Lutheran in Decline, Far From Our Image, Teacher's Example, Unfair Burden, Butterfly Survival

Parental Overreach Leads to Lutheran Decline

Lutheran Hospital, owned by Community Health Systems of Tennessee, has been and remains a valuable part of Northern Indiana health care. But unfortunately, over the last decade, the financial situation has been in decline and Community Health’s stock price per share has fallen from over $15 to less than $4.

With the 2013 takeover of Health Management Associates and a colossal debt load, Community Health, with more than 200 hospitals, seemed poised to become the largest U.S. hospital system. This was the high point, because the profits of the system were not enough to support the level of debt.

Community Health now owns more than 70 hospitals and appears to be divesting them one by one, likely to pay down debt. Its balance sheet shows debt of more than $11 billion and cash flow remains a problem. Already, comments regarding the aging facility are being heard. How much would it cost to completely update it with new equipment?

Worse, the loss of medical staff was caused by the move of a urology group to Parkview and neurology to IU Health. As the Journal Gazette reports, programs in Fort Wayne have been cut — transplants, for example, and even obstetrics at some regional hospitals.

Community Health’s latest announcement is therefore more bad news: “additional” debt could be proposed (10.875% senior secured bonds maturing in 2032) to buy back “all of its 8% senior secured bonds”. % outstanding maturing (in) 2026, to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes, which may include repayment of a portion of outstanding debt. If paid to maturity, rising interest rates will add an additional $35 million in costs – money not spent on health care.

It’s not entirely management’s fault that Community Health has to live in our health care wonderland of the United States, but the financial problems aren’t good for the Fort Wayne area either. Lutheran Hospitals and DuPont deserve our support until management is forced to let Lutheran Hospital disappear like the Cheshire Cat’s smile. It is worrying to see a great organization disappear.

Dr. William R. Casting

Fort Wayne

The incapacity to exercise a function must be manifest

Why should I vote for a presidential candidate who:

He took up a new hobby of seeing if he could be elected president and succeeded by calling enough good people demeaning nicknames?

Is he now bestowing the nickname “crooked” on others as he sits in court facing multiple indictments?

He claims he’s being treated unfairly because he has to appear in court and can’t campaign hard as the leader of what was once the Republican Party?

Did you hire a “fixer” to cover up sordid extramarital affairs?

He said it would be a sad day for America if he was put in prison when the saddest day for America was when the Electoral College overturned the popular vote and began four long years of national embarrassment with him as president?

I just find too many reasons not to vote for him.

Tom Booth

Fort Wayne

Presidential reality far from our image

Did I miss something?

President Joe Biden is said to be too old, but Donald Trump can’t stay awake during the first of many criminal trials he faces (also a first for former presidents). According to Forbes, Donald has ducked out at least nine times. Who rides a bike, is fit, and the best doctors in the country say he is in excellent physical condition and who is the “sleepy old man”? Would you want your president to sleep and not read his morning security briefing?

The US intelligence community faced ‘greater challenges’ in briefing Trump than it faced in nearly five decades when President-elect Richard Nixon took office, according to a published report by the CIA’s internal research center.”

Again, who is too old and unfocused for this job?

Jean Gospodarek

Fort Wayne

A music teacher sets a good example for a group

We had the pleasure of attending the Northwood Middle School band concert to see our grandson perform. I would like to recognize band director Michael Cashdollar.

His rapport with the students was evident, and his enthusiasm and love for music touched each of them. He participated in the performances, playing several instruments himself, and played the saxophone with one hand while retrieving a student’s fallen sheet music with the other.

Thank you, Mr. Cashdollar, for being such a great example to your students.

Jeanne Hastings

Andres

A rule that unfairly burdens underdeveloped students

At the end of each school year, graduating seniors share their projects with their teachers.

A senior who I wasn’t sure would graduate when he was a sophomore told me he would attend Bowling Green to study pediatric nursing. Another student spent his freshman year shaking off poor academic decisions early in high school, and he’s now considering the possibility of going to college.

These conversations are a rewarding part of my job, but I fear they would be impossible if these students were to graduate in just a few years.

The State Board of Education is reinventing the high school diploma structure starting with the Class of 2029. Of the many changes, the one that scares me the most requires students to determine their academic path as an eighth grader. When they begin high school, students will pursue academic, military, vocational, or business career paths.

All post-secondary choices are valid, but 14 year olds are too young to make these decisions. The pressure of postsecondary choices already overwhelms students at the end of high school – why move that stress to college? High school should be a time of exploration and personal growth rather than a funnel into employability.

Even though these graduation changes are coming, eighth grade is too early to make these choices. I am asking the State Board of Education to consider the impact this decision will have on Indiana’s youth and to give students the opportunity to change majors while in high school.

Students who cannot drive or work part-time jobs are too young to determine their life goals.

Lisa Baltes

Fort Wayne

The survival of butterflies is in our power

Monarch butterflies left central Mexico in March and are heading north. These butterflies are the group that left their homes in North America and Canada. We will see them here in June and July. We will see the third or fourth generation in Northeast Indiana.

Climate change has started to take a toll on them. Temperatures rise, affecting water supplies and food sources such as milkweed and other nectar-rich flowers. Wildfires are more frequent and more intense, causing them additional stress. These are the basics that monarchs need to survive.

We must become the voice of their royal species. We are part of the problem, so we must be part of the solution to ensure their survival.

In Mexico, up to 500 trees are lost every day in their wintering grounds. So we need to plant the food sources necessary for the monarch to continue to exist. It really is that simple.

I want to continue seeing them every summer, and you should too. Please help them coexist with humans.

Laurie Butts

City of Colombia