Your editorial about increasing the numbers of health care personnel is long overdue (“Boost support for health-care careers,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Nov. 18). Where were questions about that during the recent campaigns?
For years now, the local hospitals have been flying in nurses at exorbitant cost to fill in the specialty units. The reason seems to be that hiring and educating our local people would mean retirement and health care costs.
Penny wise, pound foolish. Not only are we short of doctors, registered nurses and certified nurse aides, we also have a shortage of the technicians who perform various diagnostic tests. This has caused a long wait sometimes for such tests.
This short-sighted approach for a number of years has caused this huge problem. It should have been fixed years ago, but the bottom-line concerns of hospital administrators and boards have created a crisis.
Let’s hope creative administrators can help solve this problem. The community colleges also should be enlisted and supported so that they can provide the kind of education that is sorely needed.
Marilyn B. Lee, R.N.
Mililani
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