Letters to the Editor 12-01-1998
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- KCH Sale - Alternative Learning - Other Than Drugs - Diagnosis - Nutrition Site - Bike Path - Smith Responds
KCH Sale
Editor, Times-Union:Our local area is blessed to have Kosciusko Community Hospital, a not-for-profit institution, dedicated to our community. Private citizens and local businesses have donated the monies for its creation and continuous expansion.
The hospital is well run, financially stable and returns its own profits to us as new facilities and services. Future additional capital needs for specialized operations, (i.e., oncology, out-patient surgery, etc.) can always be raised in our vibrant economic area. And when unique treatments are required, patients can choose to be referred to regional medical centers such as in Fort Wayne, South Bend, Indianapolis, etc.
Quorum Health Group, a national managed care and health maintenance organization (HMO) is in the process of purchasing KCH. Quorum is an investor-owned, "Wall Street"-traded public company, which controls some 500 hospitals nationwide. They are dedicated to their investor stockholders, not the Warsaw-area people. New information concerning Quorum's business practices can be seen at http://my.excite.com/news/pr/981118/ny-bernstein-quorum.
Managed care and HMOs attempt to reduce local healthcare costs by reducing services, self-referral, elimination of redundancy and channeling patients into their own facilities. Frequently, money "saved" is funneled to other corporate business units and into waiting investor's pockets. A recent Gallup Poll demonstrated 70 percent of Americans are unsatisfied with their managed care or HMO program because of perceived reductions in local services and healthcare quality.
Kosciusko Community Hospital was developed, built and operated by the people of this locality to care for our citizens. The sale of this local asset to an outside national group offers little value to our community who have always done for ourselves what needed to be done for better local healthcare. This merger with Quorum may result in the long-term degradation of local healthcare quality and service as our dollars are skimmed into distant stock holders pockets.
We have a great hospital and staff that are committed to this community. They are good. I personally know they are good because they saved my life. Let's not sell them down the river. In the final analysis, we are all in this boat together.
Robert L. Fuson, M.D.
http://my.excite.com/news/pr/981118/ny-bernstein-quorum
Alternative Learning
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to tell the community about one of our best kept secrets. This is a program that gives people support and understanding. It is called the Alternative Learning Center: ABE - AIMS. The program is ran by Warsaw Community Schools. It gives people a chance at improving themselves no matter their age, sex or race.
The AIM school has done so much for me in just a short time. Before I started the AIMS program, I was highly depressed and had difficult time sleeping at night. I was a mother at a very young age while trying to finish high school. Although my education was very important to me, I was ready to give up hope.
I did not think that there was a way for me to be a good parent and a student. My counselor at the high school, Diane Quance, tried very hard to help me in any way she could. She is a part of the reason for my success. She made many phone calls on my behalf. She even wrote to my parents to help them understand why AIMS would be beneficial to me.
The AIMS staff put me at the top of the list to start there. They were also understanding of my need. It was amazing to me that complete strangers could care about me and my priorities. They have given me the opportunity to be a good parent and student. The staff has always been understanding when my child was ill and when I felt I needed time with her.
Now, after a year and a half, I am happy and like school again. I have also gotten my feeling of self worth back. I will be getting my high school diploma very soon. Receiving my diploma is a very big deal for me, especially after I was told and believed that I could not graduate. I think that AIMS has enabled me to be a full-time parent, not just a part-time parent. AIMS has given me my life back while being able to be a student and a mother.
I would like to thank the members of the AIMS staff for giving me the chance to show everyone that I can succeed. Without them I would have never gotten so close to my dreams.
If I am ever asked about the AIM school, I would recommend it wholeheartedly. This program is capable of helping so many others. The day it is closed is the day people stop caring about strangers.
Shauna La Londe, Warsaw
Other Than Drugs
Editor, Times-Union:Pierceton Elementary School did a program called "101 Things to do Other Than Drugs." The students heard 50 things they could do other than drugs the first day and 51 things the second day. Mrs. Graney, our counselor, came in the second day to do a contest. The contest was to see how many things the students could list in 101 seconds. Some of my ideas were shooting hoops, going to the mall, watching movies, playing tennis, listening to music, watching TV, reading books, swimming, exercising and riding bikes. The students learned it was important to do things other than drugs so that they could stay out of trouble.
