Where Has All the Health Care Gone?

The shortages of health care personnel may soon be one of our nation’s most serious problems. People’s lives and state of well being are being placed at risk due to the fact that there may not be a doctor, or a nurse, or a required specialist available when care is needed. We are beginning to see this developing and the forecasts are that these difficulties will rapidly intensify in future years. We need to act now to resolve this critical crisis.

There already is a shortage of nurses and of doctors in both urban and rural areas. It is becoming more and more difficult to get health care employees to accept employment in these underserved areas. Steps need to be taken now to encourage health care workers to see patients living in areas with no, or not enough, doctors. The Internet can assist in allowing remote examinations of patients and in disseminating health care information, yet this has to be studied thoroughly to avoid the dangers this can also create.

There are projections that every health care profession will soon be understaffed. Current health care employees, many of whom belong to the “baby boom” generation, are retiring in larger numbers than there are new graduates taking their place. This is especially a problem as the increased number of retired people means that the patient population is growing. Fewer health care employees with less experience are facing growing patient caseloads. Something has to be done soon to alleviate a major catastrophe in the delivery of health care services.

One of the problems is there are not enough teachers and schools available to train future health care employees. It is hard to lure health care professionals into taking what, for many, are lower paid teacher positions. We need to examine this problem and find ways to lure more professionals into teaching. We may find ways to get some health care professional to teach part-time or get retired professionals to keep up with current trends and then teach their skills to students. We need to act now before this problem becomes an unresolvable difficulty.

Hazel Sweeping Away a Munchkin, Yadda, Yadda, Yada

Speaker Ben was a little afraid that he might get swept away, not only by the many magnificent people who live in Pennsylvania, but literally since he is rather small. He sought out advice from Hazel’s boss. Hazel, for those of us old enough to remember (and the rest of you young-uns who watched “Hazel” re-runs), was a housekeeper whose boss, George Baxter, was portrayed by Ray Fulmer. Ray Fulmer lives in Quakertown, where he has taught high school, written and published poetry, and is active with such groups as the Upper Bucks Day of the Arts. Ray is also Council President in Quakertown, which in a community that doesn’t have a Mayor, means Ray is the top official. Speaker Ben and Ray Fulmer were able to discuss both how not to be swept away by a broom and how not to be swept away by the voters.

Speaker Ben then decided it might be fun to hang around with a Munckin, Jerry Maren. Jerry was the Munckin in the Wizard of Oz who handed a lollipop to Dorothy. Speaker Ben declined a lollipop because it was larger than he is and he couldn’t fit it into his suitcase. Jerry was also in the Our Gang comedies and the Marx Brother’s movie “At the Circus”. More recently, he was in the famous “Yada Yada” episode of “Seinfeld”.

Speaker Ben is happy with his new friends. Although, he now walks around saying “a penny earned, yada, yada, yada…”

Their Prices Are Low Because You're Paying Their Costs with Your Taxes

Wal-Mart and other large employers are not providing their employees with health care coverage provides readers insights into important issues. Wal-Mart and others, compared to competitors who do provide health care benefits, are undercutting their competition by shoving these costs onto taxpayers. This is bad for their employees, harmful to business competition, and hurts taxpayers.

Wal-Mart and employees of similar large businesses work hard yet receive less reward. Their Medicaid health options are often not as good as health care available to employees who work elsewhere. It is irresponsible for one of the state’s largest employers to be so uncaring to the health of those who devote their careers to their employers. People end up physically suffering from poor accessibility to health care, and this is wrong by any measure.

It is unfair to competitors who are responsible towards their employees. These caring employers are finding themselves undercut in prices by Wal-Mart. Many of these competitors are small businesses who are the fabric of our economy, and they are being driven out of business by the uncaring larger businesses like Wal-Mart. This creates a growing unfairness to taxpayers who then find they are increasingly footing the bill for costs Wal-Mart refuses to pay.

Last year, legislation was proposed for the Health Department to compile and release information on emergency room costs for care provided to employees of large corporations like Wal-Mart who do not have health care. I believe many will be shocked to learn how much the policies of Wal-Mart and others are being passed along to them. For the good of our taxpayers, and especially for the benefit of people who work hard and deserve better, we need to make large employers more responsible for providing benefits to their employees.

Was It Beauty or the Beast That Killed Paris Hilton and Keith Richards?

Yahoo news is printing a headline that Paris Hilton’s 15 minutes of fame are over. I’m sorry, but if you’re announcing that someone’s fame is over, you’re only continuing that fame. As has been said, as long as they spell the name right, any publicity is good publicity. So, for those who are wondering, Pares Hilfton’s 15 minutes of fame appears to have a chance of continuing. Or maybe not.

Has anyone seen the most horrifying horror movie of all time? Of course, I am writing about the IMAX Rolling Stones movie. Believe me, you have never seen anything more horrifying than a three story Keith Richards. What is really scary is that, you know King Kong and Jason aren’t real, but you then realize there actually is a Keith Richards out there.

For a brief while, the world was in disorder. A Hollywood starlet, who shall remain nameless, at least for now, must have been suffering from a major chemical imbalance (whether the chemicals are hormonal or self-administered, I am not yet certain) and she asked me out. Now, in my entire life, this has never happened. But, don’t worry, the world is back in balance, as she stood me up. I guess she realized the harm that would come to her career to be seen in public with me. Plus, she probably also realized: she would be with me. Probably more frightening than a three story Keith Richards.

You can tell something about a person by, when you say March madness, if they start talking about basketball, or they start talking about the Oscars.