Letters To The Editor

HEALTH CARE

What we have points up what we need

I am fed up with hearing, “take away our fat profits and we will cut off your health care.” That is simple blackmail. Ours is the richest and most powerful nation on earth. Surely, we can afford adequate health care for all Americans.

Everyone knows that the profit-making health care industry puts profit first and health care second. “Researchers say that nonprofit HMOs offer better care” (July 14). Why do we put up with massive numbers of Americans with no health care? Why do we put up with second-rate health care for those who really need it?

Why do we put up with the advertising campaigns to scare us away from real national health care when we’ve got all the bad things they said real national health care would bring (no choice of doctors, skyrocketing costs and less access to health care)?

The profit-making health care industry and its Republican handmaidens have had their way long enough. They have proved only that they can make massive profits without improving anything. The time has come for the United States of America to join all of the rest of the developed nations and have a real national health care program. Allan N. deLaubenfels Spokane

Haves care little about have nots

It is certainly wishful thinking to expect that our representatives in Congress will somehow come to our aid in the health insurance dilemma. They and their staff members already have the finest insurance money can buy, and at very little cost to themselves.

Also, they certainly must appreciate the generous contributions they receive from the insurance companies. There just isn’t much incentive to help those who have less. Dick Behrens Grand Coulee

Going off the deep, cold, costly end

I’m puzzled by the approving and congratulatory tone of news reports about the recent medical airlift to the South Pole research station.

A civilian employee there, where the impossibility of evacuation before October is part of every job description, found a lump in her breast. Responding to this statistically insignificant discovery, our government mounted a massive airdrop involving at least two large aircraft, more than a score of military personnel and not one but two expensive diagnostic machines, along with redundant packages of related supplies and equipment.

Pre-mission reports emphasized the grave hazard to personnel and equipment, as well as the real possibility of failure, in an unprecedented nighttime operation at the coldest place on Earth.

Fortunately, the mission was successful. And we hope for equal success when the staff doctor attempts to evaluate the lump.

The news reports provided no estimate of cost but it was clearly in the tens of millions of dollars, besides the risk to which the crews and their aircraft were exposed, and the significant risk to station personnel who retrieved the airdrops.

Consider this lavish dedication of money, equipment, military hardware and personnel for the speculative benefit of a single patient and contrast that with the plight of clinics serving thousands of patients in rural and impoverished areas of the United States that struggle daily with inadequate equipment and supplies of every kind. Am I alone in thinking this a particularly grotesque example of misplaced priorities in the use of public resources? Robert Barcus Spokane

Center providing excellent care

I am responding to the July 15 article about Sacred Heart Medical Center selling part ownership of our outpatient surgery service to physicians.

The way the information was written, the citizens of Spokane and beyond probably think our present outpatient surgery service at SHMC is not efficient and that patients may not be receiving quality care. As the manager of this hospital-based outpatient service, I need to inform you that we certainly are providing top-notch, state-of-the-art, efficient, quality care to our patients.

Freestanding ambulatory surgery centers are being established throughout the United States to meet the challenges of declining reimbursement for outpatient surgeries. These new centers, with physician participation, have more opportunity to reduce costs by mandating standardization of equipment and supplies, developing simpler, more user-friendly system that require less time to implement by staff. They also tend to offer reduced salaries to the health care workers they employ. Some of these things cannot be accomplished in a hospital-based environment.

I am very proud of the staff in Day Surgery at SHMC. Working with architects and contractors, they planned and built this center from the ground up. With their technical skills, commitment to patient care and efficiency, we have been able to provide excellent care to many patients since 1994. If this center is sold and some of us move on to other positions, I will always be proud of the legacy of excellence in health care we left to Spokane. Linda M. Fithian Spokane

Clubhouse-type care excels

As a service provider involved with the mental health system, I am very concerned about the members of the Evergreen Club and the effect that its closure will have on their lives. And I am saddened when I think about the chronically mentally ill adults who in the future will never experience the benefits of clubhouse participation.