Serena Miner, 5th-grade student,
Pierceton Elementary
Diagnosis
Editor, Times-Union:My 36-year-old son made two or three visits to the Kosciusko Community Hospital emergency room for pain in the lower right pelvic area. Prior to that time he had been there and was being treated for ulcers. He was treated like he was a hypochondriac and told his pain was his ulcer - in the lower pelvic area? A radiologist said "Oh, a patient a month," guess she was trying to be funny but I feel in very bad taste! His local doctor didn't take him serious either and treated him again for ulcers.
He finally went to my doctor - Dr. Kratzer who (on the first visit) examined him and told him he had prostatitis. He was prescribed a medication and in two days time he was feeling better.
Thank goodness the company, Whimet, he works for, didn't fire him for losing work due to this illness.
Why didn't the ER listen to all his symptoms instead of assuming? Now he has all these hospital bills to pay for doing nothing to help him.
He has worked hard to get off disability and succeeded two months ago and is now deeper in debt to the hospital. They even turned him in for collection for the balances that Medicare would not pay while on disability.
Even through this, his faith is not shaken but it will take years to get all this paid off.
Where is the justice in this world?
Mary Hochstetler, Warsaw
Nutrition Site
Editor, Times-Union:There is a thought that says:
"Those who preserve integrity remain unshaken by the storms of life. They do not stir like leaves on a tree or follow the herd where it runs. In their mind remains the ideal attitude and conduct of living. This is not something given to them by others. It is their roots ... it is a strength that exists deep within them."
As Thanksgiving approaches, we're reminded of those around us who make a difference, not only in our own immediate lives, but also throughout our communities as well.
There is someone here in North Webster, who (though facing some very real storms of life) continues to make a difference in many lives, young and old alike.
Emily Thomas has touched a lot of lives. Throughout the state and locally, as well. She could use your prayers. Let her know North Webster appreciates her.
Friends from the nutrition site at North Webster
Bike Path
Editor, Times-Union:A recent issue of your paper told of the Warsaw city planner's application for funding to study a bicycle path to CCAC on Old Road 30. I assume that, since the CCAC complex is in the county, county funding is going to be requested if this project is approved. I would like to voice my opposition to county funds being involved in this boondoggle. Old Road 30 is a very busy highway and we do not need to be mixing bicycles with cars out there. Is it worth even one child's life to have this convenience for a few? No matter who is in the right or who has the right of way, accidents are bound to happen. When automobiles and bicycles meet, we all know who loses.
To the people of Warsaw: Are you willing to give up your on-street parking for this project? I have seen where other cities have put in these lanes and the most inexpensive way to accomplish it is to do away with on-street parking and paint white lines down the street. You now have nowhere to park and a lane in front of your house that is seldom used.
Finally, to the question of the study itself. Your planner will get some state or federal grants but, even if no local money is involved, where does this money come from? Obviously we all pay for it one way or another. Stop this project now. It will benefit only a few and raises serious safety concerns.
Dave Michaels, North Webster
Smith Responds
Editor, Times-Union:Mr. Doug Calvelage:
I'm gonna say this once and obviously I have to spell it out for you. Are you accusing me, a 14-year-old, of not being able to think for myself? If you are ... wrong again. I can think for myself. I'm not a baby. You, in the letter, said you have been a friend of the family. If you were or are a friend of the family, wouldn't I know you? Because, to my knowledge, none of my sisters or my dad knows you. You, of all people, do not know what is going on because you were not there. So, step down while you can because this is bigger than you are.
P.S. No, it will not be OK until I'm heard. My sister is 13 and very capable of thinking for herself too.
Lindsay Smith, Warsaw
Party Safely
Editor, Times-Union:
With the holidays fast upon us, 'tis the season for celebration at holiday parties with family, friends and co-workers. While those of us in Kosciusko County know the importance of celebrating responsibly, the holiday party designated driver is this season's hero. Americans recognize designated drivers as an important group of people. A recent poll shows that more than 90 percent of the public endorse the designated driver concept as an excellent or good way to curb drunk driving. And 109 million American adults say they have been a designated driver or have been driven home by one.
Drunk driving deaths are the lowest in 16 years. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently released the 1997 drunk driving statistics showing that drunk driving fatalities have decreased 39 percent since the government began tracking these numbers in 1982. Designated drivers certainly deserve some of the credit for this downward trend. Obviously, there is still room for improvement, and we can't be satisfied until the number is zero.
Remember that by choosing a designated driver this holiday season, everybody has a good time, gets home safely, and everybody wins.
