Blackwell runs for governor while running election office

Blackwell runs for governorwhile running election office
EDITOR:
Ohio is the topic of conversation around the country since the June 15 edition of Rolling Stone hit the newsstands. Robert Kennedy's lead article, "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?" includes many experts' comments about exit polls, a partisan secretary of state (Kenneth Blackwell), attempts by the Ohio Republican Party to block voter registration, provisional ballots being denied, faulty machines and recount areas being chosen so that they would not reflect any problems.
The magazine is available at local libraries and on the Rolling Stone's website. It is worthwhile to know what others are reading about our state. I guess they are in shock that Kenneth Blackwell is still in charge of elections even though he is running for governor.
MARY LEE VANDEVANDER
Lisbon
New leadership needed tocure ills of U.S. healthcare
EDITOR:
Your article on June 15, "Hospital study: Mistakes are down," was laughable. Unfortunately, it is difficult to laugh at such a deadly problem. Dr. Berwick's attempt to implement some semblance of medical reform for this near unattainable task is laudable but naive. Our U.S. healthcare system is eminently sick and needs immense critical care, not just one contributing voice but from the president all the way down to Congress, physicians, hospitals, med schools, the drug industry and the entire medical community.
Consider these facts: The Journal of the American Medical Association, July 26, 2000, reported these statistics: Each year in America, there are 12,000 unnecessary surgical deaths, 7,000 deaths from wrong medications, 80,000 infection deaths, 20,000 deaths from hospital mistakes, and 106,000 deaths from adverse nonerror drug reactions.
Doctors and their medicines are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., causing an unbelievable 225,000 American deaths a year. And, many knowledgeable medical experts believe these statistics are low. Physician-caused deaths are not accurately reported, not in hospitals, nor in the physician's office.
The U.S. Health Ranking Index, reported by the World Health Organization, ranks the healthcare offered in the top 25 industrialized countries of the world. Japan is No. 1. The U.S. is ranked No. 15. In the U.S., there are marked inequities in the quality of healthcare for the poor, blacks, elderly and for the 43 million Americans that are medically uninsured.
We must fix our broken American medical system. To start, we must establish a national leadership with our best physicians and scientists. We must improve the data and the knowledge needed to prevent errors and to timely rescue the distressed. Patient safety must be prioritized. We will need health insurance for our 40 million medically uninsured.
Only when Americans unequivocally understand the enormity of the problem and vote for veracious, understanding legislators can we begin to achieve the health system reform we so desperately need.
PETE GUIDO
Youngstown
Honesty is alive and well
EDITOR:
Honesty is alive and well in the Youngstown area, at least at Wal-Mart in Boardman. I did something stupid and left my checkbook behind.
They called me later and told me to come and get it. It contained my driver's license, a credit card, an ATM card and money. Everything came back intact. How delightful. What a lovely surprise!
BARBARA KOSANOVIC
Youngstown