Letters to the Editor

House Calls
Last issue’s cover story, “House Calls,” highlighted a program to help aging, impoverished Baltimore residents gain independence at home. The key is an unlikely trioÑa nurse, an occupational therapist, and a handymanÑteaming up to help each resident.

MPFall2010CoverA representative from Fancy Scrubs wrote: “This is so refreshing to read-we hope to see many more seniors in the future years being able to live at home on their own through programs like these.”

While Nancy Brown, a self-described “aged care nurse,” writes that, “the aged care industry is letting our elderly people down, and the system is also letting our Assistants in Nursing (AINs) burn out.”

Nursing Shortage is a Sore Spot
We’re still getting comments on ‘The Global Nursing Shortage” from our summer 2010 issue. Some readers expressed concern that international nurses working in the U.S. might prevent American nurses from finding jobs.

A reader named Sheila commented online that, “American healthcare executives try to hire international nurses so they can pay them less. They are fully aware that there are U.S. graduates needing jobs. American hospitals should not be allowed to hire foreigners unless there are no qualified Americans for the job! That’s how they do it in England and Ireland.”

Kudos and Comments
I have just had a chance to peruse the Fall/Winter issue of your Nursing magazine; and it is excellent! So many different articles, and I enjoyed each of them. The magazine just keeps getting better and better.

I am off to Tokyo and Singapore and then S. Korea for a couple of surveys. As you can imagine, I am especially interested in the Global Health articles.

One small comment from page 18: my aging eyes struggled with the white print on the pale greenish background. Thanks for listening.
Best regards,Robbie Heath