Blood From A Rock

Is there always a crisis lying beneath the surface? Is there always some secret drug ring or child abuse scandal to be unearthed?

I know that everyone has a story to tell, but is every story interesting? I struggle with this beat trying to discern the realities from the falsehoods, and trying to uncover the problems that exist in Hart County’s healthcare system.

I have found problems: unnecessary trips to the ER, an underserved community, low-income families; but is there a place in the nation where these problems are not found?

The real story would be a community where everyone is healthy and lives to be 103. As I struggle to deal with asking the hard and/or right questions, I find myself thinking so what?

A, by all appearances, underutilized senior center has faced a reduction in hours. Is the reduction a result of budget cuts or the county’s attempt to trim the fat? In my travels to Hart County I have noticed that things deemed “non-core county functions” appear aptly named.

I was taken aback to find out that the Board of Commissioners would designate the health department, senior center, mental health center, and other vital health places as non-core county functions, but they aren’t being overrun with clientele. I say that based on what I have seen, but employees tell another story.

Of course what town would be complete without a litany of bureaucratic blameworthiness?

Health department officials blame commissioners. Commissioners blame the state. State blames the nation, and the nation blames AIG.

When everyone feels like the victim, whose story do you tell?

I guess step one would be to find residents in Hart County. If they aren’t in the health department, MedLink, or even the ER; where are these people and why aren’t they miserable?

Is my task to tell the story of their struggles or convince them that they are struggling?