To the Journal editor:

Recent full page advertisements of the LifePoint “for profit” Hospitals actually add little to the information of the general public of any meaningful new service.

They do offer only visits for the care you need in the next one or two days for annual physicals and presurgical physicals; chronic care conditions such as as diabetes, hypertension and obesity; adult and senior primary care; well-child care and immunizations; preventative health and wellness visits; sports physicals and back to school physicals. These “visits” add nothing to what the general public already knows.

The advertisements do also mention women’s services and infectious disease. I believe the majority of these may do well with non “physician” care but some and occasionally many may require physician emergency room, primary physician or subspecialty physician attention.

I suspect the primary focus in this “for profit” hospital is to keep people out of the emergency room since “for profit” is a capitalistic phrase that implies businesses’ main purpose is not to lose money.

DR. JOHN W. ENGLISH, MD

(Retired)

Marquette