Letter: Support use of assistants for anesthesiology care
Whether you are expecting a baby, having a knee replacement or an emergency surgery, you want access to the best medical treatment. This includes an anesthesia care team protecting you before, during and after the procedure, managing your pain and ensuring your safety.
Current workforce challenges in health care and the backlog of surgeries in Illinois potentially jeopardize the care all Illinoisans deserve.
Senate Bill 2214 addresses that challenge by expanding the team providing anesthesia care to allow certified anesthesiologist assistants to practice in our state.
CAAs are highly-trained non-physician anesthesia care professionals who work under the direction of physician anesthesiologists without compromising safety, at no additional cost to patients. Currently, CAAs can practice in 20 U.S. jurisdictions and all U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals. They also are eligible for rural pass-through payment from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid that allows both rural hospitals and major regional medical centers to serve more patients and fully staff operating rooms.
When CAAs are added to the team, both patients and hospitals benefit from expanded anesthesia services.
As a practicing physician anesthesiologist in Illinois, I know how important it is to have an anesthesiologist and a fully-staffed, qualified team available since you never know when a complication can occur.
Recently, after managing the labor pain of a patient after childbirth, I noticed her blood pressure dropped and she became abnormally drowsy. These subtle symptoms are signs of a postpartum bleed that had potentially deadly consequences. The patient's access to me and the Anesthesia Care Team provided her with the critical care needed to immediately diagnose and treat this life-threatening condition.
Every patient deserves access to safe, high-quality anesthesia care without delays. Ask your state senator to vote "yes" to Senate Bill 2214.
Lisa Solomon
Elgin
Quit denigrating Italians on the altar of comedy with hideous stereotype
Really? "Mafia Mamma?" It's a new film in which an Italian American woman (played by the Australian actress Toni Collette) returns to Italy to - what? Buy a vineyard? Contact long-lost relatives? Appreciate beauty and nature and life?
No. It's to learn she is the new "mafia boss" of a violent criminal organization. And, despite the brutality of the real-life mafia, the plot is played for laughs.
Another Aussie, the late singer Helen Reddy, sang "I am Woman, Hear me Roar." She did not sing, "Hear my machine gun roar."
So much for Hollywood's idea of feminism.
For readers who roll their eyes whenever Italian Americans complain about cultural defamation, let's play what my late colleague Dr. Manny Alfano called the Substitution Game. It's very simple: Instead of using Italians, change the protagonists but keep the plot.
How about "Muslim Mamma?" A Muslim American woman inherits an ISIS group. How about "Mexican Mamma?" A Mexican American woman calls the shots for a drug cartel. How about "Malaysian Mamma?" An Asian American woman becomes the boss of a Triad gang. And so on. Are you laughing yet?
If not, kudos. You realize the harm done by "comedic" ethnic stereotypes. They desensitize us to the horrors of such real-life murderers. How is this funny?
The $64,000 question remains: Why is it still OK to mock Italian Americans?
"Mafia Mamma" is a slap in the face to Italy, to Italians, to victims of mafia violence, and to women like the late Sicilian photographer Letizia Battaglia and the current Calabrian prosecutor Alessandri Cerreti. These two women dedicated their lives to successfully fighting ruthless criminal gangs. They used the law, not guns.
The real crime is endless Hollywood defamation. And that's no joke.
Bill Dal Cerro Senior Analyst
Italic Institute of America (Midwest Office)
Bensenville
Prosecute Trump for all of his crimes
Richard Keslinke's letter is spot on when he says, "The man deserves to be charged for his every wrongdoing, as should his co-conspirators."
Donald Trump's lack of respect for the law and his actions throughout his life and presidency mandates the need to prosecute every crime he committed. His attacking the prosecutor and judge only tries to inflame his base and distract them from the facts. A grand jury of citizens looked at the evidence and facts presented and indict, not the prosecutor or judge.
Craig Leland
Grayslake
No place in U.S. is safe from shootings
The shooting in Louisville caused me to ask the question: Where is one safe from gun violence in the U. S.?
Not in schools - grade school, middle school, high school or college. Not in houses of worship. Not in a movie theater, shopping center, mall, grocery store, place of employment and even in our own home. We can now add banks to this list.
A recent report by the CDC identified 48,830 people killed in 2021 by gun violence in the U.S.
Where is one safe from gun violence? Anywhere but America! Shame on all elected officials who are more worried about being reelected than passing any common sense laws to save the lives of the people they represent.
