Dedicated Diners 

Editor:

I was disappointed by Carrie Peyton Dahlberg's Sept. 15 article titled "Dollars for Docs." Her negative portrayal of this activity is amateurish "Yellow Journalism" below your editorial standards. This article does a disservice to healthcare providers in this area. Chastising local doctors, nurse practitioners, physician's assistants and other healthcare workers for attending educational presentations is myopic and cheap. The people besmirched in the sidebar are devoted caregivers. These presentations are after regular working hours (when Ms. Peyton Dahlberg is probably home eating dinner) so, yes, a quiet dinner is served. Would she prefer the presentations be given at Wendy's?

She implies a significant aspect of the presentations is "...swapping unproven stories that could help the sales of their pills." If she had attended any of these scandalous presentations she would find the history and outcomes of present treatment options, mechanisms of action, side effects, drug interactions and dosing recommendations are the main parts of presentations. Any negative aspects of treatment and alternatives are discussed. At the article's end she asks "Is there anything wrong..." with drug companies doing this? Is there anything wrong with advertisements for products and services in your magazine?

She also asks, "Is there anything wrong..." with health care professionals doing this, and the answer provided is, "Probably not." People who provide healthcare in this area work very hard long hours, constantly making life and death decisions to provide essential services, often with little gratitude. There is an endless stream of new drugs and it's difficult to stay current. In big cities there are many opportunities for continuing education, but options in Humboldt County are limited. I applaud these dedicated people for giving and attending the available educational presentations to keep up their skills to provide you with the best care possible.

Jerry Basist, Kneeland