European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday april 29, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 11ann Landers dear Ann Landers my father has alzheimer a my wife has multiple sclerosis and one of our children has cerebral palsy. We All have crosses to Bear and i can carry mine. But what bums me up is knowing that we Are now spending $70 billion of the taxpayers Money to build a Fleet of bombers for what i done to know while the National institutes of health is getting less than $8 billion a year for medical research to find cures for the diseases that kill and cripple millions of people. Please Tell me if i am the Only person who thinks this is crazy. What can be done to put our spending priorities in some sensible order it seems that there Are organizations and support groups for every cause under the Sun. Is there something for people interested in medical research a Harry Devenoge new Smyrna Beach Fla. Dear Harry de Yenore there is now a a not for profit organization called research America founded by voluntary and professional health groups to build Public support for medical research in the areas of both physical and mental illness. Anyone interested write to 99 canal Center Plaza suite 250, Alexandria a. 22314. Without research there can be no Progress and without Money there can be no research. The new England journal of Medicine recently reported on a Brilliant discovery by researchers at the National institutes of health that could be a godsend to those who suffer spinal Cord injuries in the future. A cortisone derivative if administered within a few hours of an Accident could reduce paralysis to the extent that the patient could navigate with crutches and avoid a wheelchair. Ask anyone in a wheelchair what this Means and he or she will Tell you. The funding situation is critical. We must reverse the trend. Listen to this our nation spends More than $600 billion taking care of the sick but less than 3 percent is dedicated to finding cures for the diseases that plague us. Does this make sense not to me it does no to. That $600 billion is yours and mine and we have the right to say something about How it is spent. I urge each of you to Send this column to your congressmen and senators to let them know you want the cuts in funding restored to the National institutes of health. This is where the research is done for cancer heart disease arthritis cystic fibrosis mental illness and aids. Sign your name and address. If you done to know who your congressmen and senators Are Call the Public Library. You can get not Only their names but their addresses. Please dear readers do it today. Your life and the lives of your children could depend on it. Dear Ann Landers i once had a neighbor with whom 1 was Friendly Long after i moved away. Recently i heard that her son committed suicide. I sent her a sympathy card. Not Only did the woman not acknowledge the card but she walked right by me recently and did not even speak. Did i do something wrong is it inappropriate to Send a sympathy card to the family of suicide victims please Tell me. A Pompano Beach dear Pompano it is always appropriate to express sympathy when a family member Dies. When the death is suicide one does not mention it of course. Sympathy cards do not Call for an acknowledgement. As for the snub lets give her the Benefit of the doubt and assume that she did no to see you. C creators Syndicate letters status of physician assistants explained the full commissioning of army physician assist ants has apparently been stalled again. Whatever the reason it is a major injustice to army Pas. The army apparently does not recognize the past importance to the health care of soldiers and their family members. Pas Are responsible for the routine and emergency care of every Soldier in the units they serve. Pas do this in Garrison and in the Field daily. They often do this independently in some of the most austere conditions imaginable. These duties Are performed with a great Deal of Success and satisfaction to the patient and the command. Pas Are also involved with routine family member care ranging from paediatrics and obstetrics to management of chronic problems. Army Pas Are lagging behind the other services. Air Force Pas have always been fully commissioned and Navy Pas were fully commissioned this past year. The recognition and professional status of Pas in the army is being delayed. Army Pas need to take responsibility for their own destiny. Pas should split from the medical corps. Pas should design their own Branch with Pas taking care of other Pas. The working relationship Between physicians and Pas for Quality Assurance and supervision however should continue. Pas Are deserving of the recognition that goes with full commissioning. They Are at the grass roots of military Medicine and on a daily basis conserve the fighting strength. A chief warrant officer 2 Owen f. Timrick Vicenza Italy editors note a chief warrant officer 4 Jimmie e. Keller physician assistant consultant office of the surgeon general department of the army replies the surgeon general it. Gen. Frank f. Ledford jr., recommended the full commissioning of army physician assistants to the army leadership on sept. 15. His decision was made after an extensive study was completed by team members from the army medical department personnel proponent division . Army Academy of health sciences. The approval process by the army has dual components a a personnel action in accordance with a 611-1 to reclassify physician assistants from having a warrant officer military occupational specially mos of 600a to having a commissioned officer area of concentration  of 65d and a an action memorandum for staffing through the army staff to seek a final decision by the chief of staff army and the Secretary of the army to commission physician assistants. After these actions Are completed legislative Relief must be granted by the . Congress to allow army physician assistants to become members of the army medical specialist corps and to allow for the current Force of physician assistants in each of the three army components to be granted constructive service credit for computation of their commissioned ranks so As to avoid rank and experience inversions. It is not Manageri ally Cost effective for physician assistants to become a separate corps within the army medical department. By becoming a part of the army medical specialist corps physician assistants augment and complement a corps composed of other non physician health care providers. In no proposal will Rainy physician assistants lose their close working and supervisory relationship with physicians. The army does recognize the importance of physician assistants in the delivery of military health care to All eligible beneficiaries. The status and unit staffing of physician assistants Are readiness issues reaffirmed again by a operation just cause in Panama in which army physician assistants performed extremely Well. Many lives were saved due to their presence in the combat units and supporting medical surgical teams. It is imperative that this staffing and approval process be performed correctly and thoroughly. The recent events that have occurred in Eastern Europe will affect the future composition and strength of the army in the coming years. Any commissioning of physician assistants must be in concert with strategic planning by the army staff the army medical department and their leadership to meet any contingencies. I Trust this information will be informative to everyone concerned with the commissioning of army physician assistants. Please do not hesitate to Contact me at Aqda sips up 5109 Leesburg Pike Falls Church a. 22041-3258, with any questions regarding the status of this most important Issue. Reader wants writers to sign their names i would like to address this letter to our spineless friends who cower behind the title a name and location  they obviously have a lot of gripes criticisms and ideas to air but Are afraid to Bear the responsibility of the Power of the pen. If any idea is True and Noble its proponent should not be ashamed of it though others May refute both idea and proponent. Take Martin Luther King or. For example. He had an idea to air and knew the consequences that would come about but that did no to make him hide his identity. His fortitude name and cause have made an Impact on society. How much of an Impact would have been made if he refused to give his name and location lets look at another example from history. How much of an Impact would the declaration of Independence have made if it had been signed a name and location withheld a John Hancock would turn Over in his grave not to mention the King of England laughing his fool head off. This was a True and Noble document with men proudly putting their signatures to it. We know the kind of Impact this document had. What it All boils Down to is that if your idea is Worth airing its Worth putting your name to. If its not Worth putting your name to you re wasting your breath or Ink and time. You la find my a John Hancock at the end of this letter and if you doubt its Validity Check the locator. A staff sgt. John l. Jones Hahn a West Germany pen pals i am 56 years old and would like pen pals 40 years old and older. I am especially interested in Southwest Indian and afro american culture. My hobbies include outdoor life animals and weight training. Penny Campbell Garden Flat 13 Rylstone Road Eastbourne Sussex England i am a 25-year-old roman Catholic and i work As a Seaman. A Patrocinio s. Baron or. 33 Lourdes Street Harrison Pasay City metro Manila Philippines european edition col. Gene e. Townsend Usan commander editor in chief it. Col. Suzanne l. Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominicki Mert Proctor Deane b. Mcdermott production manager managing editor circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military services overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the . Government the department of defense or the . European command. 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