To the people of Allen County,
I’ve thought long and hard about the hospital proposal and come to the conclusion that I will vote for it. There are three major reasons for my vote. The first is that we have a large senior population in Allen County and, of course, seniors are heavy users of healthcare.
Without an up-to-date healthcare facility I believe that a large number will move, or be moved by their children, to communities with the type of healthcare wanted and needed.
This brings up my second consideration. Many of our children move to other communities for employment. I can guarantee you that this situation will only get worse with a hospital that isn’t now and may not be upgradable to industry standards.
No company will locate where emergency healthcare is not readily available. The first few minutes after an industrial accident are critical to the health of an injured employee. A 20-minute drive to Chanute for critical care would be a problem and a risk that companies are not willing to accept.
And finally, when we have to replace our current group of excellent doctors because of retirement, I want the best we can get. Unfortunately, several of our doctors are rapidly approaching that time. And they have earned their retirement. I want them replaced by young, well-trained doctors. And one consideration those doctors will look at is the availability of a hospital that is functional for the care those doctors have been trained to furnish.
Do I wish we could wait to make this decision? Yes! We have no idea of all that the new healthcare law contains and what it will mean to us in rural Kansas. So much of the law was broadly written and left to the decision-making of the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Just how those statements in the law will turn into rules, regulations, payments and payment refusals is left to a government employee living on the East Coast and not Kansas. But I do trust the people in our community who have dedicated so much time and effort to this plan. I trust that the plan and the building will be flexible enough to adjust to whatever someone in Washington dreams up. One thing is sure. The current building cannot change to meet current standards, let alone unknown future requirements.
Sincerely,
Dave Roos
Iola, Kan.
Editor’s note: The current U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary is Kathleen Sebelius, former governor of Kansas.
