Courthouse Burning

Some of you may already know this, but the historic Chatham County courthouse in Pittsboro, NC burned last night. By day, I am the human resources director for the county, and by night and other special occasions, I get to be the public information officer.

I battled disbelief as I watched the flames erupt from the clock tower and top floor. I was sick when I saw flames on the second floor, in the superior courtroom, one of the most beautiful in the state. I was in disaster mode, corralling the media and getting position statements from key players. Later, as firefighters were getting a better handle on the blaze, I could process a little. It really struck me when I saw water running out the front door and pouring down the steps like a waterfall.

I am writing about this because this was one of the reasons I started writing at all. This courthouse was part of the inspiration for my novel, Murder in the Old Courthouse. This is the old courthouse described almost exactly in my book.

Sad day for our county.

Health Care

Okay folks, I want a real deal discussion here. Health Care bill. Thoughts?

I work in a hospital and this bill spells financial misery for many of us. Medicare rates and Medicaid rates dictate how we operate. I love the reduction in uninsured people that will happen, but we get $.18 on the dollar for Medicaid patients so I'm not sure its the trade off we are looking for. Many uninsured people pay their bills. Our write-offs on uninsured are around 26%. That means we still collect 74%. Smart people will take the gov't plan, and we end up getting 18% instead of 74%. We get less money, which is not viable for many hospitals (UW excluded). This closes regional hospitals and drives traffic to the big ones. Problem is we don't have space, and can't afford an influx of 18% patients. This strains resources at big hospitals and makes it impossible to get regular health care. Essentially we become Canada.

Now, with that said, I do believe in the essence of the bill. We have evolved as the human race and we should be able to take care of our own people. There are just so many problems with it.

I also know that the current system is broken, really broken, and will not be fixed without intervention. This is a very good step in that it gets us moving. Even if it fails, it will be refined over time. I have hope that it's the right step. Very little we have done as a country worked the first time.

I will give Obama a ton of credit for trying this. Others have never even attempted to look at the hard problems. It's tough being a republican that became a moderate with the Bush administration, and I am struggling to hold on to the moderate label. I can't reconcile the massive amount of money we have thrown at the war, and then bitch about the cost of the healthcare bill. It is literally scary to see the money we have spent on the war. Therefore, it is impossible not to see healthcare out. We need to see if this works, or can be changed to work.