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Why Kaiser members should support parcel tax

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Sonoma Valley Sun

Kaiser patients in the Sonoma Valley have a very good reason to vote “yes” on Sonoma Valley Hospital’s parcel tax extension that is coming up on the March ballot. I know that from my own experience.

I have been a healthy Kaiser member for many years, so it was only recently that I found out first-hand how important it is to have an Emergency Room only minutes away when you really need it. No 50-minute emergency transits “over the hill” — the ER is right here.

After coming up short of breath and with pains in my chest, I used my local Fire-Med membership to call an ambulance. When it came, I asked to be taken to Sonoma Valley Hospital. Any of us Kaiser patients in the Sonoma Valley can do that, but we have to ask.

In just a few minutes I was at the ER and being admitted without any waiting. I received top-quality care from a skilled medical team in their brand new facility, and my family was able to reach me easily to give me support in those first few crucial hours. Once I was stabilized, Kaiser made the inter-hospital transfer to their San Rafael facility at no extra cost. All paid for by my Kaiser coverage.

Later I needed follow-up services after being released from the hospital. Knowing that a contract is in place with Kaiser to do that, I asked my Kaiser health advisor to arrange for follow-up care through Sonoma Valley Hospital’s “Healing at Home” service. With their services close by, scheduling and follow-up care was easy, and I avoided many needless trips. Again, all paid for by my Kaiser coverage, but you have to ask.

So Kaiser members, be aware that you and your families have a big stake in the survival of Sonoma Valley Hospital, and its ER, in our Valley. It’s a small amount to pay when your life, or the life of a loved one, may depend on it. Vote “YES” on Measure B.

Norman Gilroy, Sonoma

 

 

 

 



5 thoughts on “Why Kaiser members should support parcel tax

  1. So, we should pay $3.8 million a year for Kaiser folks to go to Sonoma Valley Hospital. By the time one gets “stabilized” at SVH, they could already be at Kaiser! Don’t allow the professional ambulance folks decide where to take you! Just use them like a taxi service, but have everyone else pay for it. Maybe you should write me a check for $250 a year? Cause I refuse to risk my life and be treated at Sonoma Valley Hospital.

    1. . . . by the time one gets to Kaiser, one could be dead. Alas, the lifeboat known as planet Earth is vastly overcrowded and in danger of going under. We are sorely in need of heroic volunteers to step overboard. Do it for the team, Johnjdp.

      1. Actually I am so afraid of dying, I am going to move across the street from the hospital. Never go anywhere further away than 10 minutes from an ER. Yosemite, Big Sur, or a cross county Airline flight? Out of the question!

  2. If I had those symptoms, I’d be headed to a hospital that had a cardiologist on staff and ready to work on me. A “pit stop” at SVH could result in lost time, when in need of critical cardiac care. Spend the time in route to where emergency surgery could be preformed. Not happening at SVH as they don’t do Cardiac Surgery, even in a life or death emergancy.

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