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For residents of Sarasota County, who for- merly were transported by helicopter to Bayfront in St. Petersburg — or Tampa General for severe burns or spinal injuries — being forced to go to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton for all trauma cases holds the real possibility that outcomes will not be nearly as favorable: more enduring complications from serious injuries, and even deaths, as a result of being treated in a less-capable facility. Getting billed as much as 50 percent more for that potentially substandard care will only add insult to injury. % LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Sarasota News Leader wel- comes letters to the editor from its readers. Letters should be no more than 300 words in length, and include the name, street address and telephone num- ber of the writer. Letters should be emailed to Letters@SarasotaNewsLeader.com, with "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line. Let- ters actually printed will be selected based on space available, subject matter and other fac- tors. We reserve the right to edit any letters submitted for length, grammar, spelling, etc. All letters submitted become the property of The Sarasota News Leader. Search for text in stories by clicking the icon in the menubar and entering a search term. Search the current edition or all editions. QUICK TIP Search Only The Issue You Are Viewing Search All Issues Your search term here Don't have your own subscription to The Sarasota News Leader? Subscribe for FREE and receive a weekly notification when the latest issue is available online. FREE SUBSCRIPTION OPINION Sarasota News Leader March 21, 2014 Page 95