Former staffer sad at bonus decision and other letters to the editors

Former staffer sad at bonus decision

As the 2014 Erlanger Nurse of the Year, I cannot adequately describe how honored I was to work with the best nursing team in our area specifically the pediatric ICU at Children's Hospital. Retired from Erlanger but not from nursing, I find the latest actions by the Erlanger board demoralizing and embarrassing. Staff members have suffered the loss of vacation pay, sick time, frozen pensions, increased premiums for health coverage, no raises for tenured nurses and the loss of health coverage for retirees. A planned raise in January is only for "eligible" staff. The experienced staff which left was irreplaceable. During my 31-plus years as at Erlanger, I had dreams of working in a new Children's Hospital or a new pediatric ICU or at least at one with adequate and clean facilities for a family centered care unit. A fundraising campaign that looked so promising just a few weeks ago is now in jeopardy by our hospital leaders who place themselves ahead of their staff and patients. Leading by example is the number-one lesson to be learned by a manager, and yes, I was in management at one time, too. Satisfied staff better patient care.

BARBARA DAVIS, RN, BSN, CCRN, CPN

Thank you, David Cook, for column

So happy that I always read David Cook's column. The one on Dec. 19 might be his best so far. Thank you, David, for addressing the perversion we increasingly call entertainment. And art. Shame on us all. I suppose this would be the perfect time and place to reference Philippians 4:8. Meanwhile, thank you, David, for your words. Thank you, America, that I do not always have to agree with David, but when I do, I sure appreciate the freedom to say so.

Sylvia Hildebrandt

Torture is easy to condemn, right?

In response to last Tuesday's letter about torture: No caring human approves torture, but before speaking about another's moral compass, look at yourself. If your loved one is tied to a bomb, and the person who could disarm it is unwilling to do so, what would you do for that information? Slap him around a little? Or worse? The clock is ticking! Remember the World Trade Center? Thousands died. All were loved by someone. If the unkind treatment of murderous fiends prevented another such act, so be it. Funny thing about prevented acts; you never realize they could have existed because they were prevented from occurring. Don't play Monday morning quarterback with my country or its people. Why does every liberal have to bring Christianity into everything? News flash: Taliban went into a school and killed 130 kids. Put the blame where it belongs: Radical Islam. Christians didn't attack the World Trade Center or kill those kids. If you think you would do nothing to save your loved one's life, then tell them about it. See what they think of you.

Mike Henry, Whitwell, Tenn.

Health costs very hard to corral

What occurred to me, while reading Dr. Maughan's Dec. 18 commentary about transparency in health costs, is the number of different entities involved in the cost of medical care. Emergency room visits can produce a plethora of billings from physicians, laboratory, pathology, imaging, radiologists, etc. aside from the facility charges. Surgical procedures can be even more involved. All of the entities have different contract agreements with insurance companies. Sometimes as much as 50 percent will be written off per insurance agreements. These all get renegotiated at different times. Uninsured patients really get stiffed they are lucky to get 10 percent off. I do not see how this could be [made more fair] without government interference. They would have to make one inclusive cost for a procedure the same for all patients, regardless of insurance coverage. I do not see how that could pass into law.

Mary Beth Caddell, Dayton, Tenn.

Racism laughable excuse for crime

Much of the tension between law enforcement and the black community is a direct consequence of blacks committing crimes at a much higher rate than non-blacks. What blacks call racial profiling is just plain common sense. Black persons commit 52 percent of all murders, while they are a paltry 13 percent of the U.S. population. This means they commit murder at a 400 percent greater frequency than non-blacks. The underlying sociological reasons for this aberration are many and varied. The biggest problem is the 73 percent illegitimate birth rate for black children, who consequently grow up with no father figure present. Most of the problems and solutions are within the black community, and there is little the rest of us can do. When statistics are cited about the large number of black men in prison as compared to non-blacks, it is because they are the criminals. It is not because of racism or a white agenda to keep the black man down. That is laughable, except it's not funny. Instead of chanting, "hands up, don't shoot," I suggest the alternative "pants up, don't loot."

Jim Howard

Erlanger CEO deserves raise

Since his arrival last year, Kevin Spiegel has worked tirelessly to restore Erlanger to fiscal solvency. He has worked to restore the hospital's image as a leading health care provider and a safe, excellent place to receive treatment. As a physician, I can attest to the good job he and his management team have done in such a short time. As citizens of Chattanooga, we should be thrilled that he was able to secure $20 million in funding from the federal government. This means less taxes for us to pay at a local level and better lifesaving equipment in the process. In a capitalist society, you have to pay to attract top talent and pay to keep top talent. I have no doubt that there are several institutions in the country that would love to scoop up Mr. Spiegel to do the turnaround job for their facility that he has done for Erlanger. We should reward and embrace success, not shun it. For the record, I support the Erlanger management bonuses, and I look forward to many years of continued success under his leadership. Daniel Kueter, M.D. Smith's turtle analogy off base In response to Robin Smith's Dec. 15 commentary paying homage to those who helped her become chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party and "boss of folks with whom I work:" It is a good thing to give people credit. It is a sad misuse of analogy to use an image of cruelty to illustrate the point. Ms. Smith says when you see a turtle on a post, "you know it didn't get there by itself," cheerfully making the point that someone put it there. Yes, someone did, a sadistic someone who knows that the turtle will stay atop that post hopelessly waving its legs until it dies slowly of starvation. This is no image to admire or to use as an example of something good. I beg you, Ms. Smith, to get yourself a better mental picture of someone helping another get to the top. This lack of deductive reasoning causes me to doubt your ability to analyze anything of importance.

Olivia Neely, Sale Creek

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