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Show 1 By MARK D. MICKELSEN In less than three months voters will go to the polls to decide the fate of the Davis County paramedic program. . TO THOSE who feel they have no voice in local politics, the referendum election is a victory. If a majority of the ballots cast say yes, a special countywide mill levy totalling one to mills will be established to fund the program. IF THE March referendum passes, the average Davis County property owner will pay an additional seven dollars a year for paramedics. This is based on a proposed one mill levy for the first year. Compare that to the other alternative of charging residents for paramedic calls and there is a great cost difference. Residents would be paying anywhere from $50 to $ 00 per call on the alternative program. DAVIS COUNTY will support the paramedic program wnh general fund dollars through the end of 1982 even if the March cuts-whic- PREVIOUS REPORTS indicated that an interlocal agreement might be drawn up between the county and those cities who receive paramedic service. Other sources suggested a separate fee for paramedic calls, similar to the system used by ambulance companies. Com. Chairman Ernest Eberhard, in an interview with the Clipper-Refle- x newspaper last week, said service charges for paramedic calls in at least one neighboring county have been unsuccessful. As Com. Saunders pointed out, com- plaints against the system have been minimal. He said he has received only one negative response since the paramedic controversy began several months ago. Editors Note: More and more, medical professionals are left to make life and death decisions for their patients during crucial operay confrontattions and ions. This is part two in a three-pa- rt series on the ethical questions of life and death. man is rushed A paramedics into the by emergency room of a local hospital. Doctors diagnose the patients condition as a stroke. He is paralyzed, unable to communicate, walk or feed himself. But his vital signs are strong. PHYSICIANS try in vain to contact the elderly mans family. At midnight he developes pneumonia. While checking through the hospital files, doctors discover that the man they are treating has submitted a copy of a living will to the administration which says he does not want any heroic measures taken in the event he cannot be restored to a healthy, active life. BY MORNING the patients condition was worsened. Antibiotics are needed to treat the elderly man's pneumonia and to allow him to breathe on his own. The doctors, realizing that this is the mans third stroke in less than two years, are faced with a serious problem and antiwhether to use biotics to restore the man back to health for a couple of days, perhaps weeks or to avoid the use of drugs and let the man die as he has requested in his living will. BOUNTIFUL physician Gary Lower says it is extremely difficult for anyone, either in the legal or medical profes- sions, to determine what VFW Office Assist ForVA Will Benefit A field service officer from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Dept. Service Office, in Salt Lake City, will be in the area to assist veterans in understanding and applying for rightful VA benefits, preparing and documenting application for compensation, pension, hospitalization, education and other benefits. THE VFW OFFICER will be working in the Layton Job Service Center from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Jan. 18, 1982. Mistake She John, dear, I wouldnt let any one else kiss me like this. He My name isnt John. ventilator that breathes for somebody. Youve got a heart pacemaker that will keep someones heart beating. You have millions of different drugs in varying complexities from antibiotics to cure pneumonia to your potent cardiac drugs, he said. Are those extreme measures? WHILE STATE and federal legislators continue to battle the question of what constitutes life and death, Dr. Lower says the medical profession is fairly clear on definitions. I think the vast majority of doctors consider death to be at the point of brain death as established by at least two The heart may well keep beating for ages and ages. s. DR. LOWER emphasizes, however, that what one doctor considers a mea- explained. That is your wish. And I will respect that wish over the wishes of the children or the wife. I think that is a valid concept. THERE ARE no doubt situations where the patient involved cannot communicate with the doctor and is unable to convey his or her wishes about life and death. In this case, the family plays an important part in all decisions. But how far will the physician go in respecting the wishes of the family? One of the problems with allowing the family to determine when mother or father or sister will die is that the family may feel a great deal of guilt later on, Dr. Lower said. THE FAMILY should be consulted and, if their assessment of the situation corresponds with yours as a physician, then by all means you should have them as