| Show 18A The Public Forum The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday February 26 1989 Common Carrier Tribune Readers' Opinions OMMIIMIIMPIMPRE1MNIM Utah Has Opportunity to Ease Shortage of Licensed Nurses -- 1 k By Sara V Sinclair There is a severe shortage of IIcensed nurses in Utah and across the nation as well A shortage of licensed nurses is a definite threat to E: Hospitals ?: '! - - 1 2ros'srm e Vi1 (-- ':' 4) e:kr 'is: ii :": lc !:: - :k '514')sP 1a ii 44: e p 1 W r 1 - o ' )1 '''''''':1 i-- f:45 '? :: 7r- - 4iZ''-!1- :4 p A) :: '':-:---' :i: ' :4' Sara V Sinclair Today's Common Carrier author is Sara V Sinclair administrator of the Sunshine Terrace Foundation Inc 225 N 200 West Logan Utah 84321 In addition to being a registered nurse the author is a 11- censed health care facility admin istrator She also serves as a care services or to place a client in a care facility The possible ramifications of the nursing shortage are of great concern: Lack of access to needed care can be created due to the nursing shortage poor morale can result in existing staff due to being overcrowded with resulting high turnover an increased risk of litigation against professionals and pro viders is established when there is long-ter- president of the vice r! fwgziv0403006 e regional :'1 Iiiwk (g' i:1 nursing homes home health agencies and public health departments in Utah and in other states are reporting inabilities to staff their units appropriately Fifty-eigh- t percent of member long-tercare facilities surveyed by the American Health Care Association in the spring of 1988 reported vacancies for registered nurses One-thir- d of these homes needed one or more registered nurses to meet current minimum federal standards for percent restaffing Seventy-ninported a shortage of licensed practical nurses Currently it is taking a long-tercare facility an average of three months to fill a licensed nurse vacancy The overall shortage in Utah will meet or exceed 20 percent by 1990 ' American Health Care Association as vice chairman of the ProfessionalTechnical Advisory Care of Committee for Long-Terthe Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations as chairman of the Utah Health Care Association Nursing Manpower Task Force and as chairman of the Utah Health Facilities Committee The views expressed in the article are the per sonal views of the author not enough nursing expertise available According to the Utah Nursing Resources Study (1985-1990- ) prepared by the Utah Health Systems Agency under the direction of the Utah Nursing Resources Study Task Force Utah will experience a continuing decline in the supply of registered nurses as well as LPNs In 1990 there will be at least 2000 job openings for nurses in Utah Thus it is clear that the nursing shortage not only impacts quality of care but economic development as well Otis R Bowen former secretary Department of Health and Human There is no issue more critical to the provision of quality of life and care to clients than nurse staffing Access to nursing care is one of the major factors in the decision to hospitalize a client to use home health How to Submit Articles To Common Carrier Board of Lay Editors Hughes member Communication Workers of Arnerica Local 7704 and Dr Sanford Baum a professor of industrial engineer ing at the University of Utah The board seeks articles from all segments of the community Atticles need not be profession- Opinions expressed in Common Carrier do not necessarily reflect 'those of The Salt Lake Tribune or the Common Carrier Board of Lay Editors Articles in this department are selected by the lay board of editors which operates independently of The Tribune editorial and reportorial policies The Common Carrier board representing a cross section of the community is composed of Joyce M Gray principal Arcadia Elementary School Granite School District Fran SchwaningerMorse executive director Governors Council for Handicapped and Developmentally - :::'e: ':- the quality of health care available to needy individuals - ally prepared but should be be tweert 950 and 1200 words long and be typed and double spaced They should pertain to the economic political and social wellbeing of the Intermountain Area Articles should be timely have a basic idea promote dialogue and be challenging "open letters" are not acceptable Disabled Material should be mailed to Common Carrier The Salt Lake Tribune PO Box 867 Salt Lake City Utah 81110 Judy Vogel member Bountiful and Utah State League of Women Voters Maxine P Persons Services established a Commission on Nursing which recently released a report on the serious nursing shortage The shortage according to the report is primarily the result of an increase in demand For example in nursing homes RN employment increased 22 percent between 1981 