To the Editor:

Two things that everyone in St. Lawrence County can agree on this election season is that our access to health care is quite bad now and is going to get much worse very quickly. 

So we need a local councillor who has the skills to fight back and protect our right to quality health care. That man is Dr. Adam Jarrett. 

Primary healthcare offices are slated to close in Madrid, Heuvelton, Waddington and Hammond. We are losing the entire maternity division and nuclear cancer care services at Claxton-Hepburn hospital in Ogdensburg. To add insult to injury, Republicans in Congress have slashed $1 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid, funding that is vital to support rural health care. 

This is going to affect you, your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, your relatives and your neighbors. No one will be immune because healthcare will be miles and miles further away for everyone. And what is more important than your health? Everything else in your life depends on it. 

Dr. Adam Jarrett has built up St. Lawrence health facilities before in a previous job as Clayton-Hepburn’s chief doctor. He has hired professionals to mend our broken bones, take care of pregnant women and new mothers, ease our mental health crises and counter our substance abuse challenges. He knows how to get the best bang for the buck in health care. He has a long record of strong and financially responsible leadership throughout his career, which I have no doubt he will bring to county government. 

And, unlike his opponent, he has not spent the last 16 years collecting a county paycheck and benefits while letting our quality of life here in St. Lawrence County deteriorates year after year. 

Our county deserves new energy and true expertise in its leaders — and Dr. Adam Jarrett will deliver that. 

Sheila Norman-Culp

Morristown