LETTER: Just say no to BMI

I do have one very serious comment to make. I would never trivialize the holocaust and its impact on Jews around the world. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and many, many people in the area were/ are holocaust survivors. If I had any comment to make about the Jewish people involved in the holocaust it would be that I do not understand why they let themselves be led like to lambs to the slaughter. They thought they had no other option but to comply with the increasingly hideous German rules promulgated to wipe out every Jew on the face of the earth. I wonder why they didn’t rebel, why they didn’t take up arms (so to speak) and fight. There were so many more of them than their captors at the concentration camps. This is not a diatribe against Jewish people. It is just an observation that leads to my next point.

Why should every American submit to having their BMI entered into their electronic health record? Who says we have to submit? No one. I have refused to be weighed for years (yes, I am overweight, and I refuse to be told I am good or bad based on what my weight is today.) You would not believe the number of healthcare professionals, especially the nurses, who become visibly angry when I refuse to step on the scale.

“How will you know if you lose or gain weight?” I am asked. “My clothes will become looser or tighter,” I answer. I could belabor the point, but there is no need.

American’s EHRs will document their BMIs only if we submit to being weighed. No weight documented, no BMI either. Simple, yet radical, solution, yes? Not really.

We do not need to be led to the scales like lambs to the slaughter. Should the scale police show up, I will demand that they not touch me. We don’t live in a police state. Not yet anyway. I am not so stupid that I would refuse to be weighed should I be undergoing a procedure where careful titration of anesthesia or something similar is necessary.

There are instances where weight also affects the amount of a specific medication that must be administered, but that is seldom, if ever necessary, for an adult. I could go on, but I won’t.

I am appalled by the government’s intrusion into my personal, private, protected health information. I will not take this lying down! (Or perhaps I shall lay down, since it would be more difficult to weigh me! )

Sincerely,
Becky Buegel
Avondale, AZ


LETTER: Not affiliated with watch group

Dear Editor:

I am one of the founders of Citizens of Barrow County for Change, a new citizens group here in Barrow County.

I have had numerous residents ask if we were affiliated with the Barrow County Citizens Watch group, and I am happy to say in no way are we affiliated with them.

We have heard about this group, researched them, and do not condone what they are doing. They refuse to attempt to address issues, except for disrespecting and now possibly threatening elected officials.

I want to encourage everyone to check us out on Facebook and look at our website www.citizensofbarowcountyforchange. com. You can also contact us at citizensofbarrowcoforchange@ gmail.com.

Sincerely,
Sherrilynn Lee
Founder Citizens of Barrow County for Change