Limit carbon footprint
Limit carbon footprint
The Earth’s climate is getting warmer, and humans are responsible.
That’s not my opinion; it’s a fact supported by more than 97 percent of climate scientists.
The outcome during the next 50 years and beyond could include massive heat waves, prolonged drought, extreme weather and the mass extinction of species.
The good news is we can do something about it while helping the economy. We’ve already made a good start by making our cars and trucks more efficient, while starting to limit pollution from the dirtiest power plants, the chief contributor of America’s climate change pollution.
To prevent the devastating effects of the climate crisis, we should all support these efforts.
Ellen Jacobs
Kealakekua
Bad decisions made
This is an open letter to Miles Takaaze, Hawaii Health Systems Corp. spokesman, quoted in an article in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today on June 5 regarding cuts to Hilo Medical Center staffing.
I would like to ask him how the termination of one of only two urologists can possibly be justified? It appears from the news article no other doctors were terminated.
It so happens my husband had dire need of her services beginning in January of this year. After an initial visit to the ER at the Ka‘u hospital, he was given an appointment with Dr. Lyric Santiago. During the course of the next several months, he visited her a number of times and eventually underwent surgery.
I think she saved his life. At the very least, she enhanced his quality of life.
At his last appointment, he was informed she was being terminated and the only other urologist associated with Hilo Medical Center was too busy to take on any new patients. Huh?
With the increase in the number of people able to obtain health insurance, I will presume there will be some looking for treatment, not only from a urologist, but other health care professionals.
It seems ludicrous to me this is the only doctor being let go.
So, to all of you folks out there, and it will be a lot of the elderly: Have a kidney stone? Trouble urinating? Enlarged prostate? UTI? Well, jump on that plane (at your own expense) and go to Oahu. … I foresee a lot of suffering as a result of this decision.
I can’t imagine becoming a doctor in this particular profession is the top of the list, and bless all of those dedicated professionals in this field.
To other patients of Dr. Santiago, if she improved your health with her service, please speak up and call or write HMC to voice your concerns.
Sheri McDaniel
Naalehu
HMC cuts back in wrong area
Hilo Medical Center, which I have praised in the past, has lost my respect. They just cut back in the wrong area.
As a patient of Dr. Santiago’s, I know how busy she was. HMC even brought on another doctor to help because she was so overloaded with patients. … Now, they do not renew her contract, and the other doctor can only absorb maybe 10 percent of her patients.
That leaves the rest of us without an on-island urologist who does procedures at HMC, not on Oahu!
She had to refer me to Texas to get the surgery I needed last year, but I knew I had someone here I could go to for follow-up. Now, I have no one, and I am sure that is true for many of her patients.
If this is serving the needs of patients in Hilo, I think HMC needs to re-evaluate those patient needs.
Maybe they need to cut executives at the top instead of those that actually take care of patients.
Linda L. Ugalde
Volcano