US primary problem: Doctor shortage

November 17, 2018

America’s medical system is facing a primary care crisis. To meet our nation’s needs would require almost 15,000 additional primary care doctors. Take into account the effects of aging and population growth, and the shortage will climb to almost 50,000 by 2030. There are thousands of highly qualified students at international medical schools eager to fill this gap. Many are U.S. citizens who are studying abroad and want to return home to practice. To solve America’s doctor shortage, public health leaders must welcome these internationally trained doctors — particularly ...

Prioritize students’ mental health

November 16, 2018

When a student feels sick during the school day, they visit the school nurse. But if their problem is emotional or psychological in nature, where can they turn for help? That’s the dilemma some Pennsylvania students face when they are bullied by classmates. Tragically, bullying reportedly played in a role in student suicides in Blair, Columbia and York counties this year. These heartbreaking cases of young lives cut short should be a wake-up call to parents, policy makers and school administrators. Although bullying is occasionally mentioned as a factor in school shootings, the ...

100 years after ‘war to end all wars’

November 11, 2018

I’ve waited 40 years to write this article. For it was in 1978 when I first came across my Uncle Carroll Hosbrook’s WWI letters, including one written from France on November 11, 1918, Armistice Day, now a full century ago. History will honor these American Doughboys, the many thousands who joined General John Pershing’s Ameri­can Expeditionary Force, most having little idea of the trench warfare, mustard gas, and ghastly carnage that awaited them overseas. Uncle Sam was calling them — farm boys from Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, mechanics from Michigan and Minnesota, ...

Remembering a fallen soldier

November 10, 2018

This was a military plan to force Germany out of France. To assist this huge operation, our military planned to invade southern France. The landing would go ashore on the Mediterranean coast near Cannes. Before the Allies could launch their huge attack, they had to assemble enough men and materials on the continent. After seizing the landing beaches, the troops pushed inland to seize Cherbourg and other useful ports. The capture of Cherbourg had confirmed the expectation that the Germans would destroy the major harbors before allowing them to fall to the Allies. The Allies needed ...

Address Pa.’s declining population

November 1, 2018

The facts are undeniable. Over the past 50 years, we’ve witnessed a decline in population and a decline in overall economic growth. Today, Pennsylvania’s problems are masked by a strong national economy and seemingly positive employment numbers. Sadly, Pennsylvanians are leaving the workforce in record numbers through retirement, relocation or by simply stopping to look for full time employment. While Philadelphia has seen an increase in population, almost every local economy across the commonwealth suffers from similar challenges — namely, slow growth and population ...

Seeking answers, with heavy hearts

October 31, 2018

Pittsburgh now has joined America’s pantheon of mass atrocity. The 11 worshippers killed in Tree of Life Synagogue are seared in our consciousness now, but we cannot forget the 17 students and faculty in Parkland, Fla., in February; the 26 worshippers in Sutherland Springs, Tex., last November; or the 58 concertgoers in Las Vegas, also last November. The list goes on and on. But this one is different, for me and for others in our community. This is so, so close to home. I am a Jew; my wife is Dr. Audrey Korotkin, a Reform rabbi. I grew up close to Squirrel Hill and lived in that ...