and 1988 The report stated that the best retention recruitment and marketing efforts will not adequately change the supply of nurses in order to offset the demand rate This demand rate is affected by the growth of the elderly population a continuation of cost containment efforts in the area of health wider care and availability of long-tercatastrophic insurance and increasing staffing requirements for nursing homes and hospitals as well as in public health and home health fields Factors affecting the limited sup ply of nurses are as follows: Decreasing enrollment rates in nursing schools (nationwide) low salaries limited salary ranges poor working conditions difficulties in retaining nurses and a poor professional image The commission's report states that the shortage is definitely affecting quality of patient care and work environments as well as access to health services Utah is unique in one very impor tant area Due to limited funding for nursing education in the state colleges and universities Utah is turning away three applicants out of four for each available nursing education slot Put another way we could educate three times as many nurses as we are if there were more money available for the purpose Most schools of nursing are experiencing declining enrollments and fewer applicants Utah schools of nursing are fortunate in that they have more interest being expressed in their educational facilities I see this as an ideal opportunity for Utah an opportunity to train licensed nurses and to fill the projected 2000 licensed-nurs- e positions which will be needed in 1990 There are other factors impacting the number of licensed nurses available to work in Utah Utah nursing salaries are lower than some of the of other states the nurses has increased and the budgetary restraints in Medicare and Medicaid are adding to the concerns Providers are working hard to recruit and retain professional licensed nurses Clinical career ladders better pay better benefits more flexible scheduling and the provision of scholarships for further education are some of the methods being used Also refresher courses are being encouraged in the evening and weekend hours for individuals who would like to return to the practice of nursing after being inactive However these efforts are not adequate More needs to be done Health care providers in Utah in an all-oeffort to overcome the licensed nursing shortage would like to work closely with the Board of Re gents Council of University Presidents State Legislature and nursing educators as well as the taxpayers to see that increased funding is allocated to nursing education to train more nurses We must take advantage of the fact that we have people interested in becoming nurses We can train more nurses and help reduce the shortage in Utah Quality health care for Utah residents and enhanced economic development in the form of filling jobs for nurses can be the result ever-growin- g Leave Taxpayer Out A number of special interests have been very vocal in their support of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Utah Their reasons have not been well thought out and the logic is seriously flawed The Winter Olympics have historically been horrendous losers — the real losers being the taxpayers The Calgary event for example originally budgeted at $440 million ended up costing double that amount And the city provincial and national governments donated $500 million of taxes to make up the deficit The Utah event based on 1998 (sic) dollars would most likely cost in the $1 billion tO $2 billion range Its proponents are silent on this releasing only estimated costs of small segments of the massive requirements The taxpayers are left in the dark as to their ultimate obligations Boosters Jack Turner and Tom Welch have publicly described their plan for making the proposed ski jumping facility near the Pinebrook subdivision in Summit County a viable enterprise: in addition to a $2 million grant they expect to get from the state (Community Impact Board) they anticipate revenue from a proposed 20000 to 30000 capacity stadium which could be used for summer rock concerts The negative experience Park West has had with traffic noise and crowd behavior should cast doubt on this proposal I have skied at many Winter Olympics sites in Europe For the most part the bobsled and luge runs are ugly scars on the mountains that are seldom used and certainly do not justify their huge startup and maintenance costs Our civic leaders should take a closer look at their priorities It makes no environmental sense to tear up a new mountain area every four years in the hope of getting an Olympic event every decade or so It would be better to spend much smaller amounts on existing US facilities And why not let the proponents form their own Olympic corporation