As an Alzheimer’s caregiver for both my parents, and as president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, NYC Chapter, I can attest that Kristen McConnell’s harrowing depiction of “end of life” medical treatment in an intensive-care unit is all too real (“Diary of an Intensive-Care Nurse,” PostScript, Dec. 9).
Avoiding this dilemma could be easy if all New Yorkers were mandated to file an advance directive, perhaps when applying for a driver’s license.
With this document in an accessible database, hospital personnel would no longer have to guess about a course of treatment.
Families would have peace of mind knowing their loved ones’ wishes were being honored.
Patients would be spared painful procedures that only prolong their agony.
And, significantly, it would save millions of Medicaid dollars.
Lou-Ellen Barkan, Manhattan
DA’s convictions
I am grateful for the confidence The Post has in my ability and determination to aggressively investigate and prosecute sexual abuse in the Ultra-Orthodox community (“Joe Hynes and Brooklyn Justice,” Editorial, Dec. 12).
I must offer one clarification about my policy of non-disclosure of the names of defendants arrested from within the community.
The names of these defendants have always been part of the public record, and every trial is open to the public.
We were asked to provide a list of names of all the Ultra-Orthodox people arrested under our Kol Tzedek program.
We did not release this list in an effort to protect the victims and lessen the possibility of threats or intimidation.
As a result, we have developed 110 prosecutions from the Ultra-Orthodox community.
The two recent trial convictions from this community are representative of the success of the Kol Tzedek program.
Charles Hynes, Kings County District Attorney, Brooklyn
Zadroga flop
Two years later, no money has been paid out to the sick victims because of government bureaucracy (“Zilch From Zadroga,” Dec. 9).
Imagine that. These are the same people who are going to run an entire country’s health-care system.
I can’t wait to see what a mess this is going to be.
Art Moore, Castleton, Vt.
Prosecuting pols
Thank you for your article on the conviction of Hiram Monserrate for looting nearly $100,000 (“Hiram’s Officially a Dick,” Dec. 12).
Surely one of your readers, the judge, or the assistant DA himself will be able to explain why no charges have been brought against Sheldon Silver or Vito Lopez for looting over $100,000 in order to pay off sexual-harassment claims against Lopez.
Aren’t both crimes the same?
Glenn F. Hopps, Babylon
Wacky warming
Despite the evidence, climate alarmists will continue to claim human activity is causing global warming (“Extreme Weather & Superstition,” Ralph Alexander, PostOpinion, Dec. 10).
They’ll claim that this will inevitably kill the polar bears and flood our cities, right up until they claim, as they did in the ’70s, that human activity is causing global cooling that will inevitably lead to a new Ice Age and mass starvation.
Eric M. Bram, Poughkeepsie