Letter to the Editor

Lead ammo ban critical
Recent reports of California condors returning to the San
Francisco Bay Area after a hundred years’ absence are encouraging.
These magnificent birds once ranged the entire western United
States.
But if condors are to replenish their former range, it is
critical that lead ammunition be banned from the environment.
Non-toxic alternatives are available. In recent months in Arizona
and Utah, six condors were poisoned by lead shot, and three died. A
single ingested pellet can kill a bird. Scavengers such as eagles,
ravens, jays, bears, coyotes, badgers, etc., are also put at risk,
as well as upland game such as doves and quail, who ingest the
spent shot.
Lead has been banned in the hunting of waterfowl, in gasoline,
paint, plumbing, ceramic dishes, etc. Ideally, there should be a
nationwide ban on the use of lead for ALL hunting and fishing.
Here’s hoping some pro-environment California legislator will
introduce the necessary legislation next session. And if hunters
and fishers are the conservationists they claim to be, they’ll
support the effort.
Former Assemblyman Pedro Nava introduced such a bill last year,
AB 2223. The bill passed the Assembly, but failed in Senate Natural
Resources, for all the wrong reasons. It’s time to try again.
All legislators may be written c/o The State Capitol,
Sacramento, CA 95814.
Eric Mill
Coordinator, Action for Animals, Oakland
Lead ammo ban critical

Recent reports of California condors returning to the San Francisco Bay Area after a hundred years’ absence are encouraging.  These magnificent birds once ranged the entire western United States.

But if condors are to replenish their former range, it is critical that lead ammunition be banned from the environment.  Non-toxic alternatives are available.  In recent months in Arizona and Utah, six condors were poisoned by lead shot, and three died.  A single ingested pellet can kill a bird.  Scavengers such as eagles, ravens, jays, bears, coyotes, badgers, etc., are also put at risk, as well as upland game such as doves and quail, who ingest the spent shot.

Lead has been banned in the hunting of waterfowl, in gasoline, paint, plumbing, ceramic dishes, etc.  Ideally, there should be a nationwide ban on the use of lead for ALL hunting and fishing.  Here’s hoping some pro-environment California legislator will introduce the necessary legislation next session.  And if hunters and fishers are the conservationists they claim to be, they’ll support the effort.

Former Assemblyman Pedro Nava introduced such a bill last year, AB 2223.  The bill passed the Assembly, but failed in Senate Natural Resources, for all the wrong reasons.  It’s time to try again.

All legislators may be written c/o The State Capitol, Sacramento, CA  95814.

Eric Mill

Coordinator, Action for Animals, Oakland

HHH staff deserves praise

I don’t live in Hollister, but because I work full-time at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital I spend more time in this community than I do at home in Aptos!

I’ve been thinking about writing this editorial for quite some time. Not to call attention to myself or even to the work I do on behalf of HHMH, but because there’s really no better way to try and make people realize the importance of something, than to talk about a real personal experience.

On May 5, 2010 I was sitting out on the cafeteria patio at the hospital enjoying the sunshine and a flat of local strawberries someone had brought to share. Suddenly I felt a horrible stabbing pain in my back. “I think I’m having a heart attack,” I said to my group of friends who included Lori Kraus, a P.A. (physician’s assistant) and Bob Trembly an FNP (family nurse practitioner), who both work in the main Hazel Hawkins Clinic and in our ER.

Lucky for me, Lori and Bob knew exactly what was happening to me and exactly what to do. You see, I wasn’t having a heart attack. That would have been much simpler and less complicated. I was experiencing an aortic dissection. The main artery in my heart had torn open and I was “bleeding out.” This is the same thing that recently killed Special Envoy, Richard Holbrook and actor John Ritter a few years back. It’s 90 percent fatal.

Yet I sit here at my desk today, some seven months later, writing of my ordeal.

I simply wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital and its highly trained and dedicated staff and physicians.

After I collapsed, I was taken immediately to the ER at HHMH. There, Dr. Corby stabilized me and got me ready for transport to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. My HHMH friends stuck by me as I endured nearly 10 hours plus of open-heart surgery, two weeks of unconsciousness and several months of recovery.

Needless to say, life has changed since that fateful day in May. I’ve lost 40 pounds; although I don’t recommend this as a diet plan! And I have an acute appreciation for the people who dedicate their lives to serving others. Especially those in healthcare.

I sometimes hear negative comments about Hazel Hawkins. No doubt any institution that serves thousands of people who are in distress, away from home, uncomfortable, worried and in pain, will come under fire from time to time. Trust me, I’ve been in three hospitals and seen countless doctors in the past seven months. HHMH is not perfect, but we’re comparable to any regional healthcare facility. The fact is, Hazel Hawkins is a great asset to the community. The staff and physicians who work here save lives.

They saved mine.

Leah Dowty,

Director, Hazel Hawkins Hospitals Foundation

Editor, Healthline Newsletter