When Washington skimps on Medicaid funding, folks at my Tacoma nursing home feel it | Opinion

Respect our elders

As a Life Enrichment Director at an assisted living facility for Tacoma seniors, it’s my job to help bring joy to the lives of our residents, whether that’s through a Mardi Gras celebration or simply an errand run to Fred Myers. I find this work deeply rewarding. If I don’t come to work one day, I’ve let someone down. That’s what pushes me and that’s why it greatly saddens me when residents feel like society doesn’t care about them.

A staffing crisis, fueled in large part by inadequate Medicaid funding, is threatening access to critically needed care services for Washington’s low-income seniors. For assisted living, Medicaid currently pays only 68% of the hourly wages needed to care for a beneficiary, making it impossible for us to recruit and retain caregivers.

Residents tell me they don’t feel cared about and that they’re being left behind by society. To fix this, our state lawmakers must show seniors they care about their care by increasing the Medicaid budget this legislative session. These are our parents, grandparents and neighbors. We need better treatment of our elders.

Eric Mills, Tacoma

Give girls’ teams credit

While I’ve enjoyed news alerts and reading The News Tribune online, a recent “Breaking News” alert sent out after Curtis won back-to-back state titles was misleading. Why? Was it the girls’ or boys’ team? Garfield High School girls won their third championship in a row, but I didn’t see a breaking news alert for that.

The TNT should identify if it’s a boys’ or girls’ team — in the headline. You guys can be a part of highlighting the coverage for the girls’ teams. Thanks!

Missy Bequette, Tacoma

Urban decay

Tacoma has become like a third-world country with garbage, homeless camps and graffiti. There is an incredible amount of litter everywhere along the streets. There are homeless camps with tents and motorhomes — some with boats and makeshift shelters — everywhere.

There is graffiti all over this city and all over the freeway walls. Graffiti is a nuisance and it sends a message that the community is not concerned about the appearance of its neighborhoods. It generates fear, causes instability, signals an increase in crime, lowers property values, hurts businesses and is a sign of urban decay. The city needs to act fast. First impressions count.

Get the garbage picked up, get rid of the camps and cover the graffiti quickly.

Do your job.

Glad I don’t live there!

Phil Ferrell, Lakewood

Grand Old Flag

On Center Street in Tacoma there’s a small strip mall by the Tacoma Landfill. In the Starbucks drive-through is a flag pole with an American flag flying on it. This flag is almost faded to the point you can hardly recognize it. The stripes are all torn and frayed. It needs to be replaced immediately.

I have called and spoken to the manager of Starbucks numerous times. They tell me it’s the building management’s responsibility to replace the flag and said they would notify them. I have also called the building manager myself, to no avail.

In the strip mall adjacent to and within view of the flag is a veterans’ center, where veterans go for counseling and help adjusting to life issues, etc. I think it’s a shame and a disgrace that after my prodding for the last six months that no one is interested in removing this flag and changing it out.

Someone asked me why it bothers me so much. It bothers me because I served 20 years supporting and defending the constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic, and what that Grand Ole Flag stands for.

Robert S Viguers III, Lakewood