Letters: 'This violence must end, and it starts with us'

As healthcare professionals, we come to work each day with a dedication to improve the human condition, and that includes standing up to reject all forms of hatred.

We must take a stand and reject negative comments about any group or individual. We should be telling everyone, “We accept you, we will care for you—you are an extension of our family, and we will surround you with our protection and care and compassion.”

On April 27, I received a phone alert about a multicasualty shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue near San Diego.

It wasn’t long before I learned the shooting had involved two of our own at Scripps Health—Dr. Howard Kaye of the Scripps Coastal Medical Group and his wife, Lori—and that Lori had been killed.

I felt rage over the hatred of the 19-year-old suspect who attacked strangers in such a violent way at the same time he was being trained to save lives as a nursing student. And I felt profound sadness for the Kaye family, our broader Scripps family and our country, which is experiencing a rise in hate-fueled violence.

But I also felt a sense of pride in the diversity we have in the world of healthcare—religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and more. Diversity in all forms makes us stronger. 

This violence must end, and it starts with us.

Chris Van Gorder
President and CEO
Scripps Health
San Diego

Regarding the article “Healthcare CEOs debate impact of consumer-focused approach,” the discussion over the “Amazonification” of healthcare is taking place across the country as healthcare organizations try to mend a fractured consumer experience.

As a physician in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation, I see patients who have had life-altering events, whether from an acute illness or trauma. Two things that we need to focus on in healthcare are personalized care and prevention; neither was mentioned in the article. Anyone who is sick or has a change in health wants someone who will listen and work with them, not dictate what they think they should do. There are a lot of good things about our healthcare system; however, we must learn to listen so we can change with the times.

Dr. Janice Brown
Lakeland, Fla.

The article “ACA has not reduced ED visits, study finds” notes the availability of urgent care and retail clinics, but patients are still choosing the emergency department. While I do see this as an issue, I can also chime in to say urgent-care facilities are frequently not located where they’re needed most. 

An urgent-care site near an ED does little good if the urgent-care site operates the same as an ED and therefore patients are charged rates similar to an ED. When looking at costs, it would be a better choice to go to the ED and get their full services rather than visit an urgent-care facility and not have a full workup. Also, where are the urgent-care centers that do not operate as EDs located? We know the elderly and those with low incomes are frequent ED users, so why not have more urgent-care facilities in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of these populations?

Educating these communities by showing how the step-by-step process of care works would help remove the burden on the EDs. The flow of care should be retail clinics/primary care, urgent care and the ED as a last resort. When an ambulance is called, do EMTs determine urgent care is an option instead of an ED visit? Also, let’s not forget wait times. When clinicians at an urgent-care or primary-care facility cannot see the patient in a timely manner, the patients are likely to opt for the ED.

Hopefully a change in the way we set up care and operate these sites will get the results needed.

Chico Grimes
Dallas