I don’t think most people realize the institutions that serve their community can die or just fade away.
Just like our bodies, we take them for granted, and if they are not nurtured and nourished, those institutions will get sick and die.
Libraries, auditoriums, historic sites, public parks, hometown businesses, schools, downtown buildings, hospitals and even newspapers will cease to exist if the people who live around them don’t wisely use them and work to keep them open.
That almost happened to the hospital in Clarksdale.
And while there are still institutions and things in this town in danger of fading away, this column is about how new life can be breathed into critical institutions.
Quality of life
I don’t think you can name another institution in a community that adds more to our quality of life than a hospital.
Pain, illness and disease steal the joy out of life and bring suffering and grief to family and friends. Hospitals can sometimes stop that.
Clarksdale and Coahoma County was fortunate to have Delta Health System out of Greenville offer a solution in the winter of 2021.
But our world, and healthcare specifically, has changed a lot over the past two years. Healthcare in rural America is in trouble.
I’m one of those who believe government does more good than bad in my life, but I’m not real sure the federal government has figured out this healthcare thing.
Government programs, which have been between you and healthcare providers since the start of Medicare in 1956, change every time we send new politicians to Washington.
And while change in government is not always a bad thing, change in business can be a tough hurdle to overcome.
How would you like it if your revenue stream and the way you do business changed every time a new political party came to power?
Community concern
Let me make a point here.
Hospitals are just buildings, it is the doctors and medical professionals inside who make you well.
I firmly believe the leadership in our community understands that. I also feel, being from the Mississippi Delta, they understand our demographics and the problems Clarksdale and Coahoma County face.
Your Clarksdale Press Register has heard bits and pieces of how we plan to address the issues affecting all rural hospitals in America.
We have also read stories in our sister newspapers in Greenville and Greenwood that say affiliating with a larger hospital is a viable option.
Two years ago Clarksdale was very close to losing its hospital. We have reason to believe that is not the case today.
But we do urge you to consider using healthcare in Clarksdale. If we don’t shop local and support local institutions they will go away.
I need a doctor
I turned 63 this year.
Parts don’t bend like they used to and there are aches and gurgling sounds that concern me, my wife and even the dog.
I haven’t had a physical in several years.
My doctor in Houston, Mississippi went to church with me and his wife and my wife were friends. But he has gotten older and suffered health issues of his own and is no longer seeing new patients.
My oldest son got married two years ago. Yes, grandchildren are in the Ingram’s future.
I still have a zest for married life and weekend trips to just enjoy the world.
And I also love my work and plan to keep pecking way on this computer as long my health lets me.
I’ve got a lot of living I want to do!
Yes, I need a doctor. And I hope you too will look around this week and realize our hospital must get healthy.
Floyd Ingram is an award winning editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. He loves fried food, doesn’t exercise very much and is about 20-pounds overweight, call him at 662-627-2201 if you are concerned about his health.
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