Re: “,” Dec. 10 news story.
Your article about the difficulties faced by rural areas in recruiting and retaining medical staff may have overlooked another significant factor. In the presidential election of 2016, people with a post-graduate education were far more likely to have voted for Hillary Clinton (58 percent) than for Donald Trump (37 percent). This would, of course, include many medical professionals.
One of the counties in your article, Park County, voted 2-to-1 for Trump. Another, Crowley County, went for Trump 3-to-1. Is political polarization contributing to problem of retaining medical staff? If it is, then there isn’t much purpose in importing “outsiders” to provide medical staff — they are likely to leave at the first opportunity.
If rural Colorado wants doctors to remain living among them, it would be better to recruit and pay for the training of bright students who have strong family ties to the local community. But even this may not be enough. As the saying goes, once they have seen the bright lights of the city, it’s hard to keep them down on the farm.
ҳܲ°Dz, Denver
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