Callahan: Exeter and its patients benefit from joining Beth Israel Lahey Health: Letters

Callahan: Exeter Health Resources and its patients will benefit from joining Beth Israel Lahey Health

March 9 — To the Editor:

I am writing to thank the members of our community who participated, either in person or remotely, in the recent public forum hosted at Exeter High School by the New Hampshire director of charitable trusts.

The purpose of the forum was to discuss Exeter Health Resources (Exeter) and its affiliates; Exeter Hospital, Core Physicians and Rockingham VNA & Hospices’ proposal, currently under state review, to become part of the Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH) system. I was pleased to be joined for the forum by Rob Eberle, chairman of the Board of Exeter Health Resources and BILH Chief Strategy Officer Peter Shorett and enjoyed the opportunity to share information about Exeter including the benefits of joining BILH.  Together, we were able to answer a number of questions from the public about what this opportunity means for your relationship with Exeter Hospital and its affiliates and the continued delivery of excellent health care in the Seacoast region.

Exeter is one of New Hampshire’s last remaining independent community-based health systems. Despite our long and successful history, our need to affiliate is stronger now than ever, due to fundamental changes in the economics of health care as well as the deep and continuing disruptive effects of COVID. BILH’s commitment to Exeter includes significant new investments aimed at expanding Exeter’s locally delivered, full continuum of clinical services in a seamless, coordinated, and cost-effective manner. We believe this proposed combination of our two great organizations will provide significant benefits to Exeter’s patients, our organization and the communities we have proudly served for over 125 years in the form of improved access to health care services, enhanced quality, greater value and more patient choice.

To learn more about our proposed affiliation, and how it will help Exeter successfully fulfill its vital not-for-profit mission for the next 125 years, I encourage you to visit ExeterandBILH.com.

Thank you again for your interest and support.

Kevin Callahan

President and CEO, Exeter Health Resources

Exeter

Current City Council is doing a good job for Portsmouth residents

March 12 — To the Editor:

I’ve been reflecting on the most recent Portsmouth City Council election, and I think we voters deserve a pat on the back. We got it right. The City Council we elected is representing us conscientiously, professionally, and with no personal agendas evident. They’re on the receiving end, as we’ve all witnessed, of a lot of slings and arrows and pejorative nicknames, but they stay focused on their obligation to the community. Which is exactly what we would hope for. To the extent there’s some voters’ remorse out there, I suspect it’s among a minority.

The McIntyre project is a complex challenge, nobody denies that. Nor is there any one solution that will satisfy everyone. But I for one believe our City Council has the credentials and the commitment to produce a solution that will make the majority of us rightly proud. And I look forward to that.

Keep it up.

Terry MacDonald

Portsmouth

Cathy Hodson will serve Rye well on the Select Board

March 10 — To the Editor:

We think the town of Rye is fortunate to have Cathy Hodson as a candidate for the Select Board. Cathy possesses both the qualifications and the personal characteristics that are essential to effective town governance but rarely found in one candidate. Cathy’s financial background and adherence to the democratic process will ensure that costly past mistakes are not repeated.

Cathy’s career as a certified public accountant/auditor and her commitment to transparency will serve the town well.

Mel and Jean Low

Rye

Trumpism? No, thank you. I'd rather be woke.

March 9 — To the Editor:

While Donald J. Trump hasn’t disappeared, fortunately he seems to be fading in importance and influence. The attitudes that Trump has let loose — bigotry especially — have not faded. “Trumpism” is an attitude that looks for someone else to blame for our problems besides oneself. “Trumpism” is  the opposite of “woke” which is correctly defined as being alert to injustice - especially racial injustice- embedded in laws and behavior.   It (woke) started in Black slang.  “Trumpism” still  shows up in myriad ways.  It appears in “news stories":  immigrants invade our borders  in caravans to take jobs that few citizens supposedly want at low pay.  Jews plan it all.  Mental health not guns cause mass murders.   Women get pregnant and then want an abortion.  Older people get old. Chinese people and Pacific Islanders cause their own disease(COVID) and/or death (mass shooting in California);  etc., etc., etc.

“Trumpism” reaches to state legislatures, ours included. There are laws now that restrict our freedom such as HB 544 which prevents any education or training to make someone feel bad about sex or race (also known as the “divisive concepts” law).  HB 514 threatens teachers and staff with jail if they don’t take certain books off the shelf.  The books might be “obscene”.

“Trumpism” is a different world view. “Woke” is when you’re alert to these curbs on our freedom. I don’t understand how “Trumpism” thinks it’s protecting our freedoms when it tells us what to read, what to learn, who to vote for, and tells women not to get an abortion should we need or want one. I think I’d rather be woke.

Judy Ullman

Portsmouth

'Anti-wokism' or peddling 'asleepism'

March 9 — To the Editor:

Time for me to get out the magnifying glass. Republican presidential candidates are running on a series of manufactured issues so infinitesimally small as to be, well, non-existent.

They, and their mouthpieces at Fox, Breitbart,  Newsmax, the Gateway Pundit … have whipped themselves into a frenzy over things that don’t actually exist!

Rather than addressing real issues — like wages, the right to organize, public health, protection from unscrupulous financial institutions, an effort to overthrow democracy that they engendered, book banning and other curtailments to freedom of speech, gerrymandering, a health system that is based on profit not patients, a tax system designed for the wealthy — the Republican candidates are raging warriors sending sparks to reignite the culture wars they love so much and which mean so little.

Under the rubric “anti-wokism," Republican candidates are promoting anti-democratic policies, censorship, and curtailment of freedom. They rage at the tide (not that they’re doing anything about climate change) and pose a real danger to our democracy!

“Woke,” simply means being alert to social, racial and economic injustices and trying to do something about them. Well, the Republican candidates are against that!

So, our Republican presidential candidates have declared themselves in favor of injustice.

Nice to know that they take a stand on something!

Michael Frandzel

Portsmouth

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter patients will benefit from Beth Israel affiliation