a part of the decision-makinprocess. g sure, another doctor may not. Most doctors I know feel there are certain circumstances in which you do not want to prolong life, he said. where the patient absolutely cannot get better, such as someone with cancer that has spread to the bones and lungs, then I dont think there is ever any question about keeping, this kind of patient alive. On the other hand. Dr. Lower said there are certain types of cancer that we really go all out for. One example is cancer in a child, the kind that is potentially curable. YOU CONTRAST that, he said, to the man with cancer of the prostrate who has lived a good life. You have to take into consideration the desires of the family. And often, your patient is perfectly capable of telling you what they want. The Davis County Office of Employment and Training has . included a new element in their referral process for accepting individuals on CETA. Eligible applicants now are provided an assessment service free of charge which helps them determine what specific job training they have an interest in and one which they can succeed in. APPLICANTS are given a series of interest, aptitude, and ability tests and experiences in a two day session. The assessment takes 8 hours to com- - wishes, Dr. Lower said, and made her as confortable as we could. MANY PATIENTS, the doc- tor said, make their wishes known prior to any serious ness or medical tragedy. I have people all the time that I will operate on who say hey, if something happens ill- during this operation and I dont come through, I dont want to be a vegetable. I dont want to be in a nursing home. THEY TELL me, Dr. Lower said, I dont want to be on a ventilator. If you cant get me back to where I can enjoy life, just forget it and let me die. I respect that, Dr. Lower around them, then let them die. Dr. Lower noted, however, that ultimately the physician is the guy whos going to end up making most of the deci- ASKED its time to ABOUT the THE REASON is, hes the one thats trained. He has seer! it before. He has been through the experience. Whoever makes the decision to let the patient die obviously takes on an incredible burden. But, according to Dr. Lower, after you have been in this business for 20 or 25 years, you get a pretty good feel for when youve gone just about as far as you can. DR. LOWER said he was taught by a doctor that when you can no longer maintain life with dignity, or with a hope of dignity, then it is time to let life pass on. If I cant see where what Im doing will result in somebody achieving some measure of an ability to be of use to either themselves or those KAYSVILLE Five men have been arraigned in Laytons Circuit Court Dec. 23 on charges of possessing and selling of illegal drugs following an arrest Tuesday by Davis County sheriffs department that ended a four year investigation. LT. ROBERT Peters from the sheriff's department stated it was one of the more cleverly run ones in the area, but not the biggest drug distribution ring in the country. Ben Bargar, age 35, of 86 E. 1st S., Kaysville, was arrested and arraigned on possession with intent to distribute a substance. Also Pattie Ann Wilging, 25, of the same SUNSET Sunset Mayor Norm Sant says the city is gearing up to do a comparative analysis of all computer system and computer merger proposals presented to the city A LIVING will, unless you can anticipate the circumstances of your death, isnt going to help you that much, he said. I think what you need to depend on more than anything is to make known to your physician what your wishes are. In part three of this series on the living will, the Clipper-Refle- x will examine the legal professions point of view on life and death situations and council over the last six months. CITY OFFICIALS have been looking at various computer companies and studying the success of local computer mergers in an effort to come up with a workable system for municipal The mayor said he is hopeful that the city will be able to buy into a system for $30,000 which will provide easy access to information concerning the citys budget, petty cash and payroll notes, police business, street and road repairs and utility billing. record-keepin- what measures should be taken to save a patients life. HE SAID the citys biggest concern is in getting water billing procedures updated. He said the existing utility billing process is archaic and re quires some change. Three alternatives for computer service remain open for the city at this point. The first, a tie-i- with Clearfield , is being studied by both Clearfield and Sunset authorities. n THE SECOND, a merger with Roy or another local entity, is still a possibility, Mayor Sant admits. The citys third choice is to bus their own system. MAYOR SANT said he talked to Clearfield City Manager Gayle Starks about tying into the citys existing computer system and said, we feel we are sail going to look at the Clearfield proposal. would only be able to retrieve information through the use of a special code. Under the