Dear Mr. President,
I am a fourth year medical student, and there are someissues I would like clarified. First of all, why do we need to cut health care spending? One of the many things that makes this country great is our unequaled contribution to sciences, namely medicine. HR3200, states that innovation should be curbed.
At North GeneralHospital in Harlem, NY, we are prolonging the life and quality of life for AIDS patients every day with drugs that have been formulated in the very recent past. Interventions such as this make me proud to be a doctor. When I have to tell someone that there is no cure for what they have, I am not.
Two Queens hospitals managed under Caritas, which not only provided needed care for the underserved local population, but provided us with a learning institution so we can graduate and become doctors, were forced to close their doors last fall due to years of poor profits. When the patients were transferred to another institution, many patients were found to have very severe bed sores, some as deep as bone, because nursing staff were spread thin and unable to complete turning rounds. So my question is, with the highly publisized federal "bail out" where was Caritas' bailout? These institutions were non for profit and employed about 3000 people and provided care for about 200,000. Please help me understand these issues, so that I can be proud of my profession.
Respectfully,
Laura Tommaso MS IV
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)