Letters to the Editor Jan. 24, 2010

Published: January 25, 2010

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Questions on re-addressing

EDITOR: I received an e-mail about two weeks ago from a friend in Canton, saying that until further notice, their new address including their business address would be (on) North Center Street. I am currently in Florida for a few months, and I am curious. I had not yet received my notice … it took over another week for that, as it had to be forwarded. (We) were told that we had been changed from 66 N. Minnequa Ave. to 268 N. Minnequa Ave. You can't imagine the things that began popping up in my mind.

My questions are:

- Will everyone be notified of everyone else's change of address in the borough of Canton … or for that matter, in the county? I mail a lot of Christmas cards north to my family and friends every year, as well as mailing a lot of birthday and anniversary, get-well and sympathy cards, thank-you notes and letters, throughout the year. How will I know where to mail these cards in the future? And if this is to happen in all of Bradford County, then it will wreak havoc in every town and municipality which means that when the bigger towns receive their notifications, the angst will only grow. I know that we are reassured that the post office will forward mail to the correct address for up to a year, but what happens to it after that? If each of us are not issued an updated addressing plan for all of Canton, let alone the entire county, you can rest assured that the post office will be losing even more money in the future for postage, because a lot of mailing will end … at least on my part.

- What happens at places like the county offices including the department of public welfare, the tax assessment offices, etc … are they set up with mailing addresses? Will our tax dollars go to pay someone to update all of that information for the whole county? And will there be inevitable errors causing big time problems over re-addressing issues within those offices as well as others?

- How do we go about notifying people that we don't hear from regularly and forget that they need to know … if there doesn't happen to be any correspondence from them within a year's time, will we just never hear from them again?

- Will the post office forgo the cost of postage to notify every single person, business and publication that must be notified? (Ha!) In my case that would be in the hundreds. I realize that this will create a huge headache for the post office as well, but they should see a huge increase in mail flow from this, and will be making money as a result! That is the only advantage I see to turning everyone's life upside down. "Us older folks," who have the information embedded in our brains do not easily retrain!

- In an emergency situation if someone were to ask me where I live, I would invariably give my address that is etched in my memory … not a new and unfamiliar address. I am not talking about calling 911 from a phone … I am talking about being asked to recall my address when away from a phone in an emergency situation, such as a fall on the street or an automobile accident or in an emergency room or in the case of some, who just wander away and then can't make their way back! Can you imagine what happens in situations like these?

- Is the phone company being notified of all of the address changes so that it can update the phone book? That would at least be of some help for us! What happens to businesses who deliver products, provide home services etc.?

- Will the local police be given all of the new addresses?

Is there one single person out there who is happy about all of this?

Susan M. Stull

Canton

More problems with VA care

EDITOR: The problems Mr. Lutz had with the VA Sayre out-patient clinic, is just the tip of the VA problems through out Pa. Long delays and extremely poor service. My on-going story follows.

I took a very bad fall on Sept. 2, this year. I immediately contacted my primary-care doctor for help, and I was sent to the VA Hospital ER in Wilkes-Barre for treatment. As of this date I have not received one minute of treatment for my injuries - shoulder with torn tissue, confirmed by MRI. Over four trips to different VA hospitals, where I am told that the facility does not do shoulders. (I am) still waiting. Other injury is to the right knee, waiting MRI for diagnoses. The pain level got so high that I was blacking out. A friend took me to the Towanda ER where I was admitted and the knee was injected by Dr. Nazar. Finally some relief. The doctors and nurses were excellent and the care was the best. I am still waiting for the VA for treatment. Over the years the VA has been operating for the benefit of the employees and has left behind the patients.

I would appreciate other veterans stories, both good and bad.

Robert Baker

Dushore

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4 posted comments

Wow... you'd think from Mrs. Stulls comments that the world is coming to an end. Have you always lived in the same house? If not then you are in the great majority of people in this country that have moved at least once in your life. Some questions: When you moved, did your mail find it's way to you? Did your family find you? Did you home cease to exist? Your recent change of address may be sudden, but in the long run you'll live. If it helps write your new address on an index card and keep it with you, eventually you'll remember it in place of the old one.
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moved9times,  01/27/10 1:45
I have heard wonderful reports from family and friends about the care at the VA. I am sorry if Mr.Baker did not find adequate care.
Has he addressed this directly with the staff at the VA. For his comments are the opposite of what I hear.
As Mr. Doherty explains they are spread pretty thin right now, so perhaps that is at least part of the problem.
We would really need to hear the whole story before forming any opinion.
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vetwifeandmom,  01/26/10 2:24
UPDATE on VA medical care: This morning, ONE DAY after my MRI looking for the worst, I received a telephone call from my PA; Ms. Amber Pedro. She told me the best news a man could hope for. I am clean, no cancer but she admonished me to eat better. THAT is the level of expertise that I have grown acustomed to at SOPC. I think it unfair that Mr. Baker slams them, there must be more to his story.
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Joe Doherty,  01/26/10 10:31
As a veteran who uses the VA clinic in Sayre and the Wilkes Barre VA hospital, I have nothing but high praise for the care and attention ALWAYS shown to me in both facilities relating to my medical problems. I had a severely torn rotator cuff a while ago and had gone to the SOPC (Sayre Out Patient Clinic) for initial treatment. Every member of the staff at SOPC are fantastic, caring and highly intelligent individuals and should be saluted for the work they do. Amber Pedro is my PA and I could not hope for a better medical practitioner. They took X-Rays but I was told up front that an X-Ray will not show a torn rotator cuff; only an MRI would do that. They further explained to me that the doctors who operate on shoulders have for the most part been transferred to the war zones. If they were to operate on (a suspected) rotator cuff I would have to be transported to New York City and yes, there understandably would be a waiting period due to backup. Still, they were willing to do that for me but I could not stand the pain any longer.
I opted to visit Guthrie where they did the MRI almost immediately. Subsequently I was operated on and am now in therapy. Dr. Choi at Guthrie is the best in the west and the physical therapists are well trained and highly caring about patient rehabilitation.
I cannot fault the VA for doing what they do as best they can. Guthrie also rates high on my list, for a local hospital their state of the art medical treatment is beyond excellent.
Further, I had lost weight recently (16lbs over 3 months) I had a regularly scheduled appointment for a checkup with SOPC last Friday. Yesterday, three days later (Monday) I was taken by van to Wilkes Barre VA hospital for an MRI suspecting cancer. We left Sayre at 8 am, had the MRI and blood-work then transported back to Sayre before 3 pm. That is the level of care that I have experienced with all of the medical professionals in our area.
Just pray that the "C" word doesn't fit for me today.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to shout my praise for all of the caring medical professionals who sincerely care for us.
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Joe Doherty,  01/26/10 5:40