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Show Page Two FRIDAY, THE SALT LAKE TIMES AUGUST 29, 1975 There Is No One Single Cause Of Bicycle Sales Escalate Vernal Physicians, Medical The Medical Insurance Problem During Recent Years Center Start Family Program Back in 1960 the bicycle was (This is the second of a series what many consider to be un- of six articles concerning the medical professional liability (malpractice) insurance problem in Utah. The mat erial was prepared by the Utah State Medical Association whose 1,375 practicing physicians make up 99 percent of the nongovern- ment doctors in Utah.) Professional liability (malpractice) insurance rates for doctors and hospitals have skyrocketed across the nation and Utah is no exception. Doctors are concerned because they must be covered by professional liability insurance or they cannot practice the profession for which they have spent their lifetimes preparing and for which there is such need. And. increased medical insurance rates are a business expense for the doctor and the hospital which must be passed on to the consumer you. the patient. Utah's doctors and hospitals are committed to continuing to provide the best medical care of which they are capable on an uninterrupted basis at a reasonable cost. Insurance premium increases of 300 to 400 percent, which are becoming relatively common, bear directly on the doctor's and hospitals ability to deliver the best medical care possible at a reasonable cost in several ways. There are almost as many causes for the medical liability insurance problem as there are lawyers and doctors and legislators and hospital administrators and insurance men and patients. And, that means that to some degree we are all part of the problem. The problem has been caused by a tremendous increase in the number of lawsuits alleging malpractice being brought against physicians and hospitals and reasonable amounts of money being awarded by juries in some cases. We acknowledge that there Dr. is medical malpractice, considered a serious means of locomotion, even by bikemakers themselves. In all of 1960 only 3.7 million units were sold. For reasons of health many Americans decided they would shine up the frame, pump up the tires of the old bike in the base-met- n and use it as an exerciser. Discovery of the bike spread. By 1965 according to the Bicycle Institute of America, sales rose to 5.6 million. Nearly 33 milion bikes were in use. Sales in 1971 rose to 8.9 million units. An estimated 53.1 bikes were in A program to provide health care to a medically underserved area and a training center for teams of health sciences students has been established at Vernal. The affiliation with the University of Utah Health Sciences Center is being funded by a $302,340 grant from the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. An additional $54,391 has been made available by the Intermountain Regional Medical Program. The center was established through a cooperative effort beuse. In the estimate of the Bicycle tween Vernal physicians and the science centers primary Institute, the road ahead is clear. health care committee, headed by Dr. It foresees sales of 15.4 million C. Hilmon Castle, professor and units this year followed by 16.8 million units in 1974 and 18 chairman of the Us department of family and community medimillion in 1975. cine (DFCM). Facilities being used are loA politician thinks of the next in the Vernal Clinic, opcated election; a statesman of the next erated by Dr. Ray Spendlove, a generation. Clarke. local physician who was instrumental in establishing the prosaid. gram. Quarrie The problem doctor is part Opened .July 1, the Vernal of the problem and will have to program helps provide health be part of the solution, Dr. Mc- care to an area that has increased in population by 50 percent Quarrie said. A representative of a legal or- since 1970. Sheran D. Smith, ganization recently was quoted DFCM manager of budgets and as saying that seven out of ten grants, and the growth rate, malpractice lawsuits are finally primarily resulting from northdecided by the courts in the eastern Utah energy development is expected to continue for doctors favor. That means that 70 percent the next five years. The problem was compoundof those suits were, in effect, nuisance lawsuits. The cost of ed when two of the five physicdefending against them must be ians working in the Vernal areas another reason for the tremend- left their practices, Mrs. Smith ous increase in our insurance said. Seeds for the affiliation were planted last year when rates, Dr. McQuarrie said. Part of the solution must be Uintah County Hospital Adminfinding a better, more stable istrator John Arnold and local yet fair system of screening physicians approached the unimedical malpractice lawsuits so versity to work out a working that these cases never make it to court and end up costing us all, patient and doctor alike, so Dr. McQuarrie much money. hardly Howard G. McQuarrie, president of the Utah State Medical AsAnd sociation, said recently. of proobtaining the passage Utah the posed legislation by Legislature which will enable the medical profession to better police itself must be an important part of the overall solution, he said. "There is a small number of problem doctors, and the medical profession is as interested as the public, if not more so, in seeing them taken out of the practice Dr. McQuarrie of medicine, said. "We should remember that doctors dont carry malpractice insurance just to protect themselves. They also carry it to protect their patients so they can be compensated in the event of a mistake. The fact is that some doctors make more mistakes than others, and the insurance premium of the doctor who never has been successfully sued reflects the cost of the doctor who is sued regularly, he said. "It's not like your automobile insurance where the better your driving record, the lower your insurance rates. The vast majority of Utahs doctors do practice competently within their skill levels but are paying insurance rates reflecting the lawsuits and settlements of the he said. An problem doctors, interesting part of the problem that needs more investigation and discussion is that Utahs doctors and hospitals are paying liability insurance rates based cn