SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
September 23, 2021
Sullivan’s Salvos 9/28/21
In this edition:
*RIP Chuck deProsse
*RIP Larry Lynch
*United Way and Iowa Shares
*Expertise
*Iowa City Pride!
*Did You Know?
*RIP Chuck deProsse
I was sad to hear about the passing of Chuck deProsse. Chuck joined the faculty at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1972 and remained there until retiring in April 1996.
At Iowa, Dr. deProsse worked with the Rape Victim Advocacy Program to develop a protocol for care of female victims of sexual assault. He also served as director of the UIHC pregnancy termination service. He helped establish the Uro-Gynecologic division of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, served on the national Board of Directors of the American Uro-gynecologic Society, and was elected its president in 1993.
For many years Chuck served on the Johnson County Department of Public Health Board of Directors and participated in various capacities with the United Way of Johnson County. He served as medical director for the Emma Goldman Clinic for Women in Iowa City from its earliest inception, and volunteered his services at the Cedar Rapids Clinic for Women and Planned Parenthood of Iowa City.
There will be no viewing or service. In his memory, please consider a contribution to the Emma Goldman Clinic for Women, c/o the deProsse Access Fund, 227 N. Dubuque Street, Iowa City, IA 52245
*RIP Larry Lynch
Another notable loss is that of Larry Lynch. A local boy who became an attorney, Lynch did a great deal of civil law for the cities in Johnson County. He often appeared in front of the Board of Supervisors, and was always prepared and professional. He also served one term on the Iowa City Council. RIP, Larry.
*United Way and Iowa Shares
The United Way and Iowa Shares campaigns are underway. I hope you will choose to be a supporter. My friend and colleague Janet Lyness is one of the Campaign Chairs this year, and I know she will do a great job!
Melissa and I are big supporters of the United Way and the United Way affiliated agencies. We give generously, I think. We also volunteer when and where we can.
So United Way is in our blood. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be in the blood of enough Johnson County residents.
I just heard a statistic that only 4% of all adults in Johnson County contribute to the United Way. Only 4%! And I’m sure it isn’t any better for Iowa Shares! That is simply too low, folks.
One in three families in Johnson County uses a United Way service. Let’s get at least one in three contributing to the United Way and/or Iowa Shares!
*Expertise
The dictionary defines expertise as, “Having knowledge or skill in a particular field.” In the early days of the US, most people were jacks of all trades. They knew how to farm, cook, read, and probably had some carpentry and other skills. People were quite self-sufficient. Trade in goods and services was somewhat limited, so you needed to be able to do most things yourself. But most people were not generally “experts” in any field.
Then the US became more specialized. You had people who gained expertise in certain fields. And Americans used them. There was a day when we valued expertise. We went to doctors with the idea that they knew medicine better than we did. We hired electricians because they could fix an electrical problem without burning down the house. We took our electronics to professionals for repairs because we didn’t know how to fix them.
Now we find ourselves in the worst of both worlds. Society has become very specialized. You can no longer just fix your own car. Many people cannot do their own taxes. Most things are connected to the internet, leaving many of us behind. Meanwhile, people trust experts less than ever. We will not do what our doctor advises. We don’t trust teachers. We don’t trust the HR Department.
Meanwhile, completely unqualified people go on the internet, find things that are deliberately created to mislead, and fall for it hook, line, and sinker. Then they spread the lies far and wide, creating even more distrust of experts.
It simply blows my mind how many people say, “I have done the research on COVID,” meaning they have spent hours on the internet. You know who has *REALLY* done the research on COVID? People like of Dr. Stanley Perlman, a University of Iowa researcher and one of the world's leading coronavirus experts. Scientists around the globe racing to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 are building upon his work.
Until recently, Perlman was one of only 10 full-time coronavirus virologists in the world. Perlman is quoted regularly on a range of COVID-19-related subjects by national media outlets such as The New York Times and ABC News. He also serves on the advisory committees for the FDA and CDC that give recommendations on the approval, distribution, and use of vaccines against the disease.
You know who else has *REALLY* done the research on COVID? People like Dr. Pat Winokur, Executive Dean of the UI's Carver College of Medicine and the principal investigator for the UI portion of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine trials, which found the vaccine to be 95 percent effective.
We are SO blessed to have individuals with this type of expertise at the University of Iowa. I mentioned two particularly expert health care providers… but UIHC literally has THOUSANDS. And 99% of them agree! I hope more people will quit listening to their buddies from work and instead recognize real expertise.
So what are we to do? I see the problem here as being the age-old story of the pendulum. The pendulum has swung much too far in terms of mistrusting expertise. It needs to swing back. No, it does not need to swing back to blind trust. A healthy dose of skepticism is fine. But we need to get back to trusting our experts.
*Iowa City Pride!
Iowa City Pride returns next week Friday, October 1st, and Saturday, October 2nd. Join us downtown to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Iowa City Pride. The full line-up and schedule have just been announced and can be seen here. This year, the festival will be doing things differently by hosting a Unity March in place of the Pride Parade. The Unity March will be on Saturday, October 2nd beginning at noon. More information about the festival and Unity March route can be seen on the festival's website.
Road Closures - Friday, October 1st at 3:00pm
E College St/Linn St to Iowa Ave
Washington St/Dubuque St to Gilbert St.
Roads will re-open Sunday, October 3rd at 3:00am
Show your Pride! Pride Progress Flags can be purchased at the Downtown Iowa City Market website. Purchase one for $10 and arrange for free pick up or delivery.
*DID YOU KNOW? University of Iowa Health Care has about 15,000 employees.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 7:33 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home