Delaware’s hospitals need help, as they deal with staffing shortages occurring at one of the most inopportune times. The state just experienced its highest hospitalization rates, both overall and for COVID-19, of the pandemic.
Assistance is coming in a couple of forms. The Delaware Healthcare Association put out a call last week for volunteers willing to commit to two or more shifts per week at a local hospital to help fill clinical and nonclinical support roles in an effort to alleviate staffing challenges. The Delaware National Guard has also been deployed to area hospitals.
- What were you expecting when the requirements or mandates were put into place? — Rusty Larimore
- I have nothing but empathy and sympathy for those doctors and nurses who are still on the front lines, trying to do their best with the hand of cards they were dealt. With that said, I have zero sympathy for these hospitals, who actually followed the unconstitutional mandate from the president and fired a good portion of their staff. You got what you deserved. Unfortunately, your employees, those fired and your patients are the ones who will be forever affected by this terrible decision. — Farmboy Shawn
- Admit you were wrong and hire back the people you fired. — Ryan Fenimore
- No, the people who can’t even listen to their superiors should not be hired back, under any circumstances. — Tommy Bou
- My body, my choice, right? — Jon Walczak
- Well, if you disobey your workplace rules, shouldn’t you be fired? I mean, where are you employed where you can say no to the boss? — Tommy Bou
- So everyone who is anti-vax and masks, how do you suggest we solve this problem of COVID? — Elizabeth Brode
- There is nothing to solve. It’s here to stay, like the flu. It’ll just be a flare-up, seasonal virus moving forward. — Matthew Garbrick
- You mean, like it has been “seasonal” since December 2019? The virus has been active continually ever since the first case was confirmed in the U.S. — Victoria M. Olds
- I’m not a medical professional, but I would suggest treating vulnerable people at home when they first become ill, with proven methods, instead of waiting until they are on death’s doorstep to get them the help they need. By the time most of these people end up in the hospital, there isn’t a whole lot that can be done. — Phil Schaap
- Instead of being critical of everything and everybody, I would just like to thank everyone who has been helping us at the hospitals. If you are not willing to help, why don’t you stop criticizing? Complaining about why or who is to blame does not help those working in health care. — Janet Hutchins
Response to letter: Voting rights are being corroded
“Wake up, everyone. Your ability to form a government by the people is being eroded at every level, from local school boards to the president of the U.S.”
- I agree 100% — Rope1130
- I don’t have a problem with requiring IDs to vote, provided that there is an option for legal voters to get this required ID free. Not everyone has a need for a driver’s license. If they don’t travel, need to cash a check or don’t buy cigarettes or alcohol, they don’t need to pay for an ID. Why should they have to pay for an ID? There has to be an option for those who can’t afford one to get one. Some don’t have them because they don’t have a copy of their birth certificate — there could be an electronic option, if states work together. All they’d have to do is electronically verify that there is a birth certificate on file from whatever state. All that’s being done is verifying the record is there. There should be no fee. Any people born in Delaware and getting IDs elsewhere could get theirs verified at no cost to the state in return. But if people have to pay for an ID they wouldn’t otherwise have, then it’s a poll tax, and that’s not considered legal. Otherwise, I agree with you. One (hu)man, one vote. — Debi Jarrell