merger proposal, Mayor Sant said larger cities have more information in the computer. But, he said all of the information from all of the cities is kept confidential. CLEARFIELD and Sunset had originally planned to merge together and purchase a computer system. Clear"eld, however, secured their own system last fall. Mayor Sant said as a result of Clearfields action the city had to at the computer system alternatives available. would allow Sunset to tie into the citys host terminal. Sunset would have their own terminals through which they could retrieve information. WERE GOING to do a comparative analysis of all the proposals, the mayor said. He said he personally feels that time sharing is the best alternative. I feel we can get more for the dollar. MAYOR Sant said Sunset would have a specific storage file within the computer for their own city accounts, but UNDER THE merger, he said, smaller cities are able to buy a Cadillac system at a Ford price. If accepted, Clearfield INDIVIDUALS interested in plete. Individuals are then referred to the program which can provide the training identified in the assessment. Applicants must realize CETA is -' mited in the types of services we can provide. By offering the assessment service, applicants then know whether or not they area suitable CETA enrollee or need to go to other resources for their job training purposes. The main goal of CETA is job placement. All efforts will be geared to getting an individual employed. applying for CETA should contact the Office of Employment and Training. Eligibility is determined by family income and size, work history, handicap, social security, or family assistance status. In li- order to be certified an appointment must be made on a Tuesday or Thursday. We anticipate we will be placing a large number of on the CETA program in January. Please call ext. 382 to nake an appointment. 451-338- Immunization Clinic Moved To City Hall This Week Only By TOM BUSSELBERG 773-780- 0 . address, was arrested on two counts of possession of a controlled substance. session of a controlled substance for distribution and Chesworth was also charged with one count of possession of a controlled THE POLICE arrested two Ogden men as they were driving away from the house after the police allege they purchased the controlled substance. They were identified as Floyd C. Jones, age 30, of 856 West Lake, Ogden, and Lionel Mar Chesworth, age 24, of 963 Rushton, Ogden. The fifth person arrested was David John Algrechtsen, age 26, of 579 E. Gentile, Layton. Drugs involved were marijuana, hashish and others. substance. Algrechitsen was arrested in Layton and charged with one count of possession and two counts of distribution of a controlled substance. Police Chief Lyle Larkins said he had suspected the house where most of the arrests took place for about four years. Through extensive investigation the sheriffs con-toll- JONES AND Chesworth each face two counts of pos DAVIS COUNTY officials are taking the only action possible at this time. Voters should follow suit. By MARK D. MICKELSEN nitty-gritty- ,- highly-intellige- wings. Plans This Year strength of the living will concept, Dr. Lower said, a living will sounds great. Everybody runs out to make out a living will because they dont want to be stuck or; a ventilator. But when you get down to the doctor the said, it gets to be a very complex issue. sions. Five Men Arraigned On Illegal Drug Charges IT WAS the desire of one of Dr. Lowers patients, he explained, to have nothing done to prolong her life after cancer chemotherapy failed. I dont want anything else done, she told him. Im ready to die. We totally respected her Voters will be asked to determine whether or not they want the paramedic program to live or die. And yet the paramedics, who often determine whether or not people live or die, are left waiting in the Sunset To Check Out Computer Proposals, Merger New Element In CETA Referrals IF YOU have a disease IN A WAY, there is some irony to this March election. COM. EBERHARD emphasized that the in the paramedic program is optional county. He said there are other nonoption-a- l programs which will have to be taken care of if the federal cutbacks are realized. If we dont have enough money, the NINE OUT of ten (people), Com. Eberhard said, "are in support of the service. But are those nine people willing to pay a little bit more for the service? The commis meaheroic or sures are. You have got a mechanical THERE ARE a number of ifs" about the paramedic program this year. The bigwill gest if is whether or not the service still be available after 1982. If residents say yes the answer is simple. If they say no, it may be the beginning of the end for the Davis County paramedics. upcoming referendum fails? If the recession deepens and the federal government keeps cutting funds it may be that well have to get down to bare bones," Com. Saunders said, alluding to a proposed 50 percent cutback in federal funds to the county in 1983. Ufa Or Death: Who Decides? By MARK D. MICKELSEN