raise their own money and stand to profit or lose from the adventure leaving the taxpayer completely out of it? ROBERT H ANDERSON Just an Excuse I'm glad in the name of common sense that the Legislature left the sales tax alone Sales tax on food clothing automobiles fast food and other merchandise is the only fair taxation this state has It is the closest thing to a "head tax" this state will ever have It is one way to get people who choose to have large families to pay their own way If parents want to have numerous children they have to purchase more clothes and food to support them In this way through the sales tax they at least have to pay part of their fair share to the state for the education that somebody other than the of their horde The excuse of sales tax hurting the low income families is just that an excuse An excuse for the middle and upper class to pay even less into the state I don't believe it is the families who are complaining after all 5 percent of nothing is still nothing I believe that the people making the noise are those who do not like paying taxes on expensive health and gourmet foods expensive new automobiles fashion clothing and new boats and motor homes (though they can deduct interest on these boats and motor homes as a second home) families It is not the who are buying filet mignon lobster or tons of junk food for their kids It Is not the families paying $300 or WO per windbreaker for skiing and even more for fashionable exercise wear Upon close examination it can be seen that the $90 million-plus generated from sales tax is being collected from the middle and upper class and not from the poor RICHARD ATWOOD lower-incom- wealthy were using and enjoying public property When will they quit lying to the public and balance out user fees for all recreation property in the city and county? JOHN H BUSCH e Not Too Smart' I read with some horror (and disbelief) the story in The Tribune about a chlorine leak at the Salt Lake Water Conservancy District plant that sent five children and three adults to the hospital It is truly amazing and scary that this could low-inco- happen What were these presumably intetligent people thinking about? They had not only one but two leaks and to confound matters they also failed to notify the proper authorities When the authorities were notified (by a neighbor complaining about burning eyes and choking) Sandy Fire Department personnel who responded did not wear proper protective clothing One has only to look through the daily papers to find numerous incidents like this one where carelessness or stupidity resulted in preventable accidents Remember the rocket fuel fire at Thiokol that killed several people? The governor often boasts about the "well educated" work force in our state and how this should be attractive to outside businesses It would seem that there is a big difference between being "well educated" and being "smart" GALINSKY Sandy low-inco- I Forum Rules Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writer's full name signature and address Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reason on others Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days Preference will be given to short typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writer's true name All letters are subject to condensation Mail to the Public Forum The Salt Lake Tribune PO Box 867 Salt Lake City Utah 84110 Warden First For several months since the dedication of the historic monument in Sugarhouse Park memorializing the site of the Utah Territorial Prison the Garn Family Organization has been protesting the inaccuracy of the words inscribed on the plaque stating Albert Perry Rockwood was the first warden to serve at the prison This information is inaccurate It has been proven through research of the Territorial Legislative Laws of Utah that Daniel Garn was selected and elected to serve as first warden He served two terms — from 1855 to Balance The Fees Once again the city and county government have found a way to keep the poor retired and elderly off public recreation property They don't mind using their tax dollars to build and maintain it but they don't want them to use it They keep using the same tired excuse of raising the green fees to help maintain the golf course but everybody knows that the fees go into the recreation general fund to help maintain all the other free recrea- 1859 now aware of this inaccuracy simply state we want the public and especially the people of the state of Utah to know the truth We believe that the monument committee and the Sons of Utah Pioneers should take steps to correct this Or do they want to perpetuate an inaccuracy for generations to come? SELINA HEADMAN tion property: parks basketball courts tennis courts playgrounds Let's not forget the softball fields