Readers Write: Hennepin Healthcare, VA union, research grants, the Presidential Fitness test

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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I was disappointed to read that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted to retake control of the nonprofit that runs Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and its clinics (“County to take control over HCMC,” Aug. 13). I am saddened that the board, its members good at what they do accepting guidance from our county’s paid professionals, will now take on the role of hospital administrators and will run HCMC. This is a role for which most, if not all, have no formal training.

We all recognize that health care finances are pretty much a morass that only the professionals even begin to understand. HCMC serves a great number of under- and uninsured county residents. In addition, federal Medicaid payments are being reduced, further deepening the budget shortfalls at HCMC.

Will the County Board make money appear from nowhere to a degree better than the current hospital management team? Will labor be able to see an already short-staffed hospital increase staffing or pay scales, when funds are decreasing rather than increasing? Will the county be able to afford the up to $2.5 billion that hospital leadership asked for and that the County Board has said that it would like to approve?

We must all face the fact that the financial health care pie is shrinking, not expanding. The county commissioners have no magic bullet to make it all come together, and I hope they recognize they may have stepped in well over their heads with this 6-1 vote.

Time will tell.

I was disappointed but not surprised to see that the Trump administration has shut down the VA union in Minneapolis. (“Order dissolves Mpls. VA unions,” Aug. 12). Doctors and nurses no longer have union representation and are essentially at-will employees. Trump has sought to curtail the VA workforce since Day One.

This is a blow not only to workers but to the veterans who depend on their care. VA secretary Doug Collins said that the move will improve care and service to those who wore the uniform. That is patently not true.

Union representation allows employees to speak about unsafe staffing levels and other resources. Without union protection, workers lose a powerful voice. And veterans lose their strongest allies inside the system. The Minneapolis VA hospital is already short-staffed, and this move will make a bad situation worse.

President Donald Trump’s assault on unions is just one more step to silence anyone who dares to disagree with him. It’s not about efficiency or “union bosses” — it’s about control. It is an attack on our freedom and democracy.

If we value our veterans, we must protect the workers who serve them.

Joe Lundequam, St. Paul

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When reading “Order dissolves Mpls. VA unions” in the Aug. 12 edition, I became aware of the blatant disregard to safety and well-being that exists toward police and security officers. As a result of an executive order, the union for federal workers was dissolved. The executive order cited national security concerns for this action. Unions representing police and security officers are exempt from the executive order. These are the very people who protect the rest of us — we should protect them when we can. If federal workers need protection from the evils of labor unions, include everyone — include police and security officers.

Linda Emmel, Buffalo, Minn.

On Friday, the Star Tribune published the online article “Trump executive order gives politicians control over all federal grants, alarming researchers,” which was about President Donald Trump’s new executive order giving politicians control over federal grants with the power to override peer-review recommendations. A few recent National Science Foundation research awards went for, for example, “Inverse Methods for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Non-Crystalline Materials” and “The genetic basis of complex plumage phenotypes in hybridizing Passerina buntings.” These were rated by their peers, in intense competitions, as among the top proposals likely to advance our scientific understanding. Upon being asked about their expertise to override the science panels, these political appointees might as well respond, “I may not have the expertise, but I did stay at a Motel 6.”

Lawrence Rudnick, Minneapolis

The writer is professor emeritus of astrophysics at the University of Minnesota.

I was not a good student or athlete. At the end of 10th grade at Washburn High School in 1971, I ran the mile as part of that dreaded Presidential Fitness Test (“A student-athlete’s perspective on the Presidential Fitness Test,” Strib Voices, Aug. 11, and “Teach movement, not shame,” Readers Write, Aug. 12). That run completely changed my life! The gym teacher told me to think about going out for cross-country the next fall. That led to the Nordic ski team and then track in the spring. Two years after that gym-class mile, I was the Minneapolis Mile Champion, which led to colleges taking an interest in me. I would have never gone to college if I hadn’t run that mile!

As far as that fitness test making kids embarrassed, how do you think I felt taking math classes with students two grade levels below me? Remember, humility is a gift you can tap into — every day — for the rest of your life.

Patrick J. Kelehan, Emily, Minn.

As I read the submission on the student athlete’s perspective on the Presidential Fitness Test, I realized that this perception of the test was far from my reality of experiencing it from 1972-1980. Although I participated and did well in organized sports such as football, baseball and hockey, I never did well on this test. I was middle of the pack and never got the patch. I don’t remember ever giving it a second thought. I mean, the test didn’t indicate whether you were an all-star third baseman or a good left wing. At the time we kids constantly held races or contests, be it on the playground or in the neighborhood, to see who was “best.” I recall the fitness test being a lot of fun and a chance to compete with your classmates. I recall the results being something that were pretty much forgotten by the next gym class.

I believe anything at all that brings physical fitness to mind in a kid is great. We can’t all win the trophy. There is a saying regarding fitness: If you can measure it you can mend it. If we never challenge ourselves, how can we improve or make adjustments? I am 59, I bench press 380 pounds and can bike 50 miles in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Every workout I push and challenge myself based a lot on what I learned about taking personal responsibility for my health and fitness beginning with these simple tests. In an era when obesity rates and health care costs are both high, anything at all to get a person thinking about improving their health can’t be a bad thing.