Tourism
Dear Editor: I am, among other things, one of the retirement age seniors that Mr. McGraw referred to in his extremely well-written letter regarding the issue of tourism that is at the forefront of concern of many Sitkans.
In the 30-plus years I have been a resident of Sitka, I too have witnessed the slow but steady demise of independent economic opportunity in our community. When I arrived in Sitka, “The Mill” had just closed and I became aware of the “scrambling” that residents were doing to find or create gainful sources of income. Many were able to do so and others moved on to other communities which offered better opportunities. When I arrived in Sitka many people had not heard about the Internet, and no one imagined using it for shopping as it is used today. Like most new creations of man, it can be a blessing and a curse. The Internet makes the obtaining of goods at cheap prices readily available but it has killed many local retail businesses that just cannot compete with gigantic warehouses and enormous buying power of today’s etailers like Amazon. Being a small business owner and having a retail business is rewarding but an unrelenting challenge to be sure! Today, formerly thriving storefronts in our town center are empty, or occupied by transient summer tourist-driven businesses.
As Mr. McGraw pointed out, the opportunities for independent work and operating one’s own business are decreasing. When looking at the current and major sources of employment in our community, we have become a government-reliant community – many of our year-round employers are now city, state and federal agencies such as SEARHC, the USCG, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Court System, Forest Service, TSA, Park Service, and of course, the City and Borough of Sitka. And those jobs, too, have their blessings and curses.
As we all know, times are bad for many people outside of Sitka. Affording the opportunity to people from the lower 48, and in fact from around the world, a brief respite of a visit here to see the beauty in our world, to smell the fresh air, and to receive a friendly hello, is a gift they can get in few other places nowadays. Let us share what we take for granted or we want to guard selfishly, but let us share this gift by responsibly managing our tourist visits rather than swamping ourselves by failing to do so, or by simply trying to make them go away.
I agree with Mr. McGraw that it is the future of Sitka that is the key matter and, like it or not, tourism is an economic resource to assure the health and longevity of our very special community in Southeast.
Rob Parker, Sitka
Sitka’s Home Health
Dear Editor: This letter is to share my disappointment in SEARHC’s decision to close our certified Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Home Health Agency after almost 40 years of operation in Sitka, especially as our population is aging and becoming more vulnerable.
I have been an RN for almost 40 years, with 30 of those years in the specialty areas of home health and hospice. I have worked in three different states across the country and I was the manager at Sitka Community Hospital from 2004 to 2015. I find the reasons stated for the closure of Home Health to be faulty and, frankly, unbelievable.
The ‘‘regulatory burden” is there to protect our patients and our organizations, ensuring consistency and continuity of care from agency to agency, state to state. It ensures that a quality of care is maintained for all, no matter what color, creed, race or socioeconomic class you represent.
The reported “16 home deaths last year” was referred to by SEARHC as a small number. Most of these patients had been on HH services on more than one occasion and for varying lengths of time throughout the course of their illnesses.
That does not seem to be a small number to me considering the size of our community.
The report of “120 home visits per month” was referred to as a small number. Considering that we have recently been through a worldwide pandemic, most industries are just now recovering. CMS instructed HH agencies to make only necessary visits, to decrease the chances of exposing our vulnerable elders to COVID. The numbers are not a true representation of the actual communitywide need for Home Health care services.
A certified CMS HHA provides an initial full head-to-toe assessment, including but not limited to:
–Complete medication review including all over the counter medications and their potential interactions
–Skin assessment
–Psychological/social/emotional/spiritual assessments
–Advanced directives
–Home safety evaluations with recommendations and referrals as needed
–Pain evaluations and management; response to prescribed treatments
–Education for and evaluation of various disease processes for patients and family/caregivers
–Case management and coordination of care between other disciplines and medical professionals.
–A detailed, individualized care plan is established with scheduled, periodic review to ensure that the plan is effective and personalized and updated as changes occur.
–Periodic onsite survey and review by certified CMS staff to ensure regulations are being followed.
I do believe that no outpatient home care department is able to provide this comprehensive level of care.
Additional thoughts and concerns:
–Why would SEARHC NOT WANT oversight and regulation?
–Why doesn’t SEARHC HONOR commitments made to our community to keep valued programs and allow for community input BEFORE major decisions are made that affect us all.
–We keep hearing about million dollar-plus bonuses, new construction, and acquisition of billing companies. Isn’t our quality of life and health care choices just as important and worth fighting for?
–I hate to think that this recent decision to cut the Home Health CMS program is driven by money. What about SEARHC’s vision that states “(we are) partnering with our communities to promote a healthy balance of mind, body and spirit”
Elizabeth Faulkner RN
former Sitka Community Hospital
Home Health Agency
program manager (2004-2015)
