We heard from the offices of Clare Haar, and the message was that they were saddened by the path we have taken, and they suggested that we are endangering the viability of the hospital in Lockport by distributing the data sources and statistics as we have come to know them. They suggested that people will be hurt by our actions. I have a message for that office. All of us our sad, everyone who follows this page, everyone following these events, all of us would rather be spending our time playing with our children and grandchildren. But the truth doesn’t hurt people. EVER. Most people that know me, know the path I have walked. I had a daughter when I was very young. 19. We were poor, very poor, we had no money, I had no college education. But you know what we did have? We had an amazing family, and an amazing community. I worked my way through college, waiting on tables in Newfane. And thanks to my mother, Sally Guido, and employers like Ann Webb, my daughter never had to spend a day in day care while I did that. I had customers that I know left me larger tips than they should have because they knew I rode my hand-me-down my bicycle 5 miles to work (and back) because I couldn’t afford a car. I had no medical insurance, and had to save every extra dollar in case of illness. Dr. Dy treated my daughter more than once without charging me anything. That is the community that built this hospital. The hospital where my daughter was born. That is the community that helped me in more ways than I can count while I worked my way out of my situation and built a life for my daughter. That is still the nature of this community. There are many, many, many people in our community and in Lockport who were not as fortunate as I was. People that don’t have family, or that weren’t lucky enough to have the opportunities that later came my way. There are people today, facing the struggles that I faced 28 years ago. I have not forgotten how frightening those days were, and I will never stop trying to help the people who go to bed each night afraid. Those are the people that have to seek medical care near their homes, those are the people that are forced to go the ER in Newfane and Lockport in the middle of the night with sick children. They need Newfane to be open and capable, and they need Lockport’s quality issues resolved. Taking care of those people is the reason we pay taxes, and that our insurance payments are expensive, because it is our duty to protect and care for people who have not yet had the blessings we have had. These people are tired, and afraid, and a large number of them are alone. It is not just the single mothers, or the young families, it is also our elderly population. People who have cared for us one way or another our entire lives. They are old and many of them live alone, because their children had to leave these communities to find work. If we want to overcome the issues that plague them, we have to protect every single job. Every single job. So, to the staff members of Ms. Haar’s office that chose to convey that message – I suggest that you all spend your nights actually talking to people in both ERs. Look into the eyes of the people that are being failed, and communicate your excuses and your trends to them – while they have sick babies in their arms. Then go the homes of the people who jobs you are eliminating, and help them find a way to care for their elderly parents that will be left behind when they have to leave the community they love, to find work elsewhere. Why don’t you spend some time doing that instead of trolling our FB conversations? And maybe then you’ll realize it is emotionally dishonest to suggest we are trying to hurt anyone. We believe, because of the available data, and the countless discussions we have had with the employees of both hospitals that the choices being made in your offices are increasing the burdens on these people, lessening the quality health care they have access to and threatening to destabilize our communities’ economies. Don’t try to truth shame us. It won’t work.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 12:05:38 +0000