Medical care
Re “The doctor residency shortage continues to cost lives” (Other Views, Nov. 18), “Sentara working to solve the physician shortage in Virginia” (Other Views, Dec. 16) and “Three critical actions needed to address local physician shortage” (Other Views, Jan. 27): As a retired physician who has volunteered roughly 40 years on the community faculty at Eastern Virginia Medical School and has served in administration of Sentara Norfolk General and Sentara Leigh hospitals, as well as DePaul/Bon Secours hospital, I am commenting on three opinion pieces (by Dr. Glenn McDermott, Dr. Jordan Asher, and Bruce Holbrook and Dr. Armistead Williams) regarding the emerging health care provider crisis in Hampton Roads.
They recount in painful detail our severe physician shortage. I have seen among friends and neighbors how difficult it is to obtain a new physician, whether for primary or specialized care, often compromising the individual’s health. I have had great difficulty helping them find care in spite of my familiarity with the system. I applaud the writers for their accurate and compelling presentation of the problem and their suggested solutions.
Having worked in medical school admissions for nearly 20 years, I have seen outstanding candidates, often from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds, be unable to attend medical school because of the extremely high costs. Scholarship support from all sources is woefully inadequate, as Holbrook and Williams point out.
Our health care systems, government and business leaders need to do a great deal more to prevent our region from declining further because of inadequate numbers of residency-trained graduates and poor reimbursement. The wonderful quality of life we enjoy in Hampton Roads must continue to be what draws people here, and enlargement of our established high quality physician care, medical training and medical systems should lead the way.
Dr. Edward L. Lilly, Norfolk
The facts
Re “Pick Trump” (Your Views, Jan. 24): The author states, former President Donald “Trump did a better job at every single task the office of the president is charged with … .” At the risk of having facts getting in the way of opinion, let’s recap some of Trump’s failures.
Trump promised to pass an infrastructure bill. He did not. President Joe Biden passed his bipartisan infrastructure bill in his first year in office. It provides employment, and it benefits red and blue states alike. Trump promised to repeal and replace “Obamacare.” He did not. Biden has worked to make prescription drug prices more affordable. Trump said he would end our military involvement in Afghanistan. He did not. Biden did.
No president is perfect. Being a good leader requires humility, an appreciation for the importance of teamwork and empathy for those being led. Trump has demonstrated that he cares nothing about his supporters beyond their votes, money and abject loyalty. He does not care about them or this country. His failure to protect our Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack is proof of this. If the realization of this means nothing then, by all means, vote for the author’s “carnival barker.”
Ronnie Ciampoli, Norfolk
Trump vs. Haley
It former President Donald Trump loses in the Supreme Court and Colorado wins and is able to keep Trump off the ballot he becomes a de facto write-in in each blue state that votes to keep him off the ballot. Nikki Haley will become the official Republican candidate allowed on the ballots. If Haley out polls Biden, and Trump out votes Haley, then there will most assuredly be no winner with a plurality.
The Bush v. Gore election will be nothing by comparison. Once more the Supreme Court becomes the hand on the lever.
Steve Restaino, Chesapeake