Jeff May, Nelson Beverage
[[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
- KCH Sale - Alternative Learning - Other Than Drugs - Diagnosis - Nutrition Site - Bike Path - Smith Responds
KCH Sale
Editor, Times-Union:Our local area is blessed to have Kosciusko Community Hospital, a not-for-profit institution, dedicated to our community. Private citizens and local businesses have donated the monies for its creation and continuous expansion.
The hospital is well run, financially stable and returns its own profits to us as new facilities and services. Future additional capital needs for specialized operations, (i.e., oncology, out-patient surgery, etc.) can always be raised in our vibrant economic area. And when unique treatments are required, patients can choose to be referred to regional medical centers such as in Fort Wayne, South Bend, Indianapolis, etc.
Quorum Health Group, a national managed care and health maintenance organization (HMO) is in the process of purchasing KCH. Quorum is an investor-owned, "Wall Street"-traded public company, which controls some 500 hospitals nationwide. They are dedicated to their investor stockholders, not the Warsaw-area people. New information concerning Quorum's business practices can be seen at http://my.excite.com/news/pr/981118/ny-bernstein-quorum.
Managed care and HMOs attempt to reduce local healthcare costs by reducing services, self-referral, elimination of redundancy and channeling patients into their own facilities. Frequently, money "saved" is funneled to other corporate business units and into waiting investor's pockets. A recent Gallup Poll demonstrated 70 percent of Americans are unsatisfied with their managed care or HMO program because of perceived reductions in local services and healthcare quality.
Kosciusko Community Hospital was developed, built and operated by the people of this locality to care for our citizens. The sale of this local asset to an outside national group offers little value to our community who have always done for ourselves what needed to be done for better local healthcare. This merger with Quorum may result in the long-term degradation of local healthcare quality and service as our dollars are skimmed into distant stock holders pockets.
We have a great hospital and staff that are committed to this community. They are good. I personally know they are good because they saved my life. Let's not sell them down the river. In the final analysis, we are all in this boat together.
Robert L. Fuson, M.D.
http://my.excite.com/news/pr/981118/ny-bernstein-quorum
Alternative Learning
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to tell the community about one of our best kept secrets. This is a program that gives people support and understanding. It is called the Alternative Learning Center: ABE - AIMS. The program is ran by Warsaw Community Schools. It gives people a chance at improving themselves no matter their age, sex or race.
The AIM school has done so much for me in just a short time. Before I started the AIMS program, I was highly depressed and had difficult time sleeping at night. I was a mother at a very young age while trying to finish high school. Although my education was very important to me, I was ready to give up hope.
I did not think that there was a way for me to be a good parent and a student. My counselor at the high school, Diane Quance, tried very hard to help me in any way she could. She is a part of the reason for my success. She made many phone calls on my behalf. She even wrote to my parents to help them understand why AIMS would be beneficial to me.
The AIMS staff put me at the top of the list to start there. They were also understanding of my need. It was amazing to me that complete strangers could care about me and my priorities. They have given me the opportunity to be a good parent and student. The staff has always been understanding when my child was ill and when I felt I needed time with her.
Now, after a year and a half, I am happy and like school again. I have also gotten my feeling of self worth back. I will be getting my high school diploma very soon. Receiving my diploma is a very big deal for me, especially after I was told and believed that I could not graduate. I think that AIMS has enabled me to be a full-time parent, not just a part-time parent. AIMS has given me my life back while being able to be a student and a mother.
I would like to thank the members of the AIMS staff for giving me the chance to show everyone that I can succeed. Without them I would have never gotten so close to my dreams.
If I am ever asked about the AIM school, I would recommend it wholeheartedly. This program is capable of helping so many others. The day it is closed is the day people stop caring about strangers.
Shauna La Londe, Warsaw
Other Than Drugs
Editor, Times-Union:Pierceton Elementary School did a program called "101 Things to do Other Than Drugs." The students heard 50 things they could do other than drugs the first day and 51 things the second day. Mrs. Graney, our counselor, came in the second day to do a contest. The contest was to see how many things the students could list in 101 seconds. Some of my ideas were shooting hoops, going to the mall, watching movies, playing tennis, listening to music, watching TV, reading books, swimming, exercising and riding bikes. The students learned it was important to do things other than drugs so that they could stay out of trouble.
