Letters to the editor for Thursday, March 17, 2022

Expanded medical services benefit Naples

When we heard the announcement that NCH was planning to expand medical services geared towards those who have cardiac and stroke related maladies, we were happy to hear the news!

We are sure that all among us are unanimously in favor of accessible quality health care despite the inconvenience of the construction period, but we must all focus on the bigger picture.

If the city approves NCH’s plans, our community will be home to a beautiful new, state-of-the-art cardiology facility that, from our understanding, will be home to all the hospital’s cardiac and stroke services — a convenience for patients who may utilize those services.

Additionally, the new facility will be led in part by the new president of cardiology that NCH brought on with experience in creating such a renowned center of excellence. This also should give us comfort that these plans are well thought out by people who know how to execute them.

This new facility is a needed expansion that will draw talented physicians as well, which will provide for the continued good health of our community’s residents.

We see no detriment from the city allowing NCH to move forward on this project. The enhanced services that will be housed under one roof in this new facility can only serve to make our community better.

Jim and Cathy Fischer, Naples

Support enhanced cardiac, stroke care

The Philanthropy Committee is a standing committee of the NCH Board of Trustees, and as a member of the committee, our duty is to help oversee the development program. In a nutshell, we help get resources where the demand is the greatest to provide for the future medical needs of those we serve.

Our current need is in supporting enhanced cardiac and stroke care for our families, our friends, our neighbors. This effort is being led by NCH with the noble mission that what they are able to build tomorrow will benefit all residents of Collier County well into the future by helping them to live longer, happier, healthier lives.

Story continues

Minutes matter in a cardiac or stroke event, and with almost 70 percent of our population who require cardiac and stroke treatment living closest to the Baker Hospital, it just makes sense that the new building be located there.

In surveys NCH has conducted, they have heard from our community that we all want quality medical care and more specifically, quality stroke and cardiac care. By supporting the new building that NCH wants to add to the campus of the Baker Hospital downtown, it will help us all move one step closer in achieving that goal.

If you would like continued access to quality care close to home, please support our local health care system in expanding and enhancing the services they are able to offer our community.

James P. Johannsen, Naples

Calusa Nature Center needs help from city

Amy Williams did a fine job reporting on the Calusa Nature Center. This nature center is a dream to visit. With great wildlife dioramas, exhibits. many wild animals and birds to see up close and personal. A butterfly house, a wonderful walking trail and even a one-room school house. Not to mention the planetarium with informative sky shows.

.Amy said in her article that the center has turned the corner once again. However, to keep that corner turned we need the help from the mayor of Fort Myers, the honorable Kevin B. Anderson, and the esteemed council to keep the center afloat by giving the Calusa Nature center an ongoing yearly grant and name it a city park, which it truly is. A grant to pay the main employees to run it and maintenance expenses and food for the animals.

Any article about the Calusa Nature Center would be truly remiss without mentioning Dr. Bill Hammond. Dr. Bill has helped to save the nature center from going under time and time again and done other things that are too numerous to mention here.

My dream for the nature center would be to have all of the Florida native animals housed there in free-ranging enclosures to feature Florida panthers, wild boar, deer and turkey to name a few.

Carl Veaux, Cape Coral

Make traffic control a higher priority

I recently saw a box truck running a red light and plowing into a car making a right turn from a side street. Since we moved to Florida seven years ago we have seen more red light runners than we have encountered in any other state.

Fort Myers police do not enforce speeding or drivers running red lights. We have a high number of drivers leaving the scene of an accident. Why is traffic control such a low police priority?

Allen Murphy, Fort Myers

Rush to parking lot at concert was rude

I wish to extend apologies to the delightful Patti LaBelle and her marvelous and talented band for the bad manners of most of the audience at her March 15 performance at Artis-Naples.

Ms. LaBelle brought her signature vocals, her effervescence and her warmth, to a full auditorium of patrons, who then responded by stampeding to the exit while Ms. LaBelle was still performing. I am mortified that a performer had to see such a display of rude behavior.

I do not believe that this mass exodus was in any way a comment on Ms. LaBelle’s marvelous performance, but a thoughtless (and self-defeating) attempt by patrons to “beat the rush” at the parking lot. Regardless, I am calling out this egregious behavior by all who participated and I ask that you all discontinue this practice immediately and know it to be a display of utter rudeness.

Dory Newell, Naples

The kindness of a stranger

Recently my van broke down on Tenth Street and a lady stopped by to offer help. I said I could really use a bottle of water. This kind lady left, came back shortly with two bottles of water, orange juice and crackers just as the tow truck arrived. I offered to pay for what she had bought me but she refused and said she was happy to have helped. God bless her. Goes to show there are still very good people in the world.

Tom Pizzuto, Naples

Flawed road projects

Someone needs to closely monitor what is going on in the Road Engineering and Design Department of Collier County. Their latest disaster is the recent change in road pattern on Orange Blossom Road in front of the Siena Lakes facility. The new road design will force westbound traffic to take a sharp right turn at the same location that oncoming traffic is trying to merge right. Someone has realized the potential for a major accident and possible traffic fatalities by closing off one of the eastbound lanes for now. This has resulted in only one lane in every direction, same as it was before the multimillion-dollar construction project. On top of that, the new pavement on the westbound lane was poorly constructed, and makes you feel like you are driving on a washboard.

This is on top of their recently approved design for the Whippoorwill Connector project in which they have included four small traffic circles which will make passage of large trucks and lawn service slow to a stop and impede emergency vehicles.

Collier County is in desperate need of more and better roads, so it is a shame to see it waste money on projects like this.

James Moritz, Naples

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Thursday, March 17, 2022