William J. Filstead
Arlington Heights
Leave declaw decisions to the veterinarians
The more than 1,800 highly trained and licensed veterinarians who belong to the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association (ISVMA) face difficult, real-life decisions when considering declawing to ensure the well-being of a cat with its well-established family. Veterinarians care deeply about cats and have sworn an oath to protect them.
Cat declawing is not common in Illinois, and ISVMA stands firmly with the ASPCA, one of the world's largest humane societies, in asserting that declaw procedures be a last resort. Yet some Illinois legislators are pushing a declawing ban, removing medical professionals from the decision-making process for pets in their care. The bill (HB1533) is now being considered by the Senate.
We find the bill's language rigid and confusing. The importance of maintaining the human-cat bond in situations where the health of a pet's family member is at risk is dismissed entirely by the bill. Consider an elderly woman whose physician says her fragile skin cannot withstand a scratch from her precious pet, or a child newly diagnosed as immunocompromised. Under the proposed declawing bill, those cats would be removed from the only families they've ever known.
Further, while proponents maintain the proposed law would allow cats with any physical ailment an exemption to the declaw ban, ISVMA members and legal advisers disagree. One such example is whether a cat with a skin condition that causes it to self-injure through excessive scratching could be declawed. Veterinarians would be left wondering what's legal and what's not when a cat's life hangs in the balance.
When declawing is advised for cat well-being, veterinarians use the utmost care, state-of-the-art surgical practices and highly effective pain medication. The proposed ban puts the very cats it seeks to protect at risk of abandonment, life in a shelter or physician-assisted suicide. Please tell your state senator to leave the decisions regarding cat health care to our trusted, local veterinarians - the true animal health experts.
Joanne Carlson
President
Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association
Biden must deal with guns; Congress won't
I just read Don Frost's letter castigating President Joe Biden for seeking legitimate gun control laws to be passed through Congress by using Obama's Executive Privilege acts as an example, wherein he enacted the Paris Climate Accords, the Iran Nuclear Pact and DACA.
My question to Mr. Frost is, why is he condemning Mr. Obama for doing what Congress should have done in the first place? They were all issues that should have been passed by Congress, but for the recalcitrant Republicans who refuse to do anything for the country except take away regulations that keep our banks safe, our water drinkable and our air breathable, make their 1% buddies richer, and anything that the NRA dictates, but nothing for the betterment of the majority of the populace. And, of course, they holler loudly about having small government when it comes to their goals and desires, and loudly when for a large government when it comes to a woman's bedroom or her body.
Rosemary Colbert
Schaumburg
Congress is failing to protect us from guns
I applaud our legislators for working on no-fly list legislation. As a person who loves to travel, it is comforting to me that Congress is working to keep air travelers and air employees safer. However, what is happening with gun control? How many more innocent children, how many more innocent people have to die before legislation is enacted to control who is allowed to own guns? As a retired teacher who had to help facilitate lockdown drills and teach while on soft lockdowns, I'd like to know why the federal government isn't doing its utmost to address the safety of every one of the nation's citizens while we go about our daily lives.
It is discomforting to me that people get shot at work, at the grocery store, at the bank, at the movie theater, at nightclubs, at parades, at the post office, at concerts, at houses of worship and, it seems, most often at schools and universities.
When will common sense prevail on Capitol Hill to enact laws that will protect us all from an active shooter situation?
Lisa Lee Kmichik
Long Lake
Troubled by new mayor's position on guns
In his recent acceptance speech, the new mayor of Naperville said his first priority is "to fund institutions that treated the mentally ill, the primary cause of the mass shootings in this country."
In his delivery, he avoided any mention assault rifles, now available by the millions, used in these killings. He also suggested we should focus our attention on those who have criminal records and a history of mental disturbance.
Did he forget that most of them had no criminal history and that over 50% of the mentally ill never sought medical attention, remaining off-record of any institution that could benefit from the mayor's misleading counsel?
How long will we continue to listen to and elect those who equate the lives of innocent citizens with the money offered by those who support the Second Amendment, no holds barred?
Millions of untreated mentally ill continue to walk the streets in broad daylight, with no scrutiny. The incoming mayor of Naperville directly implied it's not the guns but the insanity of its owner that gives them license to kill on impulse.
How does he know who's mad and who isn't?
James D. Cook
Schaumburg
'Vietnam-era veteran' label a slap in the face
My father and six of his brothers served in either World War II or Korea. Some of them went overseas, some did not. When they all returned home, they were considered either World War II or Korean War veterans. There was no mention of eras or whether they served "in country" or not. They were all welcomed home as veterans.
