Thank you to The Columbian for publishing what is happening in Clark County with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. Crisis levels of care may be necessary in our county (“Where is the care? Nursing home, assisted living facility staffing shortage hits Clark County,” The Columbian, Jan. 23).
They stated that means people would be turned away at hospitals. I know, as a retired RN and NP, what it really means as we have seen during this pandemic: that people will die unnecessarily. I ask we all visualize what it would be like as a physician to have to triage who can receive care and who cannot due to limited resources or to be a patient waiting for two days in the ER to be seen.
I ask all of us to visualize what it is like to lose a family member from COVID or someone who suffers from long-term COVID. After you do that, is the mini-initiative petition that has a hearing at 6 p.m. Feb. 1 by the Clark County Council that is aimed at prohibiting mask mandates and COVID vaccinations really who we are as a people?
Please let us all follow what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to get this pandemic under better control. Getting vaccinated against COVID if you can, and wearing a mask are a small price to pay to protect us all and support our health care workers.
