Not me

Several people have asked if the Post-Standard made the mistake last week in its story A health report card, about the HCAHPS survey results. The newspaper attributed Tom Quinn’s comments to the marketing director at Cortland Regional Health Center.

The answer is no, the newspaper did not make a mistake. There is another Tom Quinn, and he works in Cortland, NY.

There are many namesakes, and if you Google “Tom Quinn,” you find pages and pages of us. Tom Quinn, the astronomer. Tom Quinn, the fictional case officer in Britain’s MI5. Tom Quinn, author. Criminal defense lawyer. Film actor.

As a 14-year old, I attended a junior seminary in Pennsylvania. One day after class, I discovered that my name was crudely scratched in a corner of a blackboard. I pointed this out to the priest who taught us Latin. “I didn’t do that,” I sheepishly explained. “I know,” he said with a big grin. “It’s been there for years. Today that Tom Quinn is probably in jail.”