Advanced nurses are not doctors

1/22/2010

In response to your Jan. 8 editorial “Advanced nurses qualify,” Schedule II narcotics have a high potential for drug abuse and trafficking, can create severe dependence, and should be prescribed only with a clear understanding of the patient’s underlying medical conditions. This is why prescribing these medications in Ohio is limited to physicians.

The training of an advance-practice nurse is complementary to that of a physician, but should not be viewed as equivalent. After obtaining a college degree in nursing or an equivalent, an advance-practice nurse requires 500 to 1,000 classroom and clinical course hours of training. This is one to two years of advanced training compared to seven years and 10,000 to 14,000 clinical hours for a physician.

Does this mean that advance-practice nurses should not care for patients who require Schedule II drugs? No, but the patient’s safety must come first.

Dr. Jeff Harwood

President Ohio Academy of Family Physicians

Norwalk, Ohio

Taxpayers will end up with bill

Once again, President Obama has demonstrated his incredible naivet when it comes to helping us recover from this recession.

Not only does he feel that growing government and government programs spur economic recovery (which they don’t and never will), but now he plans to impose a $90 billion tax on the 50 largest banks in the United States to help pay back some of the bailout money in the stimulus package he rammed through Congress.

And who will end up paying for this? You and me, so Mr. Obama might as well have levied the tax directly on us.

Ken Lauerer

Holland

Find out who’s handling money

As a young man I sometimes heard the phrase “Wall Street warmonger,” but failed to understand what it meant.

In high school, I listened to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address to the nation as he warned against the unwarranted influence of the military-industrial complex.

Four years ago, I became aware that the Federal Reserve is a private banking cartel with ties to Wall Street. The question we must ask is: Who profits from endless wars and who profits from controlling our nation’s money supply?

We must start connecting the dots and peek behind the curtain to see who is pulling the strings.

Ron Heringhauser

Brownstone Boulevard

Higher bank fees are hidden tax

Drew Sheneman, whose editorial cartoon about banks and Troubled Asset Relief Program funds was in The Blade on Monday, doesn’t get it, or maybe is playing on the ignorance of the American people.

If Congress needs more money, they increase or add a tax on corporations or taxpayers. Corporations in turn increase their product price to customers to cover the tax increase. Taxpayers have nowhere to go for more money to pay tax increases, so they have no choice but to pay or go to jail.

Remember, when President Obama wants to soak the rich or banks, it is you who ultimately pays. Watch for higher fees at your bank.

Michael Wilson

Perrysburg

Truth getting lost in the GOP circus

I attended the Lucas County Republican Central Committee meeting in December and was witness to a circus. Lost in the accusations and claims made by both factions are a few simple truths.

First, party Chairman Jon Stainbrook was present but was forbidden from calling the meeting to order until consent was given by the fire marshal.

Second, according to party bylaws and Robert’s Rules of Order, challenger Paul Hoag was not legally allowed to call the central committee to order.

Finally, even with the illegal meeting proceeding, the party bylaws expressly state that a 50 percent majority of all members, not just those in attendance, is required to remove the chairman. A voice vote is not sufficient for this. A roll-call vote or secret ballot would be necessary to poll the entire membership.

A decision by the state GOP or courts that runs counter to this would be an act of political expediency and contrary to the rule of law.

Boyd Hambleton

Collingwood Boulevard

Vaccinating 20%may hinder H1N1

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that one in five U.S. citizens has been vaccinated against the H1N1 virus. That might very well help explain the relatively mild epidemic.

When a certain level of an infectible group has been inoculated against an infective agent, there will not be a rampant epidemic. Infected individuals will occur here and there, but not in large clusters.

This level of inoculated individuals is known as the critical mass. We may very well be there. We’ll see.

Dr. Gordon M. Mather Crossfields Road

Compromise for a Palestinian state

The Blade’s Jan. 13 editorial “Mideast morass” did little to enlighten readers about important shifts that have taken place in the Middle East.

Israel has removed the vast majority of manned checkpoints that slowed travel within the West Bank. Special envoy Tony Blair and U.S. Gen. Keith Dayton are helping Palestinians build local institutions. Economic development has returned to the West Bank.

The one development that would destabilize the area would be for Hamas, with its Iranian backers, to become the permanent government in Gaza. Somewhat incomprehensibly, The Blade has sometimes suggested editorially that this is the preferred scenario.

A lasting peace, a prosperous regional economy, and a Palestinian state are possible, but only through compromise. Delay will not get the Palestinians a better deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement policy is an attempt to convey that message. A dose of realism could lead to a blossoming of the entire region.

Howard M. Friedman

Chairman Jewish Community Relations Council

United Jewish Councilof Greater Toledo

Sentence too light in child’s death

Lorrie Thomas received a paltry 10-year sentence in the death of a 9-year-old disabled child named Shylae Thomas, the niece she adopted (Jan. 12, “Michigan woman sent to prison for quadriplegic girl’s death”).

Thomas’ reaction was that she did not kill Shylae. Then who did? Her most egregious statement was: “Not one person helped me.”

It takes a while to starve to death. Where were all the family members then who were pictured in the newspaper wearing memorial shirts? If she was so precious to them, did they check on her, read to her, take her a toy?

Susan Hiers Perry

Glenwood Avenue

I wonder how many Ohioans will be bilked out of $20 by the new late fee for not renewing license plates within seven days of their birthday.

The late fees go to the state highway patrol. Because unemployment hovers around 10 percent, school systems are in financial trouble, and taxpayers are strapped, let's put the money toward our kids or to help the unemployed.

Keith Galbraith

Lyons, Ohio