makes you feel good. Then, if you need it, you can still choose the type of pain medication you want.

An honest article about how women deal with birth in Spokane would be appreciated! Carol Voogd A.S.P.O. certified childbirth educator, Spokane

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