Monday: Newsfive: Special Edition May 21 1979

Good evening and welcome to Monday News five special edition. I'm Phil Wilson. I'm Twyla Young and here's our story lineup for this evening The young man has a broken leg he's the victim of a motorcycle accident But the man treating him is not a doctor summer travel It could be tough this year but for many come gasoline shortage crowds or high prices the next few months are going to hold some kind of vacation a Few years ago travel was a pleasure And it was something out of the ordinary that people would do you know like once a year? They would plan this big vacation But now I see travel as a way of life Congress is faced with the decision of whether or not to cut Amtrak service by 43% if it does Amtrak officials say they would sooner see the whole system scrapped not really fighting it We would prefer to see the system go under though than to have it chopped up so that people can't get to where they're going It's rather points to run a train somewhere And leave them off. They're unable to get any further unless it's a network system. It's just not gonna make it In Iowa to Calhoun County health clinics have found a way to help cope with the shortage of country doctors so far the plans working The doctors are happy and so are the patients many rural areas of Iowa are virtually isolated from medical care It's no secret there's a shortage of family doctors an accident on a farm can be a serious emergency and with no medical help close at hand the Emergency can mean a long race to the hospital Sometimes it's too long Turned for the worse is hypotensive and She probably is going to die today, she Has a PCO to 120 and a pH of 6.9 And her family knows This is a meeting of staff physicians at Stewart Memorial Community Hospital in Lake City all of the men in this room are doctors all except to Leslie Newhouse and David McClain are physician's assistants, although they don't replace doctors They know and perform many of the same skills The patient a motorcycle accident victim had a leg broken in three places The man who treated him and gave him medication is Leslie, Newhouse They've gotten rid of the antibiotics But seems you're running a little low on temperature this morning some people will probably introduce your problem You have to go on some oil and the bionics for a little while Newhouse and his colleague McLain work in rural medical clinics in Calhoun County a Physician's assistant isn't allowed to perform major surgery or write prescriptions But he may do minor surgery along with a variety of other medical treatments some simple some complex This morning both physicians assistants are checking on some of their hospitalized patients anything I can get for you Okay, honey all right There are only ten doctors in all of Calhoun County The physician's assistants help ease the shortage and gives the doctors more time to work on difficult cases basically What we need to do being fairly inactive. He's a risk of Rebleeding from his adenoids especially providing sweet view house has been a physician's assistant for three and a half years Sees about 30 patients a day usually in this case a small boy. Who's had his adenoids removed you'll pretty much See you in a week at the clinic for a recheck, okay? Although the training of a physician's assistant doesn't require the extensive Schooling of a doctor it is by any standard rigorous No, you're gonna have to have at least a bachelor's degree and some experience in health Related field before they will allow you in the PA program and the PA program is 24 months long Christmas David McLain practices at the Rockwell City clinic he received his license last June this morning he too is visiting hospital patients I Was in medical school, and he talked to me several times about the physician assistant program and it all sounded very good, so replied and got in With it so far about 180 physician's assistants have been registered in Iowa since the program began in 1972 The doctors say it's been successful basically the physician assistant Personnel and I have worked with I feel have been knowledgeable and conscientious people They conduct themselves as professionals, and we've been very happy with their help What effect has this program had on medical care in the county? Well, I feel that we've been able to provide service to more people and provide it at a more convenient time for a lot of the patients and Made it easier for the patients to get to us one of newhouse's patients is 67 year old Leonard Kessel a Recent heart attack brought him to the brink of death All right, he's doing real well When you want something he's getting pretty close He's what 18 or 19 days now so sometime the next couple days if it's alright with you. That's fine We had some problems for a while though then we Leonard Yeah, but this this place is the most America's hospitals and Midwest they've got the best Medical technicians here and the best doctors by far And I know the nurses have a lot to do with in their age - I Wouldn't be sitting here today without nursing after the morning visit to the hospital both physicians Assistants go to their clinics where more patients are waiting at The lake City clinic we ask Newhouse what he would do if a patient had symptoms that he couldn't Diagnose if there's a problem case that we run into I'm the first one that looks for help or asks for a consultation this sort of thing I admit people to the hospital work them up diagnose them and treat them are also with Dr. Comstock who's my employing physician looking over my shoulder and making sure that things are going along all right well They have the