Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Is air ambulance use justified in all cases?

Does any of the following concern you?

Last week, there were news reports that a spring breaker was severely injured after falling while allegedly jumping between buildings at a local motel. The injuries reportedly were so severe that the student was not even taken to the hospital. Rather, he was taken directly to the airport for an air ambulance to Miami, presumably because he was near death.

Guess what? The student was released from the Miami hospital the next morning, less than 24 hours from being admitted. So much for life-threatening injuries. This is not the first time and, I fear, will not be the last time that an accident victim will be airlifted to Miami because of a poor decision-making process.

I am not interested in becoming involved with the latest contretemps over which air force provides the better or cheaper service, or whether the Monroe County helicopter ambulance is indeed "free." Rather, I would like to believe that those who make decisions as to whether someone is airlifted make those decisions prudently and intelligently, not just because blood is spurting or bone is protruding.

The present policy seems to be: "When in doubt, fly 'em!"

Larry Murray

Big Pine Key

Red Cross depends on community support

March is recognized as American Red Cross Month in communities across the United States every year, and the Key West City Commission made that same proclamation Tuesday. The Red Cross has been at the forefront of helping Americans prevent, prepare for and respond to large and small disasters for 128 years, as we have seen even in the past month, with two apartment fires in Key West, and two single-family fires in Marathon.

Communities depend on the Red Cross in times of need, and the Red Cross depends on the support of the American people to achieve its mission of helping others.

This year the Red Cross is taking time in March to focus on the volunteers who demonstrate such compassion and generosity by supporting the Red Cross in Monroe County and around the country. As one of more than 600 chapters in the United States, we rely on these everyday heroes to give their time and talents to help others through CPR and first aid training, or to make financial donations.

Locally, we have been actively helping our neighbors in Haiti, and we know we will continue to provide that help for many months, as the Red Cross is also responding in Chile and other disasters. We are only able to do that with your support of the local Red Cross, where our volunteers are trained and activated.

Matthew Helmerich,

Board of directors

J. B. Hunt

Chapter advancement

officer

Red Cross of Greater

Miami and the Keys

Stories could make us more informed citizens

Recent comments in the Citizens' Voice prompted this response. First is the one suggesting your stories give voters info about judges before elections. How many people vote for or against them without really knowing them, what they stand for and what their record on the bench has produced? The bio information on the 16th Judicial Circuit Court's Web site is informative -- i.e., Judge Luis Garcia was appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush, and Judge Mark Jones was once an assistant attorney with the firm of Morgan and Hendrick. But "Page not found" was the reply for a couple of judges, and searches brought me back to the same Web site. You have some energetic reporters. Let them give us the facts so we can place an informed vote during elections.

Next is the comment about public corruption and the apparently preferential treatment for certain felons. There seems to be little public outrage or reaction about people we trusted who blatantly stole our hard-earned money. Maybe you could help this rather weak effect by keeping the story current instead of burying follow-ups on inside pages or not following up at all.

One comment mentioned three instances of trusted professionals who became felons and seem to be getting privileged treatment. If this is not true, your stories can help us understand why not.

Virginia Altobello

Key West