This is in response to Mr. Lathern's letter to the editor on Sept. 22 where he cautioned that community hospitals are in danger of financial difficulty.

Both I and my wife spent several days in a local hospital during the past month and it was easy to see why hospitals like that one might be in financial trouble.

It was obvious that no expense was spared to provide absolutely the finest in building construction and appointments. It is a structure worthy of royalty. It is equipped with the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art technology to be found anywhere.

From the hospital bed you can perform any function necessary except flush the john, and I don't know how that was overlooked. Not many Americans can afford a vacation on the Riviera and few Americans could afford a stay in that hospital if someone else were not paying for it.

We all (and that includes hospital administrators) need to realize that health care is important but it can be adequate without being impossibly expensive.

Third-party payers have put this country's health care delivery system in an absolutely untenable situation. Whether we like it or not, we are headed for universal health care paid for by the taxpayer. And, sadly enough, that might now be the only solution.

We have been spoiled to the point that nothing short of a vacation on the Riviera is acceptable.

Jack Waldrop
Peachtree City

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