Pro and con arguments on Prop D

Mental Health Community Opposes Prop D
by Belinda Lyons‚ May. 17‚ 2006
I am writing to express the Mental Health Association of San Francisco's (MHA-SF) opposition to Proposition D, the Laguna Special Use District ballot measure. MHA-SF is a non-profit citizen's organization founded in 1947 dedicated to improving the mental health of residents in the diverse communities of San Francisco through advocacy, education, research and service. In all its programs, MHA-SF works together with people and families challenged by mental illness and with the agencies that serve them to promote prevention, access to services, leadership, and independence. As an organization that is comprised of, supports and works with individuals with psychiatric disabilities, we at MHA-SF find Proposition D offensive and discriminatory.
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Alzheimer’s Advocates Should Support Prop D
by Sherri Matza‚ May. 17‚ 2006
The opponents of Prop D claim that Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, AIDS and other dementia patients are ‘dangerous’ and that 300 of them would be discharged from Laguna Honda Hospital (LHH) if Prop D passes. The boldness of this lie is quite shocking.
My many years of caring for my mother, an Alzheimer’s victim, and my experience as Chair of the Alzheimer’s Association California Council have taught me much about the disease. Persons with dementia, including AIDS dementia, lose their memory and cognitive ability and eventually reach a point where they can no longer do anything on their own; they cannot dress, eat, or go to the bathroom by themselves. They eventually need 24 hour care; that’s why more than 50% of all nursing home residents have some type of dementia.
Given my experience, you can imagine my outrage when I heard Mitch Katz (Director Public Health) say that Alzheimer’s and other dementia patients are dangerous and would be discharged if Prop D passes. Dr. Katz’s statement is based on his inaccurate, faulty analysis of a nursing home residents’ study; just see what the CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California/Northern Nevada and UCSF’s neurologists specializing in memory and aging have to say about that study and the care and treatment of Alzheimer’s and other dementia patients
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http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3286#more