Letters to the editor | Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020: Hospitalists, Del Puerto, Bob Elliott

Let’s be clear: Hospice is never mandatory

Re “Physician blasts cancer treatment policies at Modesto hospital” (Front Page, Feb. 6): The Hospitalist group at Doctor’s Medical Center would like rebut and clarify insinuations made in the article.

Hospital Care, Palliative Care and Hospice are separate services. Palliative Care physicians have additional training in managing symptoms of chronic diseases, to provide continued treatment, comfort and promote independence. Hospice is end-of-life care, focused on keeping patients comfortable until their natural death.

When appropriate, Hospitalists consult Palliative care to assist treatment of the patient. This often includes determining what the patient wants for their life. In some cases, such as advanced, heart failure, or metastatic cancer, we realize the patient is approaching the end of their life. The ethical physician would be remiss if they did not present all available options to their patient, including Hospice.

Hospice is never mandatory. The decision to enter Hospice care is entirely the decision of the patient, and whoever else they wish to be involved. Our physicians do not, under any circumstance, pressure patients into entering Hospice. Our duty is to explain the facts of their condition, discuss available options, and let the patient make the decision that is right for them. Whether the patient chooses to continue aggressive care or Hospice, our physicians support patient choice.

On Del Puerto, we need to listen to the experts

Three specialists have shared comments regarding the proposed Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir:

– Compliance expert Tom Williams contends the geological formations and current topography are conducive to mass movements and landslides.

– Professor Garry Hayes of Modesto Junior College noted there are seven active landslides within the inundation zone, which could cause a “lake tsunami.” Any mass slumping would interfere with efficient storage and operations of the reservoir. Hayes also notes the understudied faults within the area.

– Ron Stork, senior advocate with Friends of the River, remarked that the draft EIR provides no geotechnical analysis supporting the conclusion that any landslides would be slow and at a scale that would not form a seiche wave (tsunami) of significant magnitude. Landslides are a known risk for dam failure, and a detailed geotechnical evaluation of the stability of any areas susceptible to sliding under reservoir conditions should be done before selecting the dam site.

Deferring this analysis until after site approval — on the assumption that there will be cost-effective engineering solutions to address this risk — is not a good process and assumes facts that may not prove to be true.

Bob Elliott has proven track record

I would encourage your readers to vote for Bob Elliott as our 10th District Congressman. His qualifications far exceed the current holder of the office and his other opposition. At West Point, Elliott graduated in the Top 5 percent of his class. He was a 30-year Army member, including being a Green Beret and reaching the rank of Colonel. He understands what it takes to maintain a sound defense capacity. He also knows the need of our district for more jobs. He successfully brought thousands of jobs to the district as a two-term San Joaquin County supervisor.

Bob has resided in the district since the redistricting in 2011. He understands our values and will be an effective advocate to protect our water supplies. He may not be as well-known in Stanislaus County, but his record in San Joaquin County shows he is by far the most qualified and most viable candidate on the ballot.

It’s time to invest in all of Central Valley

The Central Valley has so many areas where we could use more investment.

Being a school bus driver, I see how different the conditions our roads are in depending on the part of town. I don’t think it’s fair that some roads have nice roundabouts and others are barely able to be driven down, just because some are on the “nice” side of town and others are not. I’ve also seen that road repairs done in the wrong place. Additionally, my boyfriend is a school counselor and would love to do projects with students, such as art projects or a community garden, but the funds are not there. Schools should have the resources they need to provide a quality educational experience.

Finally, I’d like to see more resources for helping animals because we have an issue with stray and feral animals due to a lack of spay-neuter programs. With the Schools and Communities First initiative that will be on the ballot this November, we would recover millions of dollars a year for the Central Valley and we definitely need the investment.

This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Letters to the editor | Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020: Hospitalists, Del Puerto, Bob Elliott."