Whatcom: Chronic & Acute

  May 2018

Open Letter to Peacehealth St. Joseph Cancer Center

by Robert A. Duke

Greetings, Cancer Center Board of Directors: Is there a sadder comment on cancer care than “I wish someone had told me?” That was my wish in 2009 about my wife’s glioblastoma treatment and was the despairing 2018 wish of a … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Open Letter to Peacehealth St. Joseph Cancer Center

  April 2018

Your Life-Sustaining Medical Treatment – Sign Up Now

Whatcom Watch

by Robert A. Duke Its title alone demands your attention, but this form may also impact your death one day: Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)! The orders are your orders to an unknown physician(s) suddenly confronted with life or … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Your Life-Sustaining Medical Treatment – Sign Up Now

  March 2018

Realities of End-of-life Issues Confronted

Whatcom Watch

by Robert A. Duke Healthcare Providers and Public in Landmark Meeting on End-of-Life Issues “Rumors and Realities” was an apt title for the Jan. 17, 2018, standing-room-only public meeting about dying in Whatcom County. Community rumors were rife that PeaceHealth’s … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Realities of End-of-life Issues Confronted

  February 2018

MD Q&A – Prescription Drugs

Whatcom Watch

by Robert A. Duke Getting the healthcare you want can be as simple as asking your doctor what’s available. As to prescription (Rx) medications, patients most often search for lower cost options. That sounds simple enough, but it can be … Continue reading →

Comments Off on MD Q&A – Prescription Drugs

  February 2018

Single-Payer Is Not the Devil’s Healthcare

Whatcom Watch

by Robert A. Duke What  does “single-payer healthcare really mean? Some say it is the future of healthcare, or the solution to reforming the existing healthcare monstrosity America has conjured into existence. I recently learned it was both and neither! … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Single-Payer Is Not the Devil’s Healthcare

  January 2018

Rogues Gallery of Doctors

Whatcom Watch

by Robert A. Duke Allan Pinkerton of detective fame devised the first Rogues Gallery in 1855. It was a compilation of descriptions, methods of operation, hiding places and names of criminals and their associates. My rogues’ gallery doesn’t feature criminals … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Rogues Gallery of Doctors

  December 2017

Refuge for Discarded Caregivers

Whatcom Watch

by Robert A. Duke A Salute to Inspired Citizen Healthcare Where do caregivers go when they lose their patients? It rarely ends any other way, but when patient and caregiver are separated by institutional care, hospice or death, the end … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Refuge for Discarded Caregivers

  Oct/Nov 2017

Quest Was Public Knowledge, Professional Ignorance No Excuse!

Whatcom Watch

by Robert A. Duke It was public knowledge on Nov. 9, 2016,* that PeaceHealth was negotiating the sale of its medical labs, but the deal, which closed on Feb. 15, 2017, surprised Bellingham’s Family Care Network (FCN). Responding to my … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Quest Was Public Knowledge, Professional Ignorance No Excuse!

  Oct/Nov 2017

Community Health Is in Fact a Private Matter, Reporter Finds

Whatcom Watch

by Robert A. Duke Reporter John Simmons contributed to this article. The PeaceHealth St. Joseph Community Health Board exists to help its namesake hospital address unmet local healthcare needs. The board’s mission is to help the hospital write its Community … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Community Health Is in Fact a Private Matter, Reporter Finds

  August 2017

What Does Death Mean Today?

Whatcom Watch

by Robert A. Duke “Modern Death: How Medicine Changed the End of Life,” by Haider Warraich, M.D., says modern technology and law have made death more complicated, so maybe you need to be more detailed about what procedures you want … Continue reading →

Comments Off on What Does Death Mean Today?