As a patient and community member, I agree with previous letters pointing out the lack of accountability among the leaders of D-H. I, too, have seen a decline in care, along with frustrated doctors, while CEO Dr. James Weinstein travels the country trying to “change the world” and spending the medical center into huge deficits. These deficits will result in the loss of up to 500 jobs!
According to the vision of D-H, they aspire to “achieve the healthiest population possible, leading the transformation of health care in our region and setting the standard for our nation.” They espouse values of “respect, integrity, transparency, trust, stewardship, community and teamwork.” It is clear that they have been unable to stay committed to their core values and their own mission statement. I would suggest that they clean up their own backyard before they try and set standards for our nation.
We have an aging population, the number of people requiring care is increasing and yet the workforce will be declining? And now they are looking to set new standards for the time our primary care providers spend with us. Patients are not widgets and doctors need time to diagnose and address concerns. It is clear that there is no definitive plan in place. It is as if they are making it up as they go. Where has the board been while all this has been taking place? Has there been no oversight or have they simply accepted the aspirations of the current administration in spite of the fact that they have been not only unable to deliver but have actually damaged the medical center, its reputation and the culture?
Look where this “trying to change the world” attitude got us; it was supposed to afford opportunities for “new jobs, new ways.” Instead, we have a climate of mistrust, massive financial loss, providers leaving and a significant number of our friends and neighbors losing their jobs.
No matter how I look at it, I can’t believe that patient care will not be threatened. It’s time for a change in leadership and direction at D-H.
Debra Simonds Hanover
The article that appeared in the Valley News on Sept. 28, “Historical Society to Buy Elks Lodge,” calls for clarification. In February of this year, the society’s newly-formed Long Range Planning Committee was tasked with finding a solution to the urgent need for a larger facility to accommodate the growing collection of historical artifacts and documents that chronicle the history of the town of Hartford.
Of paramount concern is the need for more exhibit space, storage, meeting space and available onsite parking. Our gift of the Garipay House 20 years ago has served us well, but we are now bulging at the seams.
The committee believes that the former home of Horace Pease, a lovely Victorian structure built in 1883, originally known as “Sunnyacre” and more recently the Hartford Elks Lodge, is the ideal location. It contains all the elements that we are looking for.
The society is currently negotiating with the owner about the possibility of obtaining this property. We are in the process of inspections, appraisals and obtaining financing for this venture. If and when this purchase becomes a reality, we will need an enormous amount of financial support from our membership and from the community at large when we launch a capital campaign.
We are excited about this possibility and appreciate the support of the Hartford Selectboard as we move forward.
Judy BarwoodWhite River Junction
Donald Trump’s recent statements regarding education policy are out of touch with reality.
Trump states, “There’s no failed policy more in need of urgent change than our government-run education monopoly.” It’s time to break up that monopoly.” Trump is probably referring to the federal government’s efforts regarding “No Child Left Behind,” “Race to the Top” and pressure to adopt high-stakes testing. Curiously, he does not mention aggressive efforts of the Bush and Obama administrations to stimulate private, for-profit investment in American education. They enhanced charter schools and a “corporate reform” movement.
About the Common Core, Trump states, “We are spending more by far, and we’re doing very poorly. So, obviously, Common Core does not work.” The effectiveness of schools depends more on factors such as community support, leadership, the curriculum and its implementation, and teacher competency.
Finally, with regard to school choice: Trump intends to spend “$20 billion during his first year in office to help expand school choice programs” and “$12,000 will be provided every elementary school student living in poverty to attend the school of their choice.” This seems to reflect a veiled intent to institute a competitive market-based system of school choice including charter schools which presumably would be more efficient and effective than traditional public schools. This “corporate reform” movement is heavily weighted in favor of large corporate donors and their respective shareholders, unaccountable to public taxpayers.
We should be worried. Though performance of charter schools is mixed, their academic results in general are no better than traditional schools serving similar students and show no evidence of cost savings. The original purpose of charter schools was to experiment with strategies for working with difficult-to-teach kids and to share these lessons with public schools. But competition and the free market system intervened. Over time, the movement has become a haven for private investors accountable not to the public, but to shareholders.
Improving schools, especially in poverty-stricken areas, is a complex endeavor. To effect sustainable change, the local community and school need to feel empowered. Solving educational problems must flow from the ground up.
Bob ScobieHanover
The Sept. 17 article entitled “Dartmouth Unveils New Institute” has caused a serious stir. This new institute will carry out much-needed research on energy, an area that has become hopelessly tangled by disagreements on the use of carbonaceous fuels to produce energy.
Many (but not me and many others) believe use of such fuels cause climate change by releasing the “greenhouse gas,” carbon dioxide. The support of the institute by Irving Oil has only added “fuel to the fire.” But don’t forget that this benign gas is responsible for life on Earth through photosynthesis, a byproduct of which is oxygen.
I hope to introduce some common sense to this contentious area, based on a long career specializing in air-quality issues starting in 1950. Here is some reading for Valley News readers and institute organizers:
1.The Real Problem with Renewables, by Robert Bryce, of the Manhattan Institute, found through Google. We must look at “energy density” (e.g., kwh per area or volume) in evaluating any means of generating power effectively and economically. Renewables that have an extremely low energy density will not be able to do the job. Only carbon-based fuels and nuclear power can fill the gap.
2. The Deep Hot Biosphere, The Myth of Fossil Fuels, by Thomas Gold, an astrophysicist from Cornell, confirms that carbon, a primordial element in our universe, is ubiquitous here on Earth. In fact, we are awash with carbon, it being our sixth most abundant element. Coal, oil and natural gas were not created from the buried and pressurized remains of vegetation, dinosaurs and other carbon-containing entities.
Carbonaceous fuels we extract from the Earth originated at great depth (perhaps several hundred miles) in the form of methane. This gas, under high pressure and temperature, works its way through the cracks and crannies in the Earth’s crust, and the carbon-hydrogen ratio increases and eventually, in the upper layers where it can be mined and pumped, it has become oil and coal. This process can actually replenish the supply of these fuels, implying that we may never run out of carbonaceous fuels.
John E. YocomHanover
Who Would Really Reform Taxes?
Donald Trump says that he’s a shrewd businessman who took advantage of the country’s tax laws to pay little or no taxes at time, but he has also illustrated that the nation’s tax laws need to be changed so the wealthy pay their fair share. I think we have a better shot at tax-law equity with Hillary Clinton and Democrats in office than the GOP.
Shari Boraz Hanover