TOM. SAUNDERS and Eberhard agreed that the county may have to return to the voters every five years for another election. Both are confident that the March referendum will pass. WHAT ARE the possibilities of the county cutting paramedic service in 1983 if the One Doctors Opinion ! the future of the program. According to Com. Eberhard, planners of the mill levy idea are working on a five-yeprojection of costs. ance. The burden is on the people who will benefit from it (paramedic program), he added.. Were not trying to pressure anyone. WHEN FACED with a crisis situation, however, one would imagine it would be better to have two qualified experts on the scene than none at all. fund-hav- mission to seek resident support for another mill levy. WHILE COUNTY officials are anticipat- I DONT feel there is any better way for a family to spend seven dollars, Com. Eberhard said. Its a good buy. Its insur- there is any answer. Com. Saunders admits there have been a few complaints against the paramedic program, but said most have come from people who cannot understand why medical and law enforcement personnel often show up in great numbers when there is an accident. the commis- ing a one mill levy if the referendum goes over through, there is still some question 1 referendum is unsuccessful. Beyond that," Com. Eberhard says, I dont think BUT, IF the ballots say no, the survival of the paramedic program is at stake. Davis County Commissioners support the March 2nd referendum as the only viable alternative to county funding of the h program. State and federal budget have all but crippled the availability of additional revenues in Davis Contys e forced the county comgeneral paramedics will have to go, sioner said. sioners were optimistic. HE SAID visitors hurt while vacationing or visiting relatives often leave town without paying the paramedics for services rendered. As for the other alternatives, Com. Glen Saunders said, "I guess they are alternatives, but we dont think they are very viable. . office was able to set up a surveillance of the home last week and observed drug dealings taking place and started mak- ing arrests, np FARMINGTON - Thurs- days immunization clinic will be held in the Bountiful city offices rather than the county library south branch with a new site being sought. THE CLINIC has been held in the library basement for several years but due to a tight library budget, the lower level auditorium area is being closed to all activities. That includes the Thursday afternoon immunization clinic and issuing of WIC (women, infant, and children) vouchers from p.m. Nursing Director Dolleen Jewett said Tuesday morning the city hall will be used this week only with another site being sought where a refrigerator and storage space would be available for the weekly clinics. IN A related move, the county health board has authorized implementation of a $3 a visit fee for well child conferences held each Tuesday from p.m. by appointment at the health department in the courthouse basement in Noting the fee is asked per child per visit, Mrs. Jewett said the user fee is asked of all participants but emphasized if people are unable to pay for some reason, they wont be excluded. THE CLINICS are available for examining children from birth to to determine if any developmental problems, have arisen she explained. After examination by a nurse and Dr. Enrico Leopardi, county health director, youngsters with problems are referred to private physicians for any necessary followup. Some heart, orthopedic and nutritional problems may be detected for instance, she said, although, that isnt the main goal of the program, which usually has about a months waiting list. All residents may participate with no income criteria set to participate, although she said we assume people of higher incomes would have a pedicatrician they would be going to. THE FEE schedule is part of user fees being omplemented wherever possible in an effort to ajust a move to program fees to help supplement the funding we have so we can expand our programs or at least continue them at the level they are now. The health department, like virtually every government agency, has been hit by a budget crunch from all sides, including the federal level, where maternal and child health funding originates' for the well child clinics. Funds are passed through from federal to state offices for distribution, but Mrs. Jewett said monies have been limited this year. We carry out as far as we can with the funds we get. Thats why any supplement we can get is helpful). SOME OTHER health departments have started charging for the clinics and most departments are going to a us- -. ers fee, the nursing director indicated. With the county recently implementing such fees for immunizations. About 500 youngsters are served each year under the program that has operated for about 15 years. Although potential participants could point to a need to expand clinic ..hours, Mrs. Jewett paid that would be difficult Because of space limitations. . ' |