same degree of Confidence as physicians in the areas in which they practice A comparison would be you wouldn't want your family practitioner trim of a brain tumor Neither would you want a physician's assistant doing major surgery unassisted? But in the areas that they do Practice their endeavor why there is common and what they do is anybody else would be that does these things Have you ever had a situation in which a patient has shown some reluctance about seeing it because you're not a doctor Very very seldom, I've only had one person ever refused to see me and this was here at the clinic I ultimately saw that person in the emergency room at the hospital And this was about two and a half years ago and ever since then it's a regular patient We take care of him on a routine basis well last have you ever thought of becoming a doctor I would like to it's crossed my mind a lot, but not so much for for what would probably be the obvious reasons I Would really well give me the obvious reasons the obvious reasons, I'm sure most people think about would be an increase in salary Prestige that sort of thing but the big thing that I find that bothers me the most is I'm able to pick up a lot of things, but I can't do anything about them I'd like to be able to do more as the thought crossed your mind that maybe I might want to be a doctor someday oh I don't think so. I really enjoy what I'm doing. I enjoy meeting these people I Guess I'm really not anxious to go back and go the extra so many years through the rigors again And I really enjoy what I'm doing out here less. What would you say is the most satisfying part of your job? The look on people's face when they come back and they're better That's that says it all right there. It's really a nice feeling to know you've done something right and someone actually appreciates it By the way Twyla the pay for a physician's assistant doesn't approach that of a doctor But it's not bad fifteen to twenty thousand a year That's not bad coming up next we'll take a look at what's ahead for summer travelers And what things you might want to take into consideration when you're planning a summer trip? The travel season is upon us and many people have made or are making plans for summer vacations Well, the next few months will be filled with much more than camping trips and Disneyland adventures there's the gasoline situation to deal with there's a United Airlines strike that could ground would be super savers and Inflation is driving up the cost of hotels and restaurant meals so we thought we would look into the situation For many people the decision about a summer vacation will be made right here at the gas pump Decisions about which direction to go how far to go maybe not to go at all But for many others the gasoline situation simply will not interfere with the determination to take that cross-country trip in the family car We talked with travelers at rest stops and service stations along Interstate 80 and the gasoline Situation was very much on their minds it had changed some plans it had cost them some extra money But so far they had found what they needed We're going to Ella Noyes. We're going to Rockford and have you had any trouble finding gasoline No, and it's higher up here It's about ten cents higher in Kansas City Weekend there wasn't any gasoline All the filling stations were closed there were some empty tanks But coming back there was no problem I had heard there was trouble in Indiana that they were putting ten mile or ten gallon limits on it But since this one takes up 10 gallons anyway. I didn't have any problem well We're planning on going out to Oregon this summer, and we're gonna fly instead of drive because it's cheaper We're gonna go to California this summer and we're gonna fly instead of drive Drivers maybe avoiding the west coast but the Iowa chapter of the American Automobile Association reports that overall trip planning Requests are not down. We haven't really heard of any other than this deal out in California Where there's been much of a problem right now? The way things look I would say go I mean it's gonna cost you I mean the gas is going up and hotels and motel rooms and meals and everything it will cost a little bit more money but a lot of people are saying if we don't do it now it might be even worse next year and I would say go ahead and plan it and there is more than one way to take to the highway I'm not sitting in my living room I'm in a recreational vehicle enthusiasts claim that RV travel combines the convenience and comfort of a motel with the freedom of camping Some dealers are reporting a drop in RV sales They blame it on the gas situation and the late spring but these homes on wheels continue to be very popular Vans are selling many homes are selling we're moving some motorhomes or moving some used trailers removing some news trailers and That's the odd part of it is because a little bit of everything is moving probably a little bit more so this year than in the past The biggest problem with recreational vehicles is their low gas mileage Depending upon the size and the equipment these movable kitchen bathroom bedroom Combinations are supposed to get from five to ten miles per gallon but like any vehicle their actual mileage depends a lot on how they are cared for and how they are driven if You do plan to drive this summer. There's several things the experts say you ought to do First travel early in the month most service stations get monthly allocations, and they may run a little thin by the end of the month Travel early in the day many gas stations are closing earlier than usual Fill up when you drop to a quarter of