The other day, whilst reading the obituary & tributes to the Late Arnold Palmer, I came across the name LaTrobe/Latrobe on a couple of occasions. It is not a common name and it struck an immediate chord, as it would/should with any Australian, especially those in the state of Victoria.
Sir Charles La Trobe was appointed the first Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Victoria in 1851, many of the parks and gardens around Melbourne ( the state capital for those non- Australian followers) are there even today in testimony to his foresight. He is commemorated widely throughout Victoria by parks and gardens, the La Trobe Valley, a University and much more.
Sir Charles’s paternal grandmother was born in the United States, and he, himself did travel widely in the USA, in company with Washington Irving at one time.
He had many relatives in the United States amongst whom was his father’s brother, Benjamin Henry Latrobe (note the changed spelling, he was born, La Trobe, in England), the architect of the Capital Building in Washington, and other notable buildings in the fledgling United States of America.
Which brings me to the next bit, where I get back to the tributes to Mr. Palmer; before heading off on another ramble.
There appears to be an hospital,a country club, and, a town by the name Latrobe in Pennsylvannia, and Mr.Palmer was once associated with these establishments for want of a better word!
Naturally, being of a curious bent, I had to go to the WWW to trace the connection with that most unusual of names, and a jolly old time was had by all. However, one part of the journey disturbed me enormously. It was the Latrobe Hospital! 😦
Now as we all know I’ve had my fill of hospitals over the past 10 or 11 years; and at all of them I had nothing but over the top, first class, exemplary care and service (WOW). The hospitals were all about care; which is what we in Australia, have come to expect as the norm.
But in Pennsylvannia at the Latrobe Hospital that is not what this hospital is all about; it’s all about money.
Recently, I was commenting on health matters on another blog site and one of the contributors to the discussion stated :” people from all over the socialized world come to the USA to be treated in the most advanced hospitals with the newest medical procedures and widest variety of drugs”
I cannot imagine why!
Just check out the “Organization” section on the right! Can anyone think of anything as repugnant as an hospital thats main purpose is to make a profit off the sick, the infirm and the dying? I can’t!
🐻
LordBeariOfBow 
Latrobe was interesting. Congratulations on an hospital 🙂
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He certainly was, we don’t hear enough about these early what they did and acheive.
Thanks for the congrats, I’m just happy that I’m not alone.
Thought it strange that you used the American spelling for La Trobe though. XD
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Oh dear! American is catching. 🙂 Thanks, Brian
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I much prefer the correct spelling, the way words are meant to be spelt. La Trobe as you know was of French Huguenot descent and I think he’d take a pretty dim view of the Americanization of his name. I have no time for Noah Webster and his ideas. I don’t think Thomas Jefferson had much time for him either XD
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I grovel at his feet 🙂
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Thomas Jefferson I trust, how anyone can, could or would grovel at the feet of Noah I know not; he butchered our language, due in all probability to his dislike (for want of a better word), of the people who’s language it is/was!
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🙂
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My Aussie girlfriend living in the States has huge residual bills owing to around thirty health providers, as a result of her husband’s two heart transplants, the second which he did not survive. His medical insurance covered 90%, but the 10% remaining is still a huge sum. Apparently they cannot sue her as long as she pays each $5/month. That story may have suffered in translation, or even suffered from exaggeration, but no smoke without fire as they say. She has just had a knee replacement, and was sent home two days after surgery, no rehab hospital in between, no home nursing, and she lives alone, because the insurance wouldn’t fund anything more as she could “stand up”. Definitely not the place to retire to!
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She’s an Aussie living under those conditions??? Obviously needs psychiatric care, why doesn’t she just pack her bags and slip quietly out of the country and come home?
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Too late to start her career over here (she’s still working), and she says she can’t leave all the gadgets she gets in the states. I have no idea which ones. She wants me to come for an extended visit, but in between opressive humidity, tornadoes, and snow storms, there doesn’t seem to be a season when I would like to see Texas.
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That’s probably just an excuse regarding the gadgets; with e-Bay you can get pretty well anything from anywhere that your heart desires, and if you can’t get them there a couple of minutes with Google and you’ll find ’em, no worries!
I’m with you on the weather, they are welcome to keep all that stuff you mention, I envy them not!
Mind you there are many places in the US that I could settle in quite well; that’s until the winters hit!
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We do have great, caring doctors and hospitals, the latest in research and procedures, etc. The trick is navigating the bureacracy of the non-medical overseers who often make it so difficult to find and pay for the care you need. Everything is profit driven. I’m still rather boggled that my lumpectomy for breast cancer was an outpatient procedure and I was sent home the same day. I live alone. Good thing my son lives nearby.
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I believe what you say regarding the doctors hospitals, the name John Hopkins stands out world wide, I note that even at the Royal Prince Alfred where I went for my recent surgery there is a road named for John Hopkins; I really suppose I should find out why and the connection. Next bit on my non to busy schedule.
I think that is pretty callous sending you home after an operation for breast cancer. No matter how big or small an operation for cancer, it’s traumatic.
Our big hospitals are definitely not profit driven, we do have small private ones that are; the private medical benefit funds have their sticky fingers in that pie!
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Brian,
Americans are so capitalistic. They make out that they are christian, but there is little thought as to their duties as christians. Three of the Eight Corporal Works of Mercy is to care for the sick, the poor and the imprisoned, they don’t seem to take any interest in legislating for the care of their own. “The mark of a compassionate society is a social policy that is based on mutual caring and equality as well as freedom, that recognises that the elimination of suffering is a public responsibility and cannot be left to private charity” [Iona Community].
Neill..
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Pretty much what Karl Marx preached too; sort of 👿
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This is such an interesting discussion, but I really can’t join in, since I, being Canadian, know nothing about health care in the USA! My impressions, however, are not good…
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You may certainly join in, I have no personal experience with it either and know probably about as much as you, it’s only what we read and mostly that’s not very good reading . I no nothing about the Canadian health system, but I do believe it’s a very good one, like our’s here in the antipodes. I”d like to know more about it so that I can compare,
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It’s a universal system, in which everything (visits, operations,) is covered, by our taxes. Medicine, dentists, and some services however, are not. There is a movement afoot to bring in some element of privatization—not a good idea!
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Sounds lke you have exactly the same system as we have and with the same problems, we have a liberal (read conservative)party government that is enamored with the US way; they do so at their peril. The people will not stand for the tampering with our universal health care by any political party now.
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