Physician oversight, school security, retirees seeking work

A father calls out physician oversight

The oversight and discipline of doctors who have breached their Hippocratic Oath has been sadly lacking, to say the least [“Change doctor discipline system,” Editorial, May 20].

As the father of Jeanna Limmer Salgado, I vividly recall the days in the 1980s and ’90s, trying to get the New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct to act on the abhorrent behavior of Dr. Stuart Copperman.

We were baffled and frustrated when the three-man “jury” found against us, and found Copperman innocent of wrongdoing. The testimony on the part of my teenage daughter, wife and other victim was overwhelming. It left us with pain and anger toward doctors and the system that was meant to protect us.

Move forward 20 to 30 years to today, and for Copperman to evade punishment is inconceivable. No criminal penalties and we haven’t been able to collect a civil judgment because he hid his assets. And he has a fine life in Boca Raton, Florida.

Now, here we are, 40 years of feeling that we have been failed by the system and the medical profession once again.

— Michael Limmer, Wantagh

Our schools need prevention, security

Multiple school districts on Long Island are voting to “target hardening” their schools, including armed personnel, security cameras, and metal detectors, to name a few [“District hires armed guards,” News, May 17]. However, our school districts do not allocate adequate resources to develop and properly train Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) teams, which help to identify possible subjects before an attack. More important, as a BTAM expert, I know that these BTAM units help the child move away from a pathway of violence.

Even with properly trained and armed security, these targeted attacks, on average, last two minutes. In the rare instance that a targeted attack occurs, the staff will likely respond within two or three minutes. However, the targeted violence is usually over. The community will then hold security and/or law enforcement responsible for not arriving fast enough.

The most effective tactics to prevent targeted violence are an integration of prevention with security.

— Kostas Katsavdakis, Mineola

Retirees shouldn’t have to seek work

We, the middle class, need a decent break on our property taxes to be able to stay and live comfortably here on Long Island [“Trump urges NY GOP to back budget despite SALT concerns,” News, May 21]. Retirees should not have to look for a job to make ends meet. Returning to work should only be to get out and socialize.

— Susan Powers, Oceanside