a tank full you could have trouble finding gas Exactly when you need it besides many stations may be requiring minimum Phillips Drive the speed limit. You can save 20% of your gasoline by driving 55 instead of 70 and Make sure your vehicle is well tuned with clean spark plugs and properly inflated tires and carry as light a load as you can All of those things will help you to get better mileage Of course you'll get your best gasoline mileage if you leave the car at home Especially the families with the special rates can now afford to go farther than they could before because it's faster Say they wanted to go to, California Well to drive to California especially with kids would take at least three days Whereas if you can just climb on a plane in Des Moines? You're there in a matter of two or three hours? Central, Iowa's major air carrier is United Airlines, but United is on strike And it could remain on strike through much of the summer as far as vacation plans. I think it has definitely had a decreasing effect on the amount of travel Because you can't get the special fares with the super saver fare, which is by far the best the cheapest way of travel It's like a savings of thirty to forty percent on a roundtrip. You have to stay on the same airline and with United being the major carrier out of Des Moines It's really hard you know besides American, and they mostly just go east they don't go west too much It's hard to get those special fares, and if you can't get the special fares and the families don't go But there are other ways to travel long distances with a family with a family of that size, I would recommend using the Train using the Amtrak system, it's Comfortable it's relaxed. You can see the countryside as you go by you're not pressured You don't have to stay in one little seat the whole time, and it's just really comfortable I think Amtrak is having its problems right now. It's losing money Service is being cut back and as usual the trains are late, but Amtrak is also. Enjoying a surge of popularity among passengers Most major routes are virtually booked for the summer long distance bus lines also offer special fares to vacation travelers It's slightly less than comparable train packages and Greyhound officials expect a good summer Thanks to the gasoline situation, but there are those who think that the best alternative to long-distance car travel is not another form of transportation another form of vacation This is a man up home of the famous a man of woolen mills the famous a man of furniture factory famous food famous crafts famous quaint villages in fact the Amana Colonies have turned into quite a tourist attraction And this is only one of the areas that the Iowa Development Commission is hoping will lure vacation dollars to come to or to stay in Iowa It's becoming much easier to convince the Iowans of Iowa, we have an in-state to promotional campaign That's based upon the cooperation of All of the newspaper people in the state and the media people will there be radio television where we produce the slicks for the newspapers the tapes for radio spots for TV that type of thing that simply say try, Iowa and give her a Sample of the things that we would suggest for example a beautiful park system in our state if you enjoy camping or picnicking That's available right to us try aisle Over a period of time we've the interest in our State by our own people has gone up each year we discover that that the forest isn't always greener on the other side of the hill you know Tourism in its many forms is nearly a one and a half Billion dollar annual business in this state and the Development Commission thinks that the gasolene situation could actually help that business lacking the glamorous and the spectacular Iowa is according to Rainey a treasure trove of many vacations what Rainey calls one tank full trips so if the gasoline situation and inflation kill plans for that traditional venture across the country for a two-week summer trip Maybe places like the amana's or Iowa's Lake region can lure families halfway across the state for a few days instead Phil everywhere we went one of the Comments that we heard most often about the gasoline situation is that people think the shortage is a myth They say that they are trying to drive the price up and when they drive it up high enough there will be plenty of gasoline Well whether or not that's true a lot of people believe it And it's one reason that people are so willing to keep driving this summer mmm I've heard that you touched on Amtrak the fate of Amtrak the nation's Experimental rail system is important to Iowans of course especially if gasoline becomes really scarce well last week our Bob Pyle took a ride on Amtrak And he brings us a report on how the struggling rail line is doing and what the passengers think of it American railway system is in a crisis State many freight lines across the country are fighting from going bankrupt and except for a Financially weak Amtrak passenger rail systems have all but disappeared from the land It wasn't always that way the iron horse used to be the bloodline of America Carrying goods and people to the far reaches of a growing land To the But we long steel and timber But today the iron pounding is quiet it for the most part has been silenced by the war overhead of the jet flame And the whining of tires on 18 wheelers and autos He looked the same same trend line for the other modes of competition while railroads share has been going down The other modes share of traffic has continually been climbing up So there has been an impact as a result of other modes of transportation In Iowa in the past ten