Jacksonville heart patient grateful to Baptist Health | Letters

I recently underwent a coronary bypass at Baptist Medical Center and wanted to write a letter of thanks as soon as I got home.

Here are the names of people that helped to get me where I’m sitting right now. I know there are some mistakes because I tried to copy them from the team listed online, and I only have first names for some. However, it is important to me that I try to recognize all that were involved.

This list includes doctors, nurses, housekeeping, food handlers and more:

Dr. Bates; Dr. Evans; E. Youlio; Dr. Borland; Dr. Patel; P. Alejandro; S. Kelly; R. Brittanie; A. Dan; G. Grant; L. Hernandez; Dr. Diloreto; Dr. Singh; S. Dustin; S. Ivo; P. Kelly; S. Deena; Jae Maclik; S. Karen; T. Lourdes; R. Molina; S. Riley; H. Terryana; C. Kyle;

S. Maria; Rana Karrcki; S. Tiffany, S. Whitney, Q. Videlia; and Caniajah, Chuck, Genesis, Jasima, Jooyun, Josh, Laura, Masood, Patricia, Rachel, Stephanie, Zenia and Susan Leslie with home care.

When you work, sometimes the value of what you do disappears. It’s simplistic to travel down the road of "That’s what they’re supposed to be doing." Sorry, but that’s not how I feel right now. These people made me into a better person — physically and mentally.

I’m a former teacher; not a great one by any means. I’ve seen deserving fellow teachers get awarded and I participated by voting for them so they might be recognized.

In addition to this, I was able to see and hear the efforts of other teachers, principals, cafeteria workers, custodians, safety officers and more. They all helped kids, while understanding the need to be positive. These people all put a special accent into the surrounding world.

That’s what the people at Baptist did for me. I can’t get it out of my mind; they are all just outstanding.

Ben Klemer, Jacksonville

FDR understood what Trump doesn't get

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." This quote was delivered Jan. 20, 1937, by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his second inaugural address.

Born into wealth, status and privilege, Roosevelt became the people’s president, fighting for the underprivileged and challenging the status quo. Because of his efforts on behalf of ordinary Americans, some wealthy, upper-class Americans labeled him a “traitor to his class.”

Roosevelt’s New Deal was a series of economic programs, public works projects, and financial reforms implemented to provide relief, recovery and reform during the Great Depression. It expanded the role of the federal government in American economic life to prevent future depressions. It is a system of regulated capitalism.

Facing challenges of economic ruin and fascist aggression, Roosevelt believed:

• The strength of society is demonstrated by how it treats the poor;
• Economic health requires caring about everyone, not just the rich; and
• Governments have a duty to secure basic human needs.

The current occupant of the White House seeks support by appealing to prejudices. He appears focused on policies that enrich the top tier of our society at the expense of the middle and lowest socio-economic classes.

Great leaders recognize that "a rising tide lifts all boats."

Karen Adler, Jacksonville

EVs should be on everyone's list

Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken money reserved for increasing the number of electric vehicle charging stations in Florida and directed it to testing an electric airplane. Once again, he obviously can't see the writing on the wall.

Last year there were 355,000 fully electric vehicles in Florida; this year there are 450,000, an increase of 22% year over year. Despite President Donald Trump and DeSantis hoping that the internal combustion engine would not go away, battery electric vehicles are steadily increasing. The need for additional charging stations is also increasing.

Lovers of the internal combustion engine — and the money coming to them from the fossil fuel industry — have ignored global warming and climate change. Both have been linked to burning of fossil fuels, mostly by people in cars and trucks. It may be too late to do anything about this, with a heated-up planet eventually doing away with the people causing it through extinction.

However, at the very least we should try. Battery electric vehicles should be on everyone's list to move to as quickly as possible; and politicians that play with our environment by keeping fossil fuels burning should be thrown out of office.

Peter Bishop, Jacksonville

Cost-sharing for SNAP needs more time

No child in American should have to go hungry, and they don't need to do so. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is America’s most effective and beneficial programs. It helps over 40 million children, parents, veterans, seniors and people with disabilities put food on the table each month.

In 2025, however, Congress passed new tax cuts for the rich, and they did it by cutting SNAP, among other programs. States must now cover SNAP benefit costs for the first time ever. This will add tens of millions of dollars to their state budgets, forcing most to cut people from the program to save money. Spikes in hunger and poverty will follow.

Congress is currently debating both a farm bill and farm bailout. Neither should pass without a delay of this terrible cost-sharing rule. Lawmakers have already given a few states a delay until 2030 to prepare. They should give it to all of them.

Farm policy should always put ending hunger at its core. I demand our members of Congress reject any farm legislation that does not delay the SNAP cost-share rule until 2030.

Peter Augustin, Jacksonville

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville heart patient grateful to Baptist Health | Letters