Now to my gripe. I proudly served my country during the Vietnam conflict/war. I and many of my fellow service members who did not go to Vietnam were only a set of orders being handed to us from going to that conflict.
I feel I have been slapped in the face because the VFW says I cannot be a full member of their organization since I didn't serve "in country" and am only considered a Vietnam era veteran. I assume this applies to all the men and women who also served in the many other countries where we had troops stationed during that time.
As my job in the service, I wrote casualty reports, which on occasion required me to talk directly to the parents, wives and other relatives of the service members and sometimes the service members themselves. I am sure many of them would consider me a veteran and not an "era" veteran as I am now known. I am proud of the job I did.
Sadly, I will no longer be contributing to the VFW and will instead continue my support of the AMVETS and Paralyzed Veterans organizations.
I don't know where this "era" designation came from, but I think it should be abandoned. Does this also apply to all the conflicts/wars we have been in since?
I know this may seem petty, but I had to get this out of me.
Alan A. Cukla
Carpentersville
Providing a variety of viewpoints is important
I find it interesting that readers complain about the Opinion page containing opinions.
On Wednesday, April 12, a Daily Herald reader expressed his wish to encourage banning syndicated columnist Susan Estrich, a left-wing Democrat, from the opinion page.
Amazingly, I could have written the exact same Your Views comment exchanging "Susan Estrich, a left-wing Democrat" with "Michael Barone, a right-wing Republican."
It seems the Daily Herald does print opinions all of us, both right and left, can complain about!
Jim Baum
St. Charles
Enough with the political vitriol from everyone
Am I the only person who is sick and tired of all the political slamming that goes on constantly? From political parties right on down to the every day citizen it never stops or even eases up. I can't read a newspaper (especially the syndicated columnists and individual letters) without being exposed to political vitriol. And without being quite as vile, the same is true with TV news, talk shows and internet news. Has anyone ever heard the saying that if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing? This is especially true when it comes to Donald Trump. Don't the people who hate (and I do mean hate) him realize the more they carry on about him the more it feeds his ego and promotes his cause? Politics has split families. They can no longer have a conversation if they don't share the same political beliefs. I am just about ready to cancel my newspaper subscription and stop watching the news. Please stop this ridiculous nonsense and put your energy to the many good causes which could use your help. I'm sure they would love to have your energy and enthusiasm for their causes.
Janet Lumm
Schaumburg
A good paper should have many opinions
Clearly, the Daily Herald must once again educate people like Edward Richter about the difference between what news is versus what is an opinion column. Newspapers do not "only want to report the news, " but also present an array of opinions such as movie reviews, book reviews, advice columns, and yes, political opinion columns. Will he ban all of these?
Can he not see "Opinion" at the top of the page, including his own misguided letter with the suggestion to ban opinion columnists such as Susan Estrich? May I suggest you ban Richter's letter, which is clearly not news.
Mary Kay Walsh
Arlington Heights
Variety of opinions helps me learn
I was glad to see the letter from Edward Richter asking you to drop Susan Estrich from your editorial page. I hope you will keep publishing her. I often don't agree with her, but I like to see her views. I know she is not a reporter but a columnist - that means she can present her perspective with a byline.
I learn a lot reading what others think. I would not like reading only views of people who agree with me.
Keep up your good work.
Anne X. McKneally
Barrington
Maternal health begins with women's health
More American moms are dying during pregnancy, delivery or just after - the most since 1965, in fact.
Defined as death while pregnant or within 42 days afterward from a pregnancy-related cause, maternal mortality in America is the worst among developed nations, according to a recent report. To make matters worse, the risk of maternal death for Black women is 2.6 times as high as that for white women.
As an obstetrics and gynecology physician, I work to ensure every mom and baby in my care thrives. But, a host of factors - including the pandemic - is making that harder.
First, Americans aren't as healthy as they used to be. Rising rates of obesity, lack of physical activity and stress contribute to declining maternal health, and they put moms at risk for heart disease - the leading cause of maternal death.
Second, people are getting pregnant later in life, increasing their risk for serious complications like preeclampsia, hypertension and gestational diabetes.
Third, access to care remains a significant factor, especially for women of color.
Fourth, the United States has a high caesarean birthrate, which is higher for Black mothers. Unnecessary cesareans are a preventable cause of serious short-term complications, long-term and life-threatening effects in subsequent pregnancies, and overall maternal mortality.
A healthy pregnancy begins long before it starts. Helping young people establish and maintain healthy habits, while proactively managing chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes and hypertension, sets them up for a safer and healthier pregnancy in the future.
Jamilah J. Okoe
Elgin