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Time to dissolve PDHCD
EDITOR: The Palm Drive Hospital has been sold to a private company, and this means that there is absolutely no reason to retain the wasteful and expensive district. Therefore, a group of people who live in the district have started a petition drive to gain the signatures of 2,500 voters to dissolve the district.
The Palm Drive Health District was originally created to run the hospital and its emergency room. Now that the hospital has been sold to a private company this purpose no longer exists. The district has proven its incompetence by undergoing two bankruptcies.
For more information on how you can find out where to sign a petition or help with the effort to dissolve the district, visit DissolveTheDistrict.com.
Voters who sign the petitions must live in the Palm Drive Health District and not in the areas that have already detached.
Do not fall for the arguments that the district can be repurposed to help with other community health care needs. There are some very fine nonprofits who will do the work more efficiently and competently than an elected board of governors.
Linda Robinett
Sebastopol
The lowdown on Girls Who Code
EDITOR: Enjoyed your article. (“Is Girls Who Code discriminatory?” Jan. 16, 2020) Posted a summary to two tech sites: Slashdot and Hacker News. By the way, regardless of which side of the argument one is on, the FAQs at Girls Who Code (and its CEO) make it very clear that the organization doesn’t really welcome boys, even if your friendly county library system is willing to bend the nonprofit’s eligibility rules.
In its FAQs, Girls Who Code answers the questions of “Who is eligible to join a Club” (“All girls aged 11-18”) and “Are boys eligible to join Girls Who Code Clubs?” (“Our programs are intended for students who identify as female regardless of gender assignment at birth or legal recognition.”)? And on the question of “Why can’t it just be People Who Code?” at Google last year, Girls Who Code Founder and CEO Reshma Saujani quipped, “We can talk about the boys when we’re at 70%, and they’re at 30%. And then I’ll start Boys Who Code, right?”
Anonymous email
(Editor’s note: We have a policy against anonymous letters, but I found the information in this letter germane and worthwhile.)
Wow, to think a woman could do that!
EDITOR: Loved your article! (“Is Girls Who Code discriminatory? Jan. 16, 2020) Can’t believe that REAL journalism still exists in Kalifornia, but you made a believer of me, particularly as a woman reporting on things to do with women and girls. Kudos for your consummate professionalism.
David Bear (via email)
Vaping is a health menace
EDITOR: Our youth are increasingly becoming addicted to nicotine through the use of e-cigarettes or vaping. The California Department of Public Health reports that e-cigarette use by high school students rose 78% between 2017 and 2018. In Sebastopol, teens can be seen outside Safeway smoking or vaping during their breaks and after school.
Vaping is considered cool and harmless since it is promoted as a way to stop smoking among adults. However, the the 2017-2018 California Healthy Kids Survey suggests that 7.3% of the county’s 7th graders and 26.5% of 11th graders used e-cigarettes within 30 days prior to the survey.
According to an American Lung Association report in 2018, Sebastopol received an “A” in smoke free environment issues but an “F” in reducing the sale of tobacco products and addressing emerging issues, such as increase in addiction and serious lung disease caused by vaping.
Many teens don’t realize that e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which can impair brain function, escalate anxiety and cause mood swings, all of which can affect learning. One device can contain the same amount as a pack of cigarettes.
The tobacco industry spends millions on advertising, promotions and marketing in retail outlets to persuade adults to continue smoking and influence youth to start. Local cities have begun to use a tobacco retailer license (TRL) as an effective regulatory approach to limit the sale of tobacco products to those under 21. I urge the Sebastopol City Council to pass a TRL.
Mary Lou Schmidt, RN, MSN
Sebastopol
Fixing America’s broken health care system
EDITOR: As a health professional, I believe that bold, meaningful changes are desperately needed. America’s healthcare ‘system’ is overpriced, underperforming, and inequitable. Our costs are by far the highest in the world, and we don’t adequately cover everyone. Indeed, despite the improvements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), millions are still without health insurance and more than a half-million people go bankrupt from medical bills each year—the majority of them people with insurance.
By paying twice as much as the residents of other countries, do Americans get better health outcomes? The answer is a resounding “no.” Despite paying less, 33 countries have higher quality of care while being more efficient, less error-prone, and removing cost as a barrier to care.
As a community, we need to understand and advocate for a meaningful, sustainable solution. Do we fully understand the pros and cons of “Medicare for All?” Or “Medicare for those who want it?” A “public option?” We must not leave it to the politicians to set the direction.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, local healthcare professionals and advocates will lead a free public forum examining America’s broken healthcare system and how it could be fixed. Hosted by three local groups—Health Professionals for Equality and Community Empowerment (HPEACE), North Bay Jobs With Justice, and the Sonoma County Democratic Party—the discussion will take place from 9:30 to noon at Santa Rosa’s Odd Fellows Hall.
