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Letters From Readers [Continued from page 4] the duties of the FEC were executive, only the President should appoint the members. The court ordered Congress to correct this part of the law. In- stead, Congress revised more than that portion, and under the leadership of Sen. Cannon, and of Rep. Hays of recent fame (in- famy) came out with a \com- promise\ bill agreed to by cer- tain \Republicans that gave unions more power than ever. Some of these powers are that union money could be used; a) To solicit & administer \hard money\ contributions to can- didates, b) For partisan political activity directed at members, c) To pay fees & expenses of can- didates to \address\ the membership (only favorable candidates no doubt), d) For alleged non-partisan activities aimed at the general public such as \get-out-the-vote- campaigns,\ and the most ob- noxious of all powers, e) To pay compensation of union staff members working for a can- didate. This circumvents the $1,000 per individual contribution to a candidate allowed by law. Thousands of union employees were put to work for favorable candidates and no money passed in donations. Contributions were in kind, at the expense of all union members regardless of which candidates the individual members themselves supported. These same union employees were used to work for various congressional candidates. While speaking of our \fair minded\ congressman, he voted FOR sweeping new changes for House procedures which would smother any Republican opposition in the congress. A dictatorship of one party. The wholesale changes reduce quorum requirements for most committees and sub- committees meaning that in many of the smaller sub- committees as few as 2 members could draft legislation, Due to the small number of Republicans in. congress, it will be almost im- possible to spread them out this thin thereby depriving them of any voice. The number of quorum calls has been reduced for each member, meaning less participation in floor debate. More \Suspension days\ whereby the Speaker can en- tertain motions from committee chairmen (Democrats) to bring bills on the floor under suspen- sion of rules twice weekly instead of twice monthly as before. Under suspension, debate is extremely limited and no amendments may be made. This procedure was supposed to be used to expedite NON- controversial matters, but in the last Congress, Democrats began using the tactic to jam though money bills without allowing amendments. These are only some of the rules changes, which even liberal Republicans were against, and \our man\ voted FOR these changes. And he crows about his ac- complishments and the ac- complishments of the congress. Nicholas B. Aleshin '..*. YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS Metropolitan Life is offering a different kind of service to protect your business. Areas we can review include: Group Insurance Disability Income Insurance Plans Key Personnel Life Insurance Retirement Plans Business Insurance For a professional review call me today for an.appointment. J. LAUBEN 516 - 825-6680 ^Metropolitan Where the future is now Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, N.Y., N.Y. HOWARD J. LAUBEN Registered Representative METROPOLITAN 12S North Central Avenue Valley Stream. NY 11580 825-6680 I would like, without obligation, more information on the Metropolitan Plan featured above. NAME ADDRESS CITY __ .STATE. ZIP —... _TEl. - A Viewpoint Shaping Health Care Policy Dear Reader, Have you ever been in a nur- sing home? Did you ever wonder what goes on behind those closed doors? With the advent of recent ad- verse publicity, I as a taxpayer, and also staff person in a long term care facility would like to explore some facts and possibly fiction with the community at large. I would like to share the following, and encourage the reader to ask questions during the ensuing months that might prove provacative or simply informative. The staff of Daleview Nursing Home & Manor H.R.F. will answer any inquiries pertaining to: ad- missions, nursing and physicians care, financial statements, psychosocial needs, activities, etc., etc. Please direct your questions to DalevieW's Activities Office. \. PATIENT PROFILE TYPICAL NURSING HOME PATIENT Age: Average 86 Number of Disabilities: 4-6 including strokes, heart con- ditions, and blindness. Number of Medications: 6-10 ' per day. Some of these poten- tially lethal if not properly supervised. Incontinence: Approximately 50% of all patients. Mental Confusion: Ap- proximately 60% of all patients. Assistance in Dressing, Bathing and Toileting: Ap- proximately 50% of all patients must be fed three times per day. Diets:.Approximately 100% of all.patients