Serena Miner, 5th-grade student,
Pierceton Elementary
Diagnosis
Editor, Times-Union:My 36-year-old son made two or three visits to the Kosciusko Community Hospital emergency room for pain in the lower right pelvic area. Prior to that time he had been there and was being treated for ulcers. He was treated like he was a hypochondriac and told his pain was his ulcer - in the lower pelvic area? A radiologist said "Oh, a patient a month," guess she was trying to be funny but I feel in very bad taste! His local doctor didn't take him serious either and treated him again for ulcers.
He finally went to my doctor - Dr. Kratzer who (on the first visit) examined him and told him he had prostatitis. He was prescribed a medication and in two days time he was feeling better.
Thank goodness the company, Whimet, he works for, didn't fire him for losing work due to this illness.
Why didn't the ER listen to all his symptoms instead of assuming? Now he has all these hospital bills to pay for doing nothing to help him.
He has worked hard to get off disability and succeeded two months ago and is now deeper in debt to the hospital. They even turned him in for collection for the balances that Medicare would not pay while on disability.
Even through this, his faith is not shaken but it will take years to get all this paid off.
Where is the justice in this world?
Mary Hochstetler, Warsaw
Nutrition Site
Editor, Times-Union:There is a thought that says:
"Those who preserve integrity remain unshaken by the storms of life. They do not stir like leaves on a tree or follow the herd where it runs. In their mind remains the ideal attitude and conduct of living. This is not something given to them by others. It is their roots ... it is a strength that exists deep within them."
As Thanksgiving approaches, we're reminded of those around us who make a difference, not only in our own immediate lives, but also throughout our communities as well.
There is someone here in North Webster, who (though facing some very real storms of life) continues to make a difference in many lives, young and old alike.
Emily Thomas has touched a lot of lives. Throughout the state and locally, as well. She could use your prayers. Let her know North Webster appreciates her.
Friends from the nutrition site at North Webster
Bike Path
Editor, Times-Union:A recent issue of your paper told of the Warsaw city planner's application for funding to study a bicycle path to CCAC on Old Road 30. I assume that, since the CCAC complex is in the county, county funding is going to be requested if this project is approved. I would like to voice my opposition to county funds being involved in this boondoggle. Old Road 30 is a very busy highway and we do not need to be mixing bicycles with cars out there. Is it worth even one child's life to have this convenience for a few? No matter who is in the right or who has the right of way, accidents are bound to happen. When automobiles and bicycles meet, we all know who loses.
To the people of Warsaw: Are you willing to give up your on-street parking for this project? I have seen where other cities have put in these lanes and the most inexpensive way to accomplish it is to do away with on-street parking and paint white lines down the street. You now have nowhere to park and a lane in front of your house that is seldom used.
Finally, to the question of the study itself. Your planner will get some state or federal grants but, even if no local money is involved, where does this money come from? Obviously we all pay for it one way or another. Stop this project now. It will benefit only a few and raises serious safety concerns.
Dave Michaels, North Webster
Smith Responds
Editor, Times-Union:Mr. Doug Calvelage:
I'm gonna say this once and obviously I have to spell it out for you. Are you accusing me, a 14-year-old, of not being able to think for myself? If you are ... wrong again. I can think for myself. I'm not a baby. You, in the letter, said you have been a friend of the family. If you were or are a friend of the family, wouldn't I know you? Because, to my knowledge, none of my sisters or my dad knows you. You, of all people, do not know what is going on because you were not there. So, step down while you can because this is bigger than you are.
P.S. No, it will not be OK until I'm heard. My sister is 13 and very capable of thinking for herself too.
Lindsay Smith, Warsaw
Party Safely
Editor, Times-Union:
With the holidays fast upon us, 'tis the season for celebration at holiday parties with family, friends and co-workers. While those of us in Kosciusko County know the importance of celebrating responsibly, the holiday party designated driver is this season's hero. Americans recognize designated drivers as an important group of people. A recent poll shows that more than 90 percent of the public endorse the designated driver concept as an excellent or good way to curb drunk driving. And 109 million American adults say they have been a designated driver or have been driven home by one.
Drunk driving deaths are the lowest in 16 years. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently released the 1997 drunk driving statistics showing that drunk driving fatalities have decreased 39 percent since the government began tracking these numbers in 1982. Designated drivers certainly deserve some of the credit for this downward trend. Obviously, there is still room for improvement, and we can't be satisfied until the number is zero.
Remember that by choosing a designated driver this holiday season, everybody has a good time, gets home safely, and everybody wins.
Jeff May, Nelson Beverage
[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092