Dear Editor,
There’s been some confusion lately. What I have written in the past is not specifically written about any particular individual. At no point have I mentioned any Perryville residents by name in any recent letters. Anything about grammatical errors or facts is a general observation.
The Republic Monitor reported that on March 22nd, Mr. Bill Bohnert said “A lot of them felt like they were put under pressure to sign this form; I was worried for my job if I didn’t sign it.” On March 31st, a letter to the editor stated, “They were TOLD to go to this forum.” I think any abuse or violence victims would agree that being under pressure, worried, or TOLD, is pretty close to being forced.
We have local doctors and several of them publicly signed a letter stating their willingness to walk away from the hospital process if it was not in the best interest of local healthcare. I don’t think that is just an “opinion.”
Perryville residents that recently tested positive for COVID and then go to church or hang out in public, are certainly not following COVID guidelines. Local businesses that didn’t provide protection for workers or didn’t follow protocols for COVID-positive workers were not following COVID guidelines.
Mercy has many hospitals in Missouri. Walmart has headquarters in Arkansas and people still buy groceries from them locally. Medicare headquarters are in Maryland and people still rely on Medicare for health related issues. Conoco headquarters are in Texas and people still buy gas from them locally. At a public local event, Mercy even sent a hospital administrator from a smaller Mercy hospital because they have experience with local hospitals like ours.
Many reputable health systems, like Johns Hopkins, have shown how virtual visits can provide a diagnosis. Ask any local doctor, it is not true that most virtual visits result in being told to go to the ER. Southeast Health’s website tells about their desire to expand telemedicine and that providers can both examine patients and provide a diagnosis using telemedicine. Researchers, like Dr. Linder of Harvard, acknowledge that the quality of virtual care needs to improve. That is another reason why we need better technology and access, because that’s how you get better healthcare.
Many hospital workers publicly signed onto a letter (of their own free will) that said they approved of affiliating with Mercy. Our LOCAL doctors publicly stated that Mercy is the best choice. These workers and local doctors are citizens as much as anybody else.
According to 2020 US Census data, Perry County had 18,956 residents. There’s probably at least 18,500 residents that I don’t know or have never heard of. That doesn’t make them fictitious – they’re still people, at least in my eyes.
Again, previous letters didn’t mention any local residents by name. My letters are simply my opinion and I have as much right as anyone else to voice that opinion, even if someone disagrees with me. No-one has to read what I write. My letters are not directed at any specific person. Being personally attacked for voicing a personal opinion is just petty. If anyone felt that my letters have done that, it’s not what they were intended as.
