OPINION READER’S FORUM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
Other nations show a longer, healthier life is possible
I
n 2020, so many more people
died in the United States than
would be expected in a typi-
cal year that the average life expec-
tancy here declined by more than a
year. While it was an unusually large
decrease, life expectancy has been
declining each year in
the United States since
about 2014.
That trend is an
unusual one. Over the
past century, the average
human lifespan has dou- Jade
McDowell
bled throughout most of NEWS EDITOR
the world.
This triumph is a combination of
many factors, the most prominent of
which is advances in medicine. The
infected cut you got on your leg at
age 5 that would have killed you in
1921 is now easily treated by a round
of antibiotics. The smallpox that
would have killed you at age 10 has
been completely eradicated from the
world by vaccines. The Type 1 diabe-
tes that would have killed you at age
12 is now managed by insulin. And
so it goes.
Beyond that, we are protected by
increased knowledge. We know how
important it is to wash our hands and
that we shouldn’t leave raw chicken
out in a warm room for hours on
end. We understand the dangers of
smoking.
Technology helps too — life jack-
ets, seat belts, air bags, smoke detec-
tors, baby monitors, bicycle helmets,
water recycling facilities, pasteurized
milk and so many other inventions
Hermiston Herald, File
A cross marks graves in the Echo cemetery.
have saved countless lives.
As our country’s ranking on the
scale of life expectancy shows, how-
ever, scientifi c advances aren’t
always a match for other factors.
The United States ranked 46th in the
world for life expectancy before the
pandemic began, according to data
published by the Central Intelligence
Agency, at just over 80 years — six
fewer years than someone born at the
same time in Japan.
One of the biggest factors for that
is our country’s levels of obesity,
unhealthy eating and sedentary life-
styles. About 36% of Americans are
obese, contributing to a host of health
problems that can lead to earlier
death — including heart disease, our
country’s number one killer.
We also have higher rates of death
from other causes than most of the
world’s other rich countries, how-
ever. Our drug overdoses are higher,
as are our homicides, car crash fatal-
ities and deaths from pregnancy
complications.
It seems likely that in our lifetimes
we will see other game-changing sci-
entifi c breakthroughs comparable to
the discovery of penicillin. But we
must also look at policy changes that
help apply what we already know
now, so that our country can catch up
to other wealthy nations’ continued
increases in life expectancy.
Take our unusually high maternal
mortality rate, for example. Accord-
ing to a report published by the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Pre-
vention in 2019, about 700 women
die in childbirth or from pregnancy
complications in the United States
each year, making ours the highest
per capita rate among “developed”
nations. The report found that about
60% of pregnancy-related deaths that
happened between 2013 and 2017
were preventable.
USA Today’s in-depth investiga-
tive series Deadly Deliveries shows
there are basic steps that all hospitals
should be taking to prevent childbirth
deaths, but not all are. Such protocols
include measuring blood loss during
and after each birth and promptly
treating high blood pressure with
medication to prevent strokes.
The United Kingdom, by contrast,
has a panel of experts thoroughly
review each pregnancy-related death
and work with the hospital and pro-
viders involved to determine what
could be done diff erently in future
cases. It cut its maternal deaths down
by a third from 2000 to 2015.
As other developed nations have
shown, we have the tools to reverse
the trend of decreasing life expec-
tancy in the United States. To do that,
however, we must carefully track the
data involved, study it and apply sci-
entifi cally sound prevention mea-
sures based on what the research
shows.
A longer, healthier life is within
our grasp. But it will take work to get
there.
COLUMN
LETTER TO THE
EDITOR
Guess who is back in the offi ce?
T
here wasn’t any fanfare, no balloons
and no banging of cymbals — much
like when I left EO Media Group a lit-
tle more than a year ago.
I recently returned to work
on a part-time basis. While I
enjoyed my time at home, I was
pretty excited to get back into the
newsroom.
However, I learned that return-
ing to a job in the midst of a pan-
demic is much the same as leav-
Tammy
ing one. Because of limits on
Malgesini
gatherings, when I and a hand-
ful of my co-workers lost our jobs last March,
there wasn’t a big farewell party.
And when I returned to the newsroom four
weeks ago, there were no welcoming hand-
shakes or good morning greetings. With fewer
employees working for the company and
many still working remotely, it was like walk-
ing into a ghost town. I let myself into the
building (it’s a good thing I still had the key
from the last time I substituted for the records
editor), headed back to my old desk area and
spent the entire day by myself.
I’ve learned a lot in this past year — fi rst
and foremost, about the transitory nature of
life, especially during a pandemic.
On March 23, 2020, I came to work one
morning to fi nd a small card with the com-
pany logo, my name and the signature of the
owner sitting on my desk. The stay-home
order issued by Gov. Kate Brown directed
Oregon citizens to basically hunker down
unless it was absolutely necessary to be out
and about. However, driving by Walmart, one
would never suspect anything was diff erent.
The card indicated that as a member of the
news media, my job was considered an essen-
tial service — was is the key. Two days later, I
was notifi ed (along with 47 employees across
the company), that because of pandemic-re-
lated revenue losses, 18% of the workforce
received pink slips.
I have a question: Why are they called pink
slips? Yeah, yeah, I know, because the piece
of paper is pink, but why? Maybe it’s the
same rationale behind the premise of using
soothing pastel colors for patient seclusion
rooms in mental health facilities. Pastel pinks
or yellows are said to provide a more calm-
Kindness to a stranger is a
blessing
ing eff ect.
But I digress — the fi rst lesson I learned
relates to the pitfalls of nesting. Oh, and I’m
a nester — ask my husband or any of my
friends who have traveled with me. As soon
as we arrive at our destination, I start unpack-
ing and arranging the room to my liking.
And I did the same when I arrived at EO
Media Group 14 years prior. As I was pack-
ing up my belongings, I quickly recognized
that, unlike a weekend stay at a hotel, it was
going to take more than a couple of hours to
clear out my desk area.
While I like to personalize my space, I’m
not “moving in” as I return to the newsroom.
Currently, my desk area includes a rock I
painted, a photo, a couple of my favorite pens
and a well-stocked snack cabinet. Hopefully
my nesting behavior doesn’t go much beyond
that — stay tuned.
---
Tammy Malgesini recently returned to the
Hermiston Herald as a community writer. She
enjoys spending time with her husband and
two German shepherds, as well as entertaining
herself with random musings.
On May 12, while at the
Hermiston Bottle Drop, I had
the misfortune of tripping
over a parking curb and fall-
ing onto the very rough black-
top, suff ering a multitude of
lacerations — some requiring
several stitches and all bleed-
ing profusely. Let me state
here that I am almost 92 years
old, so you can see that this
put me in a serious situation.
A young lady came to my
aid and helped me up and
into a sitting position, then
administered fi rst aid and
stayed with me until I was
able to navigate again. To say
thank you does not seem near
enough for your thoughtful-
ness. It also reminded me that
there are still good people in
this world.
Roy Drago
Irrigon
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
U.S. SENATORS
Joe Biden
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500:
Comments: 202-456-1111
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce
Bldg., Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce:
541-962-7691
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Offi ce Build-
ing, Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton offi ce:
541-278-1129
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
OREGON GOVERNOR
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Offi ce Building,
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730;
Medford offi ce: 541-776-4646
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol, 900 Court Street,
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
CORRECTIONS
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 19
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673
Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Kelly Schwirse | Multi-Media consultant • kschwirse@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
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