years more than 1,200 miles of track of been abandoned making way for highways and other government subsidized projects the Continual decline the number of miles of track notto in Iowa, but across the country Is indicative that there are other forces that are competing for the transportation dollar? When I found out that I was gonna ride Amtrak to Chicago for this story I was excited I never traveled by rail and thought it would be an adventure But when I found out where and when I'd have to make connections my feelings of excitement dimmed somewhat Osceola was the nearest stop to Des Moines? And that's about a 45-minute drive On top of that you have to be an old seal at 6:30 in the morning to catch the train So we had to leave Des Moines at 5:30 Have you ever heard the expression hurry up and wait That's just what we did wait an hour and a half along with one other person who wanted to board the train The Zephyr rolled into Osceola station around eight o'clock and finally we were off The schedule called for a six-hour ride to Chicago Plenty of time to see the train from front to back To get a feel from the people riding it just what they thought of the service so far it's been real nice like about the rail travel the leisurely Ness of it and also seeing the scenery and it's cheaper than flying and has been very rocky and bumpy and noisy and You name it The bumpy ride is not so much caused by the cars themselves, but what's underneath them? Tracks have been let go for many many years have not been kept up They're fine. They're very serviceable for afraid, but they are not for passenger especially for meeting schedules As the Train clamored on we turned our attention to the passengers people from all walks of life students ministers businessmen retired people their reasons for being on the train were as varied as their Lifestyles well the last time we rode was about a year and a half ago and That time we went all over the West Western United States on a two-week pass And really enjoyed it then and so we're writing again now It's been a real great Vacation I've enjoyed eating in the dining room foods quite good, and we've met very Quite a few very interesting people I prefer The trains because you can see where you're going you can look out and see where see the countryside One thing we found surprising was the friendships established during the trip What do you have we had to make a cup and saucer and I said, I think I made a hundred of them This is what she taught me how to do and I made about ten, and that's amazing you just got together and If you choose just to be by yourself and thinking gaze out the window You can sort of You can't even see out these windows What's wrong? They're filthy? I wanted it to be every since I got on the train, Denver I Know the bathrooms they haven't been clean some San Francisco So it's some of the sanitation here's been making the trip a little bit difficult for you really difficult this probably be last train Right I take By the time we rolled into Chicago many of the passengers were looking forward in getting their feet on stable ground again Long lines at gas stations have been ugly reminders that were in the midst of an energy crunch Scenes like this are turning people's thoughts towards energy efficient transportation Reset ridership figures show that Amtrak rail service is benefiting by this search for cheaper transportation people Definitely are turning to the trains our ridership is up nationwide 43 percent advance bookings are just tremendous In the ears Amtrak has been it has never seen it like this The fact that ridership is up is encouraging for Amtrak but Dixon admits They still have a long way to go before they convince Congress not to cut Amtrak service by 43 percent We're not really fighting it We would prefer to see the system go under though than to have it chopped up so that people can't get to where they're going It's rather pointless to run a train somewhere and leave them off They're unable to get any further unless it's a network system. It's just not gonna make it Amtrak is federally subsidized since its beginning eight years ago it has lost more than 373 billion dollars that's making lawmakers as well as local transportation Officials think that this money should be pumped into other more profitable forms of transportation We feel that as an alternative to continually pouring millions and billions Into subsidies that perhaps. They ought to be looking at the existing intercity transportation System that we already have and putting some of that money if we're going to put money in it Let's put money in a system such as our bus system that Hooks and links virtually every community in the state of Iowa the cutback proposals would eliminate about 30 trains These trains carry 10% of Amtrak's passengers this cut Holland says would have little effect on the nation's overall transportation System, but it would affect Iowa because one of the train routes to be cut is the San Francisco Zephyr lie which rolls through the southern part of the state Amtrac feels that if the line is discontinued in Iowa They will never be in a financially strong enough position to bring the train back Which would be bad news for the few people who still enjoy riding the trains The future of Amtrak will be decided in Washington probably by the early fall that decision will affect millions of passengers Including thousands of folks in southern, Iowa well. I'm one of those people I'd hate to see Iowan lose its passenger service well That's Monday news 5 special edition for May 21st join us again in two weeks The Twyla Young I'm Phil Wilson. Thank you and good night