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COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
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| Health care vacations To the Editor: Deborah Stayman’s article (Oct. ’02 Communicator) publicizing the Flex Spending Account was quite useful in pointing to a resource PEF members can use to deal with ballooning health care costs. I’d like to suggest another resource the union can encourage: health tourism. “Health tourism” can be as simple as sponsoring a bus trip into Canada to get cheaper medicines. However, it can also refer to much more ambitious trips, such as going abroad for expensive surgical/medical care. The New York Times recently reported that thousands of Americans have been going to Thailand for affordable high quality care, including open-heart surgery and dental implants. The savings at leading Bangkok hospitals catering to the needs of expatriates are large enough to pay for vacations at posh seaside resorts there. Maybe PEF Travel can investigate the possibilities of offering health tourism packages for union members. ROBERT FISHER Albany Get service credit you’ve earned To the Editor: Many of us have worked very hard in New York City or state hospitals but were paid by affiliated private hospitals. I am one of them and I am unable to get service credit from the New York State Retirement system for my work on behalf of New York City hospital patients. I think where you worked is most important, and not who paid you. Private and city hospitals have contracts for affiliation where both benefit. If you, too, want to pursue our service credits, please contact me at: Vijaya Deshpande, MD, 87 New Valley Road, New City, NY 10956. My e-mail is: vijooandshashi@aol.com. We can fight together to achieve our goal. VIJAYA DESHPANDE Orangeburg Division helps retired members To the Editor: I hope other PEF divisions will follow the lead of ours at the state Insurance Fund in helping members remain active in the union following retirement. PEF Division 240 formed a division retirement committee named after and honoring three former stewards of Division 240 and founding members of PEF — Connie Cabell, Bill Ginsberg and Glenda Shapiro. Cabell was elected the first secretary-treasurer of PEF, Ginsberg was appointed the first PEF Retirees’ representative to the first PEF Executive Board, and Shapiro was the first and only chief steward of Division 240. The mission of the Cabell-Ginsberg-Shapiro Division 240 Retirement Committee is to get Division 240 members to continue being involved with PEF after they retire. If every retired PEF member joined PEF Retirees, it could be larger than the current membership of PEF and a terrific boost to the union’s political clout. At every PEF convention, beginning with this year’s 24th Annual Convention, the chair of the Cabell-Ginsberg-Shapiro Division 240 Retirement Committee will present PEF Retirees with a check covering the cost of the annual membership dues of 10 retired Division 240 members. The 10 Division 240 retirees, all former shop stewards, selected for sponsorship this year are Oner Brewer, Elsie Ginty, Leslie Gluck, Harold Huges, Howard Kovner, Don Kronman, Everett Mercer, Marion Polley, Joseph Silio and Mario Scaduto. JACK LIM New York City The Communicator Letters policy We welcome letters to the editor about union issues and events relevant to PEF's diverse membership. All letters are subject to editing for space, fairness and good taste. Please keep them brief (up to one page, double-spaced or a maximum of 250 words), and please include your name and phone number for verification. Send letters to: The Communicator Public Employees Federation P.O. Box 12414 Albany, N.Y. 12212-2414 email Denyce Duncan Lacy, Executive Editor The Communicator - Director of Public Relations dduncanlacy@pef.org Sherry Halbrook, Editor of The Communicator- shalbrook@pef.org |
