| I recently came across a small press release | | | | health care for their citizens, we continue to |
| mentioning a health and testing services provider | | | | tolerate a system of outlandish care costs for the |
| offering steeply discounted services for victims of | | | | uninsured. It doesn't take a hard look to find |
| the recent health care facility disaster in Las | | | | widespread inadequate hospital hygiene breeding |
| Vegas. Testing that is not just available in the Las | | | | such superbugs as the s. aureus "flesh eating" |
| Vegas area but across the entire nation so that | | | | staph infection (to which there is no satisfactory |
| people who might have been affected by this | | | | cure), and the increasingly dramatic shortage of |
| tragedy but no longer live in Las Vegas can get | | | | nurses nationwide. |
| help as well. With a little bit of searching and | | | | The recent HIV / Hepatitis scare in Las Vegas |
| prodding I found out that Scott Gostyla, the | | | | affected over 40,000 patients of the Endoscopy |
| founder of this company had personally made a | | | | Center of southern Nevada. This isn't even |
| commitment to lend his company's' resources to | | | | enough anymore to really shock our jaded, |
| help these many distraught individuals. | | | | health-services deprived nation. It would be |
| Now of course, it's easy to give this a jaded | | | | unheard of in a state such as Canada that a |
| shoulder shrug and comment on the good press | | | | business executive would have to step up to the |
| or possible profit or whatever other hidden | | | | plate to help victims of the gross negligence |
| motives. Really though, we experience so much | | | | committed in cases such as these. |
| bad health care in this country that it is difficult to | | | | There are many other scattered moments of |
| genuinely appreciate a gesture of someone like | | | | token contributions by various individuals, such as |
| Gostyla. Besides I have been working in the | | | | last years' $27.5 million contribution to Stanford |
| medical field for most of my life and I know the | | | | hospital's emergency room by Marc Andreessen, |
| cost associated with testing, there are lab fees, | | | | or last months' $2 million donation to a London |
| dr. fees, nurse fees, administration fees, not to | | | | children's hospital by Johnny Depp. |
| mention that the results have to be stored for | | | | We owe a debt of gratitude to individuals such as |
| years by the company ordering the tests. | | | | Marc Andreessen, Johnny Depp, and Scott |
| The extent to which the U.S. health care system | | | | Gostyla, who are willing to forego easy profits to |
| is broken is familiar to most Americans who have | | | | help make a difference by offering testing |
| ever needed any level of care. The broken | | | | services to the victims of this latest scandal. |
| administrative bureaucracy alone was responsible | | | | But, why is it that we have only some private |
| for as much as $399.4 billion dollars in expenses | | | | individuals and philanthropist foundations to bring us |
| as far back as 2003 - an amount so staggering it | | | | some of the social services that we should |
| can only be made understandable as this: health | | | | expect our government to provide for us? We |
| care could be provided to all uninsured Americans | | | | must continue to applaud and support the efforts |
| for this price. | | | | of those who are willing to sacrifice to make a |
| While most nations with an equivalent economic | | | | difference in the lives and health of our brothers |
| status have managed to get a grip on providing | | | | and sisters. |