BY: CLAIRE KIM
In most states there are counties and within those counties there are cities. In every US city, there is at least one fire department and one police department always on standby to immediately take action whenever an incident occurs. It’s important to have these stations set up in every city because emergencies happen all the time and we need them to be close so they can quickly come to the scene. If we only had them in select locations, it would make it that much harder for them to promptly come, thus increasing the chance of being late or losing the culprit. In the same way, the locations of hospitals are just as important for the well being of everyone including those who live off in more rural areas. From what I’ve observed, the main hospitals tend to be grouped together towards the center of urban cities because of the denser population. It’s not wrong to have these hospitals located in the center, but it’s wrong to neglect building hospitals in areas towards the countryside because they aren’t as close. With such a far distance that must be traveled, in cases of emergencies, it is practically impossible to reach the hospitals on time. If one were to get severely injured or be on the verge of delivering a baby, a 3+ hour travel time is pretty inconsiderate and unfair to demand. Although one may argue that the plan to build so many hospitals cannot be financially possible, that isn’t a strong enough reason as to why we should continue to neglect the needs of these citizens who pay taxes for the country to support them. The problem with rural health care is definitely something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Although the US may claim that they don’t have the wallet to fulfill this call, they should at least have the heart to figure out a way everyone can receive the basic privilege of healthcare as an American citizen.
claire kim. 