I have seen the positive impact the clubhouse has had on the quality of life of its members. In a safe, supportive environment, members are encouraged to improve their functioning through participating in work units, staying on medications, improving social skills. They’re given a chance to return to work and be productive.

The Evergreen Club and managed care share the common goals of providing quality service at a low cost. I ask that the decision to close the Evergreen Club be reconsidered and that a way found to continue providing the clubhouse model and a choice of recovery for mental health consumers in your community.

In the Tri-Cities, we value the service and support that Lourdes Wilson House, a clubhouse model, provides to our consumers. We work closely with it to find jobs and provide cost-effective services and outcomes. Diann L. Foster, case manager Lourdes Wilson House, Pasco

Evergreen Club too helpful to lose

It was with great concern and distress that I learned that the Evergreen Club is to be closed soon. The Spokane area has received great benefit over the many years Evergreen Club has served people with persistent and severe mental illnesses.

Evergreen Club members are actively pursuing ways to live productive lives, including participating in our society’s economy by working and paying taxes. There is enough compelling evidence of the effectiveness of the clubhouse model that there are similar programs all across the United States and around the world.

Some states, including Utah, have recognized clubhouses as preferred rehabilitation programs and give financial incentives to clubhouses that seek training and undergo review from the international certification body.

Evergreen Club is a leading clubhouse in this state. It has earned a three-year certification, the highest level that can be achieved. Loss of this clubhouse will leave many individuals without the social, vocational and educational supports that have been strong factors in their stability and success. In addition to these lost opportunities, it’s likely there will be an increased need for other, more costly services. I urge the Spokane County commissioners to reconsider the decision to close the Evergreen Club. Lucile Hammond, M.Ed. program manager, Emerald House, Seattle

LAW AND JUSTICE

Briggs made violent intentions clear

Capt. Jim Allen was accurate in his July 15 letter to the editor regarding Melvin Briggs. Even though he said it well, this should be said also.

Before Briggs was sent to prison for the murder of the Siverts boy, I was assigned to escort him from the jail to the prosecutor’s office. While he was talking to the deputy prosecutor he said, “If I am ever released, I will kill again.”

I heard him say that and I will take him at his word. If he is released, the people responsible for the release will be condemning at least one more innocent child to death. Donald R. Manning, retired captain Spokane County Sheriff’s Department

Quarter century is not enough

Gregory L. McCrea will face only approximately 25 years for being a baby raper? For the 1,000 children he assaulted, he should received 1,000 lifetimes! Tami N. Sorensen Spokane

THE ENVIRONMENT

Refuge plan changes are for the better

After years of study and public input, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has developed a management plan for the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge near Colville.

Its preferred alternative E will manage the refuge primarily for wildlife while allowing for compatible human uses (hiking, fishing, hunting, horse and bicycle riding, camping and nature study). Uses less compatible will be minimized (as with grazing) and incompatible uses (military exercises) will be phased out.

The Air Force Survival School has used the refuge extensively, putting scores of personnel into it day and night, often with helicopters, using the most remote parts of the refuge for most of each year. The Air Force has used and will continue to use the millions of acres of national forests and military reservation lands available to it. The military simply has no need for, and certainly no appropriate place in, any wildlife refuge.

While some will be unhappy with any plan that does not give away public resources to commercial and military uses, those who appreciate wildlife in a natural setting should be thankful that option E is the agency-preferred alternative. That is why Spokane Audubon and The Lands Council have unanimously supported it. And knowledgeable hunters should appreciate the prime big game winter habitat that will be protected, the calving and rearing habitat that will no longer be disturbed by military exercises, and the quality hunting experience that only roadless areas can provide.

To find out how you can register your support for alternative E, call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (509) 684-8384. Richard J. Rivers Nine Mile Falls

Accept what a refuge exists for

I am responding to Tony Delgado’s dissatisfaction with the comprehensive plan for the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge because it “excludes most user groups” (Letters, July 13).

