Focus medical mall plan on patients, not streets

In volunteer roles over the past several years, I have advocated that issues be addressed from the perspective of the patient and their family and caregivers. As a result, I am dismayed that the discussion about the proposed medical mall has focused on closing streets and other issues that ignore the fact that the medical mall represents a sea change in the way medical care is delivered in our community. Those who have studied the best way to treat patients have concluded that a structure that includes closing Second Avenue will be the best way to deliver optimal patient care. What else can be more important?

Some day, our community will be judged by how we dealt with those among us who needed our help the most. I am not sure I would feel very good about putting the minor inconvenience of taking a different driving route ahead of creating a medical center where the patient comes first and can receive the best medical treatment our community can provide.

The German author Goethe once said: “Dream no small dreams. They fail to stir the hearts of men.” The proposed medical mall's potential to transform medical care here is not a small dream; it should stir the imagination and pride of our entire community and create a positive, progressive image of Cedar Rapids. Do not let fixation with ways of the past be the way we are remembered by future generations.

Gary Streit

Cedar Rapids