U.S. Capitol flag presented to hospital
A flag that has flown above the U.S. Capitol was presented Saturday to St. Luke Hospital.
First District Congressman Jerry Moran presented the flag, in recognition of the importance of health care in rural Kansas.
"If you want to survive as a community, you have to have adequate health care," he said. Otherwise, seniors will leave, and young families won't come.
The flag was raised by Harold Conyers and Warren Kreutziger, members of Ecker-Fulkerson-Slifer Post, Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Moran said the flag is the symbol of "our past and our future."
Lori Smith, who works in the business office, helped make the arrangements. A new flagpole was set in front of the hospital because the original one was blocked in by facility expansion projects.
During a reception following the presentation, Moran said the main health care issue currently is prescription drug coverage. Much of the debate centers on source of funding, but Moran wants more study into the cost.
"Before you say 'somebody else ought to pay,' we need to see why they're so expensive in the first place, and what we can do about that," he said.
The Rural Health Care Coalition, a bi-partisan group of 190 members, has seen some success, bringing rural reimbursement rates for Medicare into line with urban areas, and finding ways to eliminate disparities in home health reimbursements.
The other major issue is agriculture. Moran said they are watching how the Department of Agriculture implements the new farm bill. Of particular concern is relief for parts of Kansas hit by drought.
"If you have no yields and low prices, the consequences are tremendous," he said. "You're fortunate to have had some rain — much of western Kansas is in a severe drought."
Homeland security is an issue. Moran said the Intelligence Committee, a bi-partisan joint committee that holds classified hearings, is doing its job by reviewing pre-Sept. 11 reports and procedures by security agencies.
However, Moran is more interested in making sure things are done properly now, rather than hunting for scapegoats in the past.
"It's proper that we see where we failed — if we did — but we have been successful in stopping later attacks," he said.
Moran has spent time at the Pentagon and at the World Trade Center site. He was in New York City the same day as families who had lost loved ones in the attack.
Moran found a note attached to a fence around the site. It was from a 12-year-old girl to her father, saying she missed him, loved him, and hoped to grow up like him.
"I have a 12-year-old, so that sticks in my heart," he said.
