Max Baucus: “I say to these King Cove residents, who are either in the gallery watching or listening elsewhere, all of us are as…”

“I say to these King Cove residents, who are either in the gallery watching or listening elsewhere, all of us are as concerned about your safety--your medical safety and medical health--as the two Alaska Senators are. Obviously, we are; we are all Americans. It is my feeling that maybe the best way to achieve better medical evacuation and better safety for the residents of King Cove is to complete the study--the two studies, actually. One is by your State, the State of Alaska, which is vigorously trying to figure out the best way to address better access between King Cove and Cold Bay. They are looking at various options--air options, marine options, road options. They are looking at telemedicine. They are looking at all the various logical ways to try to solve the problem. We all know there is no silver bullet, no one alternative that is going to be the total solution to make sure that if anybody is ill or in an emergency situation in King Cove that he or she can immediately get the best possible care at a hospital in Anchorage, or even as far away as Seattle.”