Rule No. 1: Follow the rules during essential visits to seniors
Re: Safety is not enough, seniors need vital family visits during COVID isolation
I have never written to the newspaper in my life, but I do feel compelled to comment on this subject. I, too, have a parent in assisted living and cannot wait to be able to “go in” and visit. I also realize the implications of this. I work in health care and am fully aware of the consequences. I can only hope that upon this easing of restrictions for our loved ones, people will have the good sense not to take advantage of the privilege. By this, I mean follow the rules and do not think for one second you should ease up on the protocols in place.
I will be requesting a COVID-19 test before I enter because of where I work. I will not be the one responsible to jeopardize any of those people in their home.
Thank you for Debra Sheets’ letter on what should actually be “essential” in our seniors’ lives.
Jane Kroeker, Richmond
Trial police program overdue
I just watched a news item on Global TV where Surrey RCMP is running a trial project using a psychiatric nurse along with a police officer to provide wellness checks on people. This is something that I have been talking to my husband about for a while, especially in the aftermath of all the disastrous results involving police officers both in Canada with Indigenous peoples and elsewhere around the world, including the United States.
Many years ago, we used to watch a television show on CBC called Cracked. It involved exactly this premise. It was a police procedural show but done with a twist. When there was a call involving anything of a psychiatric nature — either mental health-wise or sociopaths or psychopaths
— there was a special unit that was called upon to investigate. This unit included both police officers and psychiatric nurses or even doctors if the case warranted it.
Sure, it was a TV show and highly dramatized, but the premise is what I am writing about. It is this type of program that should be used. And for the people who say where is this money going to come from, I say this: the police budget. If more wellness checks, etc., are conducted with the qualified professional and police officer for protection, the need for more police on the streets won’t be needed because the people with the proper training will make that need obsolete.
I know this is simplistic, but it is well worth taking a look at and I think it’s an idea whose time has come, considering everything that has happened.
Barb Nielsen, Abbotsford
Willes gets it right about NHL
Re: Taking a pass as hub city host under NHL rules is a wise move for B.C.
Killer intro opened the door to a great piece. Well-written, balanced and giving a sense of personal caring. Great perspective on how lucky we are to be living here.
Rob Rainbow, Port Moody