If the public objects to a company sending a golf pro to perform medical procedures, should the company;
a. Send the golf pro, who is already being paid significantly more than an EMT, to EMT school? or;
b. For the same amount of money, hire an experienced paramedic, or EMT, and pay a couple more to rotate call?
I just want to know what other people think about the management decisions being made at SA. There seems to "b" a common sense answer to this question, to me. (This inquiry is made in response to an item in SA's February 2008 News Bulletin.)
Reform at SA seems like a lost cause. Maybe we should look forward?
I figure the best rescue isn't one group but many small groups that work together - if CI organized them, since they have a paid employee, then things might just work.
Has Jordan Sparks said if he'll get a vehicle for his non-profit group in Oregon? I figure Detroit/Toronto has lots of members who could handle that area.
The main problem with a project like Edward is suggesting would be: Who is going to fund it?
Taking into consideration the SA budget when I was there, (supposedly around $1.2 million a year), the new SA workshop in California, and their claim to have new consultants and/or medical professionals on their standby team, I'm estimating the current SA budget to be near $1.5 million, a large portion of which goes toward the funding of the construction of "unique" equipment. During our war over the level detectors, Charles Platt once argued that it may be preferable for a cryonics company to present "unique" equipment, rather than use existing FDA-approved devices. Of course, he was being paid to design and build equipment for SA at that time, and now seems to be working at the new SA workshop, in California, so draw your own conclusions about how Saul Kent/LEF comes to spend so much money on the design and fabrication of equipment. While I'm digressing, is SA's favorite consultant still permitted to bill up to 160 hours a month, at a very high hourly rate? Is he the employee, or consultant, being paid the most at the new SA workshop? Is he the ONLY person being paid to work there? Perhaps, since he is in favor of "full disclosure," Charles would care to enlighten us. Or does his desire for "full disclosure" apply only to Alcor?
In my opinion, Saul Kent/LEF are spending enough money, each year, to fully equip at least three, probably four, professional "standby, stabilization and transport" teams manned by qualified medical professionals with relevant skills and experience. And, I feel the equipment fabrication and modification work could be contracted out for about ten percent of the price of one science fiction writer who likes to "build things," two fabricator/designers, a welder and two large workshops. Think of it...professional teams in South Florida, LA, Houston, Cleveland, (or pick four cities based on the location of clients...I'm just taking into consideration the locations of SA's benefactors and major airline hubs).
If CI were to direct small groups, as Edward is suggesting, (or even if Alcor were to do it), would these groups have the proper equipment and be manned by qualified, experienced personnel? I doubt it. Of course, we wouldn't be getting anything less than what we've received from SA, if we were to follow Edward's suggestion, in my opinion. A golf pro and two fabricators, with no medical or cryonics experience, showed up for SA's last case. How much worse could it get?