Institute’s troubles harm workers, patients

For a city renowned for imploding its landmark buildings before their time, nothing speaks to Las Vegas’ period of “irrational exuberance” like the recent history of the Nevada Cancer Institute.

The institute opened less than 10 years ago to much fanfare and acclaim. Backed with generous financial support and effort from virtually every Nevada gaming executive, their spouses and politicians, the institute was soon displaying an impressive array of buildings on its Summerlin campus.

Sadly, as patients and employees found out this month, the institute lacked the funds to staff these magnificent buildings with doctors and technicians.

For more than three years, I was fortunate to receive top-notch treatment by the same doctor and support staff. As someone who made a career of studying management, I believe it is impossible to visualize any circumstance where an organization, private or public, has to lay off 50 percent of its staff without virtually any notice to its employees or customers.

Yes, as the institute’s press release stated, federal funding is down, state funding is down, charitable giving is down, etc. But these are not late-breaking developments. All companies in these troubled times owe it to their employees and customers to give as much notice as possible when dramatic change is afoot — this is particularly true in the medical field, where the stakes are so great.

As a Las Vegas cheerleader, I can only hope that our other health-related attempt at diversifying our economy beyond casinos — the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health — is better planned, financed and managed.

Exploding volcanoes, musical waterfalls and the like may make great financial sense and justify tearing down operational casinos, but call me old-fashioned. I’d much prefer an old stuffy doctor’s office staffed with the best physicians to a state-of-the-art facility with no doctors or technicians.

Jeffrey Moskow

Las Vegas

Which windbag

To the editor:

The so-called “experts” are dismissing Donald Trump’s candidacy, saying he is nothing but a windbag with limited political experience and that he lacks the qualifications to be president. It wasn’t that long ago, however — 2008 in fact — that the country elected a windbag with limited political experience and no qualifications to be president.

He’s still in office.

Larry Fuss

Las Vegas

White invaders

To the editor:

In his Wednesday letter, Bill Wilderman wrote, “I see our once-great country soon to be overwhelmed by foreigners, who will force their beliefs on us once they become the majority.”

I am sure American Indians such as the Chippewa, Mohegan, Paiute, Apache and myriad more, as well as the Mexican-Indian cultures, can sure follow that.

Did I miss something?

Charlie Michael

North Las Vegas

Follow orders

To the editor:

In response to the recent story about the confrontation between Mitchell Crooks and a Las Vegas police officer:

As much as the seemingly excessive use of force and gunplay displayed so often by Metro upsets me, I think that this is one case where the officer did what he had to do.

A thorough read of the event tells me that Mr. Crooks was asking for trouble from the start. He was baiting the officer when all he had to do was turn the flashlight off and answer the questions.

Otto Seller

Las Vegas

Gimme crowd

To the editor:

That was a very interesting letter Wednesday from Ray A. Cohn criticizing Vin Suprynowicz’s “hysterical diatribe” on the threatened government shutdown. The paragraph about ObamaCare is what got most of my attention.

Mr. Cohn quotes statistics about the uninsured and annual deaths in America due to a lack of available health insurance coverage. I won’t dispute those statistics, but I have always wondered why those folks without health care got into that situation. It is probably an undisputed fact that many of them are in that situation nowadays because of the high unemployment, but has this always been the case?

How about those who don’t accept responsibility for themselves and their families? They would rather spend beyond their means because of greed and self-gratification and then depend on some other suckers to pay their medical bills. We do have a large number among the “gimme” crowd in our society.

I am sick and tired of the socialist crowd trying to confiscate my assets to pay for irresponsible folks. And health is not the only issue. Look at your utility bills to read about the taxes imposed on us to help pay for somebody else. And being retired and on a fixed income, my family and I keep getting closer and closer to the poverty level because of those confiscations.

So, yes, I would rather subscribe to the Social Darwinist philosophy (Mr. Cohn’s choice of words) than to the socialist agenda. And if it is a matter that I have more capital than Mr. Cohn to pay for health needs and, as a result, he dies before me, then so be it.

Three cheers for Mr. Suprynowicz.

Esmael E. Candelaria

Henderson