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Recently I said goodbye to one of the nurses who gives me my monthly allergy shots at Mayo Clinic in Albert Lea. She’s retiring, and I will miss her. She and her co-workers have been my support group as I have dealt with a chronic cough. They have taken good care of me.

Nevertheless, I feel anxious about my health care, especially the length of time it takes to get an appointment or talk to a provider. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I didn’t have my group of nurses to talk to. So, I plan on joining the conversation on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Riverland College in Albert Lea. The Rural Organizing Project of ISAIAH MN has been listening to folks in southern Minnesota and found health care a big concern. They’ve invited Sen. Erin Murphy, registered nurse and key health care leader. We will be hearing about how we can organize and find solutions like a Public Health Commission that could hold the system accountable and move people to the center of health care in Minnesota.

Seeing the old Naeve Hospital building come down is painful because it is a symbol of the confidence we once had in health care here. Losing our hospital was traumatic, and now Mercy One is leaving. Sometimes an ambulance is unavailable to transport a patient to a hospital. Again, it’s not the personnel, but the system that seems broken. People are anxious.

I’ll turn 75 on Oct. 14, and I plan to celebrate by attending the meeting at Riverland College. I want a sense of control over my health care. Hope you can join me.

Carolyn Smith
Albert Lea