the insurance companies naDr. Mc- - said. tional experience, arrangement with the department of surgery. That resulted in U surgeons offering their services at the Vernal hospital on a regular basis, led by Dr. Bruce Houtchens. The affiliated center now has two university physicians working full time. They are Dr. Lee Balka, who has finished a residency in family practice, and Dr. Jack Summers, a family physician from Kansas. A third physician is being recruited through the DFCM Rural Health Program. Also practicing in Vernal is Karen Hangsleben, a nurse midwife. In addition. Dr. Richard Kirk. DFCM director of rural health, who vvas instrumental in laying the groundwork for the project, serves in the Vernal area three days a week Mrs. Smith said. Health sciences students at the facility will be given a special emphasis on practicing primary care in the rural community Mrs. Smith added. Those who express a special interest in rural medicine will be given priority in the selection process. The first student teams are scheduled to begin working in Vernal by spring quarter 1976, although some individual students may begin working as early as this fall. , Freezone is for corns that hurt Absolutely painless. Nodangerous cutting, no ugly pads or plasters. In days, Freezone eases the hurt. ..safely helps ease off the corn. Drop on Freezone take off corns. REMOVES ( CORNS AND CALLUSES Two New Theme Parks Open in U.S. RICHMOND, VA. Two gi- ant theme parks, totaling more man $90 million to build, opened this spring in Virginia. Kings Dominion, the third largest family entertainment MAKING NUTRITION EDUCATION EXCITING c?nter !n the country, and Busch Gardens have made One of todays most exciting process of nutrition education. Food represents many things developments in education is findto in nutrition children. It may represent ing application Virginia the site of the largest complex of family entertainment parks in the country, ac- cording to Marshall Mur-caug- h, re more than theme areas a full day of to fill enough and enterfun sightseeing, tainment. From the entrance gate on, visitors are impressed with its color, variety of attractions and excitement. At the center of the park is a 332-fo- ot replica of the Eiffel Tower with an observation deck scanning 1,000 square miles. The tower is the focal point of International Street, lined with Euro-pean-st- yle specialty shops, cafes and restaurants. Other theme areas are the Happy Land of Hanna-Bar-ber- a, Old Virginia, Coney Island and Lion Country Safari which offers a trip by mono-ra- il through an African wildlife preserve. One of the many memorable features of Kings Dominion is Rebel Yell, the largest twin roller coaster in the world with 13 miles of mountainous track. Two new theme parks, Kings Dominion (right) and Busch Gardens The Old Country, opened this spring in Virginia. The Old Country at Busch Gardens, located three miles from historic Williamsburg, captures the mood, charm and flavor of olden-da- y Europe. Basically, the plushly landscaped entertainment park is divided into three theme hamlets featuring the motifs of England, France and Germany. Each theme area offers its own brand of entertainment, restaurants and shops. Additionally, there are lavish gardens and wildlife. In Busch Gardens' Eng- land, visitors stroll 'along Elizabethan and medieval streets to enjoy attractions such as a puppet theatre with live entertainment. In France, there are cafes, shops, a Bird Circus, Le Mans race course, log flume ride end French-Canadi- Trappers an Outpost. Germany offers shops, oompah bands, dancing, a carousel, bobsled ride and a scenic Rhine River boat excursion. For years, Virginia has at- tracted vacationers to its beach resorts, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah Valley and hundreds of historical attractions such as Mount Vernon, York-tow- n, Jamestown, and Monti-cell- o. The addition of these two new theme parks is expected to boost Virginia's image as a primary vacation des- tination. For more information of Vir .ginias' vacation opportunities, write or call Virginia Stats Travel Service, Room C, $ North Sixth Street, Richmond 9 Virginia 23219 S04) 770-448- 4. Its called values security. During the school years, a very academic- young people are seeking security. clarification sounding phrase, but an important If the childs security needs are not met elsewhere, food may be one, to be sure. The best quick description of the answer. what values clarification is all THE LONELY teenage girl about, in my opinion, comes from who considers herself unattractive Kent State College's Dr. Michael may find security in food: if so she Haro, who says, The approach in obese. The small education used to be, This is the may eat until child who comes from an overknowledge and this is what you do with it. But now we say, This is protected home or from a home love seeks love through the knowledge what are you without food and the people who serve going to do about it? him. There is no greater sign of love WHY IS this concept an important tool in nutrition education? It than through the gift of food. The is because one of the most impor- way it is served may reflect love, tant nutritional needs of a school or conversely it may reflect hate. child is to be aware that food is For many children food is a something more than something to reward or a punishment. If a child is good, he is rewarded with his eat. As Josephine Martin, Ad- favorite food ; if he is bad. food is ministrator of School Food Service withheld. in the State of Georgias DepartFOOD MAY be an escape or a ment of Education, says: A vehicle for socialization. young person cannot be perceived Loneliness may be lost in a sea of as a deficit system that will be eating or friendships may be filled simply by making the food enlarged through the activity of available and telling him to eat. food and eating together. Yes, Young people need to know why. food during the school years is They must be active in their own much more than something to learning about food tbrough the cat. education. of the Virginia State Travel Service. Kings Dominion, which cost approximately $55 million, is located just off Interstate 95 and 20 miles north of Richmond, the state capital. This 1,300-acpark includes five commissioner |