require some form of a therapeutic diet. Social Needs: Most likely to be the last person alive in a family. Loneliness and isolation are needs which must be met by staff of a Nursing Home. These patient's need to have \life giving\ activities which give life meaning and purpose. Person Responsible for Care; YOU! 85% of all Nursing Home patients in New York State are funded by Medicaid. You as a legislator, taxpayer, relative, or friend are responsible for the kind of care we want to give to the aged and disabled patients in New York States' Nursing Homes in 1977. \Shaping Health Care Policy\ in 1977 will be the top item in the 1977 Legislative Session. Only with a unified voice can we be effective representatives of the interests and needs of the patient's and resident's placed in our care. We are all aware of balancing the \Need for Excellence in Care and Fiscal Responsibility.\ But striving for excellence in care is not enough. The citizens of our State must speak out and help determine the direction of health v,«ai»-. i\ and not merely excellence in report writing; 2. Fair and adequate payment for a service rendered; 3. Proper and maximization of use within each level of care within the system, and; 4. Discouragement incentives for the misplacement of recipients . and for poor management; Through this effective use of all facilities, hospital units, skilled nursing units, health related facilities, etc., we can effectively eliminate 45% of the current backlog in hospitals, due to the lack of long term care facility beds for the elderly, poor. After adjusting the reim- bursement rates to reflect true costs and not the fantasizing of across-the-board cutbacks; we could save the State and Local Government millions of dollars. This program proposal calls for a change from a poor, inflexible and sometimes dehumanizing system ... it is in fact the system that is at fault for runaway escalation, not the facilities. Let us being back respect and responsibility and just as every other service and product we each purchase ... let us pay a fair price for it! Yet, let us also not over-use or improperly use the system or its services. May we take a long hard view of the real story in toto. Our questions should read, how many millions are spent on the ad- ministration of the Medicaid and SSI Programs, where are the most sizable increases, how many times has a rate setter Established 1923 Fifty Years Service To Our Local Communities actually been in a facility and for how long? In fact, the State spends almost as much on ad- ministrating the medicaid program as they spend on actual care in such facilities. Where is the irony and where are the answers? Do not strike out at those who need care the most! Punitive action should not be taken against long term care facilities which provide good care, nor the patients in those facilities. Can you find a rational equation in the following statistics? As reported in a well known tabloid: During 1976, the Federal Government wasted 35 million dollars on such items as; the shocking sale of 32 Boeing 707 jets to NATO ... for $3.5 billion less than it cost taxpayers to build them. The $102,000 to find out how fish behave drunk! The $4.2 million cost of finding out that untuned .cars spread more pollution than tuned up ones! $243,000 for a nine year study on the sex habits of rats! $30,000 just to produce a comedy movie on the history of the toilet, arid on, and on. Refer to the above patient profile and question the priorities. Because our elderly are no longer income producing, are no longer in the mainstream of society and do not have a strong lobby ... do we forget all the years of productivity and wisdom and reward them with a ! 'cutback in services!\ ARTHUR F. WHITE 315CONJCLIN •„ S£SSffif$ FARMINGDALE ALL HOURS Bf THRACE CHapel 9-0336 WEIIs 1-1454 Private Parking Field at Rear of Funeral Home APT (Mail to address above) Our task, what is it, how do we accomplish it, and last but not least, can we accomplish it? In simple terms, but enormous magnitude and ramifications, jour task is to influence the bureaucrats and the law makers of the obvious, the most sensible, and the most financially responsible solution. As we have known for many long years, an easy statement to say and another thing to accomplish! A detailed study for the State was reported in January 1976. We must adopt several principles basic to good management and a free society ... 1. Quality Care Standards which encourage excellence in care m -n > 70 •E Z O o o c o > m CD 70 C > 70 -< >4 Photo by Claire Studios McCourt & Trudden FUNERAL DIRECTORS 385 MAIN ST., FARMINGDALE CH 9-1303 (opp.FarmingdaleP.O.) NEW QUEENS LOCATION 102-17 101st Ave, Ozone Park [212] VI3-1891 Est. 1927