A wildlife refuge is intended to be just that - a refuge for wildlife. While other uses may be compatible with wildlife conservation, refuges should not become playgrounds for hunters, snowmobilers, bikers or other groups. Habitats for wildlife continue to shrink with urban sprawl, development, logging and other human activities. We share this planet with many forms of life but because we have been irresponsible in preserving these other forms, space and habitat must be set aside. We have little enough space for refuges nationwide as it is. Taking steps to preserve wildlife on the Little Pend Oreille Refuge should be applauded and supported. The board of directors of the Spokane Audubon Society supports the “preferred alternative,” which puts wildlife first. Ann E. Hurst, president Spokane Audubon Society

Keep refuge purpose in mind

The comprehensive planning effort on behalf of the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge has been under way for several years. All categories of users have been involved in the process. Their comments have shaped the evolving plan to a significant degree. The period of public comment has been extended to July 31.

To be useful, I respectfully suggest comments be based on some understanding of the purposes of the National Wildlife Refuge System and the mission of the National Wildlife Service. Tony Delgado’s comments (Letters, July 13) lack such understanding.

For many years, management of this refuge was delegated to a Washington state agency and operated in a comparatively loose manner. During that period, some users developed a sense of ownership concerning the area and their use was not always consistent with the protection of the natural resources of the refuge. I speak as a volunteer who worked extending and repairing fences in an effort to protect the re-pine areas from damage by grazing cattle.

Now, the refuge is again managed by the National Wildlife Service in what appears to me to be a professional manner that is striving to balance the congressional charter governing refuge management, the unique biological and topographical characteristics of the LPO Refuge with a sincere and open interest in what the various users hope to enjoy. I believe strongly that the refuge management deserves respect, patience and informed comment from everyone interested in the present and future of the LPO Refuge. Kenneth A. McKnight Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Iranian regime plays hardball

Re: the recent pro-democracy demonstrations in Iran. American followers of the news of Iran should read about the events there with the following insight.

The conservatives are in possession of the armed forces, including the police. Thus, any demonstration held by pro-democratic groups puts its partakers at great risk of being arrested, if not shot to death, while demonstrating.

For another, the mass media are controlled by the hard-liners and therefore, there’s always an element of exaggeration when the number of participants in conservative demonstrations is reflected, while that of the partakers in pro-democracy demonstrations is always underplayed.

At the basis of the trauma the Iranian people have endured for the past 20 years lies blindfolded faith in religion. Remember that this blindfolded faith characterizes the Dark Ages. I’d never want to bring God to the mundane level of interfering in every trifling aspect of our Earthly lives. Just as a lot of the trauma Americans are going through in terms of hate crimes and scarcity of ethical and moral values springs from blindfolded faith in the self, too much individualism. Why can’t there ever be a compromise?

Homayoun Abghari Spokane

Tolerance is right and necessary

I am responding to recent comments about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the letters section. We do not condemn anyone for religious differences and wish all people would do the same. The bloodshed of Kosovo could have been avoided had parents taught tolerance instead of hatred to their children. As long as you believe in Christ and follow his example, no one need fear.

We claim the privilege of worshiping almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege. Let them worship how, where or what they may.

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous and in doing good to all men. Indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul - we believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

We are Christians and some of my ancestors died for religious freedom in a country where it was promised and then not fulfilled. We don’t hate those who were responsible because they acted out of ignorance and a lack of tolerance.

If we are to truly make a better world, teach tolerance and delight in the good that all religions hold. If we work together, we can build a world where there is peace, trust and friendship. Jeannine M. Jones Valley, Wash.

Let me be clear about Shriners

It has come to my attention that some clarification is necessary regarding my comments (Letters, July 15) about the Shriners’ fund-raising activities.

While the Shriners Duck Race is only one of several activities that directly benefit the Shriners Hospital for Children, the ice show and Shrine Circus raise money to support the various Shrine clubs and units. These clubs and units in turn use this money to support their activities such as providing screening clinics for the hospital at no charge, costumes and supplies for entertaining patients, supplying treats for parties for children who may be hospitalized on their birthday, etc.

I apologize if any of your readers feel I misled them. Luanne J. Gehrig Spokane