Renewing Medical Education Thank you for the comprehensive article on teaching and the medical school's plan to grow from the "very good to the ranks of the pre-eminent." I was delighted that the article recognized the many faculty who have dedicated so much time and energy to renew medical education at Emory. This planning effort is critical to the future of the Emory School of Medicine, and it is important that all faculty and staff understand where we're going and why. Dean Thomas Lawley Emory School of Medicine

Share an Idea What should the Woodruff Health Sciences Center aspire to over the next 100 years? Send us your ideas with a brief explanation. Submissions must be signed to be considered for publication. If you wish to remain anonymous, please so indicate. Send your submissions to the Editors.

High Cost of Living Attached you will find a copy of my bills for two stays at Crawford Long Hospital. It is noteworthy that these two stays occurred 50 years apart and were my only visits to your hospital in my lifetime. One occurred at the time of my birth and the other when I was 50. Note that there is quite a difference in the amount for each stay. In 1949 my mother and I were there for five days, and the cost including delivery was $64.10. However, in 1999, a one-night stay and procedure was nearly $8,000. I did have excellent care at Crawford Long Hospital both times, particularly the last time (which I remember) under the care of Dr. Joseph Miller. Pamela Griffin Hawkinsville Editor's note: Obviously, health care isn't the only thing that costs more these days. Back in 1949, you could buy a three-bedroom home in Atlanta for $8,000, a loaf of bread cost 15 cents, and a Coke was 5 cents. Although we do our best to keep our costs in line, there are many things we cannot control. Today's shortage of registered nurses in particular has created more competition and driven up salaries, says Jimmy Hatcher, Emory Hospitals' chief financial officer. Drug costs have skyrocketed too. Roxann Arnold, director of patient accounts at Crawford Long Hospital, notes that many efforts are ongoing to put a lid on high prices. "We manage costs by renegotiating purchase contracts and improving operational and clinical processes," she says.

More on Mummies It was with great pleasure that I read in your fall issue about the work with the collection of Egyptian antiquities the Carlos Museum acquired early last year. The response of Emory's health sciences community to the acquisition has been overwhelming and gratifying. The work we are doing together, including the DNA testing and the ongoing effort to X-ray and CT-scan all of the mummies, including those of two children and a cat, is among the most fascinating aspects of all the work the collection has spawned. Dr. William Torres and the staff in radiology and CT scanning have been enormously generous with their time and expertise. Dr. Douglas Wallace and everyone at the Center for Molecular Medicine have proven to be wonderful, enthusiastic colleagues. It is hard to imagine a more rewarding collaboration than the one the museum has enjoyed with these members of the health sciences center's outstanding team. Few things have made us at the museum prouder to be at Emory than this experience. We are looking forward to the results of our work in the months ahead and to the chance to share what we learn. Anthony Hirschel Director, Michael C. Carlos Museum

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