Letter: J-1 program working in this doctor’s clinic

Friday, Nov. 2, 2007 | 7:39 a.m.

I have been following the Sun's stories regarding the J-1 visa program , and a couple of very important points are left out of the reporting on this important matter.

First , Dr. R.D. Prahbu has been my physician for many years and has provided quality and caring medical care to me, and I believe countless others would echo that sentiment.

During my many visits to Dr. Prahbu's clinics, I have, on many occasions , been seen by or interacted with J-1 doctors serving there. I always found them to be very professional and the work environment harmonious and professional.

The J-1 visa program, as I understand it, was designed to bring foreign medical professionals into under served, uninsured and indigent communities. I invite anyone to visit Dr. Prahbu's clinics on any given afternoon.

I assure you that the clientele in the waiting rooms will not look anything like that in the waiting rooms in Summerlin or Green Valley, where doctors are busy serving the wealthy and well-insured in very upscale surroundings. The point being that the J-1 doctors working in these clinics are serving people in need in exactly the areas that were contemplated when the J-1 program was initiated.

Second , if we are to believe all the reports that have been issued in recent years, there is a dire shortage of medical personnel, both nurses and doctors, in Southern Nevada .

If that is true, we must ask ourselves if the J-1 program isn't helping to address that shortage and in so doing helping to make Southern Nevada a better place to live.

Any program is subject to both abuses and disgruntled employees. There should be strict oversight of the J-1 visa program to ensure that the requirements laid out in regulations are followed. In reading the Sun's stories, it would appear there have been instances of abuse in the J-1 program. I do not, however, believe that to be the case with Dr. Prahbu's operations and I think we have an obligation to see the glass half full rather than half empty where the J-1 visa program is concerned.

Jerry Reynoldson, Logandale

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