where if you're not on a team you can't even get a time to use them Of course there is a $200 per team charge to cover the umpire cost it won't even pay for the utilities for a single night of action They raised the fees took over some of the pro shops and made to the retired and them worthless elderly just because they found out Vice - ' Preliminary Hearing Reviews Charges felony there is a review of the evidence to determine if it is sufficient to continue with the prosecution In some cases the prosecutor presents the case to a grand jury in other cases to a judge at a preliminary hearing It works like this Lenny Larson and his lawyer !Samuel P "Judge" Carruthers sat 'at one of the two "counsel tables' in the center of the courtroom Deputy County Attorney Lorin Ordure made a brief statement indicating that Lenny had been charged with burglary and called his first witness Yourton Police Patrolman Garth Strong i He said down— 11' I'm stuck I can't look "And how did he finally come to get out of that situation?" Carrwhers asked called the fire department for as:itanee Officer Strong said -We used a snorkle truck to get him off the wall When I saw it was Lunny I placed him under arrest for blirglary "Did Mr Larson offer any expla 3(MMS' it McDonough 'He shouted down that he couldn't" officer Strong replied ?ransom : p el "I saw a man clinging to the ivy vines two stories up On the West side of the Grand Hotel" Officer Strong answered "Is that man in the courtroom?" Ordure asked 'It's that man in the red and yellow plaid sport coat sitting at the table next to Judge Carruthers' Officer Strong answered "Let the record reflect- - Ordure said that the witness is pointing to the defendant Lenny Larson" Later on cross examination Carruthers asked abaut the circumstances of the arrest 'Officer Strong what exactly was Mr Larson's reply when you ordered him to come down' II - 4C La "Officer Strong" Ordure asked after sonic preliminary questions ''did you see anything unusual on that occasion?' tift a t Edward McDonough is a Moyer practicing in Salt Lake City I-- -- Edward I iattir nallommet:7 MS nroill Wing 1::-- 4 iiigTV: i It A ::: " "Exporting beef raised on growth hormones is causing problems viith They're starting to build Japan bigger cars" ':':' A ::f:':::li ::: ::I::::::::: :::: ::: :::::E: ' ' ::: 71'0 ! 4: :: l''::Atef14: :: rpt ':: 8! ' ' ''S-- ' 415 ' B l' 0" ) - '410 ' 1::!t Id 0N':4 ' wti:::: firli ::i 11104 44:t:"4--!'-- 5 !:ii:iii::H::!: :i: -- 2!7: ' - ' ' p Fresh t - Remember to ask about our convenient Crisp Wonderfully sublime Capture the essence of spring with lucid layaway and payment plans too blue topaz rings from our collection—for Fine Jewelry 7711 yourself or for a March birthday Choose A Nugget a Oval C Emerald cut 33900 I I l I Mil fr- - - re Rh vatErk A 46 IlIt 1— from three irresistible styles all set in 43400 1 14K gold and diamond I enhanced with a bright Come in today and see 1 Our photo is enlarged to show all the our collection for yourself beautiful detail 1 1 weinstockes I - 4 1 WE'RE AT YOUR SERVICE i ' I I (Point of Law is published for Information purposes only and should not be used as legal advice You should see your own lawyer for specific legal opinion) 29b R Arr - 28300 - — - Shop Crossroads Plaza di 524-266- 6 Shop Fashion Place Shop Ogden City Mall 263-666- 6 626-166- 6 f AIL - 1 1 charge" : sot d' nation for his climbing the wall?" Carruthers asked "Yes sir" Officer Strong said "He said he climbed up to rescue a kitten for a child" "Did you observe in the vicinity" Carruthers asked "a small child with a kitten?" "Yes sir" Officer Strong said "And I figured Lenny did too That's where he got the idea for the kitten rescue story" "Officer Strong did you ask the small child with the kitten if Mr Larson had gone up the side of the building to get the kitten down?" "No sir" Officer Strong said "Lenny is a known burglar I knew what he was doing up there" "Have you ever known a burglar to attempt entry by climbing up the street side of a building in broad daylight?" Carruthers asked "Objection!" Lorin Ordure said rising to his feet "The witness's experience with other burglary suspects is not relevent to the defendant's behavior on this occasion" After Lorin Ordure had finished presenting the case for the state Judge Hardy granted Carruthers' motion to dismiss the charges "There is not enough evidence from which I can find that there is probable cause to believe that a burglary has been committed" he said "or that this defendant should be bound over to district court for trial on the - - Celebrate the rites of spring with our collection of cool blue topaz rings Point of Law is charged with a President Gam Family Organization ' - rt-ii-4:-- After someone together with many people who I are MSrei JO ost 4allt A 4 1 I |
