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Show Keep The Hospital In The County Over the holidays my wife, a native of Salt Lake City, and I visited vis-ited her family in Salt Lake City. -; On Jan. 8 we left Salt Lake for our return drive to Florida, with planned stops to visit Zion, Bryce, Esca- lante, etc. Our first stop was in ( Panguitch, Utah. During the night, my wife experienced a reoccurring pain and nausea cycle due to her serious arthritis and fibromyalgia problems. She became extremely weak and dehydrated due to the vomiting. I elected to take her to the emergency room at Garfield Memorial Hospital. The entire hospital staff was outstanding in every respect. My wife was administered admin-istered a painnausea injection and put on an IV, all under the supervision supervi-sion of FPN Becky Roberts. . The following day we traveled to Hurricane, Utah for a visit, and then to Bryce Canyon. Following dinner my wife said she was beginning begin-ning to feel sick to her stomach. During the night she became very ill with vomiting, diarrhea, and extreme weakness. It was obvious she needed immediate medical attention, atten-tion, and again I took her to Garfield Gar-field Memorial Hospital. This time she was admitted for treatment, tests and observation of "Super Nurse" Ms. Becky Roberts, FNP. The diagnosis was possible food poisoning. Upon her release the following day, we started out sightseeing sight-seeing drive through southern Utah en route back to Florida. I cannot properly express my appreciation for the quality of care received by the staff, at all levels, at the Garfield Memorial Hospital. Each person was sincerely warm, friendly, and professional in every respect. It was refreshing to observe ob-serve that "good old-fashioned medicine" (in lieu of stockholder's medicine) is still being practiced in our society. I hope you will convey con-vey our appreciation and thanks to Mr. Eric Packer and the entire staff at Garfield Memorial Hospital. During the time spent at the hospital, I learned that Garfield County may lose the medical care that for years has been provided by Garfield Memorial. As you know, Garfield County is approximately the size of the state of Rhode Island. Is-land. Other hospitals close to Panguitch Pan-guitch are in Richfield, Cedar City, or Kanab; and during the winter, travel to those locations might be impossibleor certainly delayed-for anyone in that region needing immediate im-mediate medical attention that can only be provided by a hospital. It is my understanding that a county sales tax is being considered to cover deficits. However, the monies generated by a 1 percent or 2 percent sales tax will not cover the financial losses that Garfield Memorial experiences. If Garfield County were to take possession of Garfield Memorial, ad valorem taxes would have to be tripled to make up the deficit. With Garfield County's population of only 4,700 residents, that increase is totally unrealistic. I believe that Intermountain Health Care (IHC) can and should continue to accept the loss in reve- (See LETTERS on page 5-A) LETTERS From Page 2-A nue from Garfield Memorial, while continuing to provide much needed medical services for all the region's residents, as well as the thousands of summer tourists who visit this beautiful area annually. There comes a time, in my opinion, where social needs must be met and the economics of a health care system sys-tem becomes a secondary consideration, considera-tion, especially when a deficit can be absorbed by other facilities within the IHC system. I sincerely hope that the Garfield Memorial Hospital continues to remain the fine hospital it is, and continues to provide the level of medical care that this comparatively remote area deserves. It's closure would create a serious void in medical medi-cal coverage for Southern Utah and would cause the loss of many jobs for Panguitch, Utah's largest employer. em-ployer. Major Jack Spey, USARET. Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 cc: Senator Orrin G. Hatch Senator Robert Bennett Congressman Jim Hansen Congressman Chris Cannon Congressman Merrill Cook State Senator Leonard Blackham State Congressman Thomas Hatch Editor's Note: Garfield County ClerkAuditor Camille Moore said on Tuesday that the I percent tax is projected by the State of Utah to generate approximately $650,000 annually. |
