Letters to the editor for Saturday, May 18

SB 92 is needed to ensure babies are heart-healthy

On May 9, the Senate passed Senate Bill 92, which provides for the screening of newborns for critical congenital heart disease or CCHD. Critical congenital heart disease requires medical intervention within the first hours, days or months of life. Now the measure moves to the Nevada Assembly for consideration.

Each year in Nevada, approximately 120 babies are born with a CCHD. Newborns can be sent home without receiving this critical and inexpensive test. They risk death or disability if the condition isn’t diagnosed soon after birth. Critical congenital heart disease can be identified by using a simple and inexpensive method called pulse oximetry. The bedside test determines the percent of oxygen saturation in an infant’s blood. Early detection will allow newborns with CCHD to receive life-saving intervention promptly. The screening is estimated to cost between $5 and $10 per infant.

The March of Dimes and American Heart Association have been instrumental in expanding newborn screening in Nevada and across the country. We urge the public to contact their Nevada assembly member today and urge him or her to vote yes on SB92 and ensure all Nevada babies have a healthy start in life.

Michelle Gorelow

Reno

Let’s execute often, like Texas, and thin the herd

So the Department of Corrections lied to us years ago when they wanted money to build Ely State Prison. Now the state wants to waste more money studying the death penalty.

I remember when they wanted to build Ely State Prison. Their words were the prisoners will not leave until their sentence is expired. They knew this was a lie when they told us this. They knew they would have to bring prisoners to Carson to execute them, they knew they did not have doctors to man the facility so they had to take the prisoners out.

Let’s save some money build a death chamber in Ely and follow Texas’ lead and have an execution every month to thin the herd. The more we have the more cost effective it will be.

Rob Cobb

Carson City