Letters for Dec. 16, 2022

Visiting nurses

I spent 28 years working at Providence, visiting nurses in my role as BSN/RN with areas of specialty in my case manage role as the Palliative Care Clinician, cardiac care team member, ostomy care team member, IV home management, wound care team member as well as everything else that can come the way of a visiting nurse.

Doug Brandt, RN, was killed during a home visit on Dec. 1. I worked closely with Doug, and it is high time an in-depth article on the role of a Providence visiting nurse who provides complex care to the most vulnerable among us. When I was working, Doug and his sister Trudy (also an RN) were a team in their area within Spokane County.

I am numb with the horror of this tragedy that will leave so many of us on our knees with sadness and grief.

There “by the grace” went I for 28 years as the point of care changed from hospital base care to in home care, the complexity of patient care escalated with high need for caregiver teaching and nursing excellence to meet the demands of an ever-changing health care system, client advocacy, client teaching and safety. My role also included community education and teaching within PVNA system and the community at large.

The entire PVNA staff needs to be honored and recognized for their incredible service and care.

Doug will be terribly missed and remembered. What a horrible, horrible loss.

Elizabeth Cobbs

Spokane

Energy efficiency, clean air are cost-efficient

Sue Lani Madsen’s column was full of disinformation about the transition underway to healthier and more efficient electric technology in our homes (“When aspirations collide with affordability,” Dec. 1). As a University of Washington medical student, I’m a strong supporter of the updates recently approved by the Washington State Building Code Council. Burning gas in our boilers and on our stoves emits and leaks a wide range of dangerous indoor air pollutants. Resulting illnesses like asthma and heart diseases are an externalized “cost” that Washingtonians pay a heavy price for, in addition to the costs of the climate crisis.

In contrast, building all-electric new homes in Spokane will be healthier and more affordable because of the avoided costs of installing gas pipelines and paying steep utility bills. A heat pump, which uses electricity and thermal-transfer technology to heat or cool indoor air or water, is actually two to four times more energy-efficient than an old gas furnace, and two times more efficient in cold climates. A Washington Department of Commerce report found that an all electric new home would save its residents about $1,000 per year over the lifetime of the equipment.

Ms. Madsen’s fearmongering about housing affordability doesn’t stack up with the fact that 88% of new homes across Washington are already being built with electric heat pumps instead of gas. In the long run, building homes with better energy efficiency and healthy air will be much cheaper for Spokane.

Kate Tokareva

Spokane

History of housing discrimination

Thank you for the front page article on racial discrimination in housing covenants here in Eastern Washington. It was eye-opening to say the least. The existence of racial restrictions on the purchase of property is clear evidence of what is meant by the phrase “systemic racism.” I’m grateful for the work of EWU professor Larry Cebula and his students in uncovering and documenting this painful chapter in our region’s history.

Leyna Bernstein

Spokane

Full city plow

The full city plow touted by the city of Spokane is baloney. After two major storms in the last few weeks, the side streets in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood off of 29th and Regal have not been touched. I will need them to come rescue me if I can’t get in or out of my driveway on 28th Avenue.

Claudia Craven

Spokane

Free speech is not hate speech

My sincere hope is that The Spokesman published the article about Marjorie Taylor Green’s appearance at the CdA Resort to spark outrage. (“N. Idaho GOP group to host Taylor Greene as keynote,” Dec. 11). Well, it worked.

The article lists MJT’s history of hate. The fact that the Republican party in North Idaho welcomes her adds yet another not so surprising page to the story of shame for our area and for those that call themselves Republicans. Frankly, more surprising is the fact that the CDA Resort welcomes this hate monger as well. Anti-Semitic, homophobic and white nationalist are but a few of the lovely adjectives that describe this woman. Nothing good will come from this for the resort. Your celebrity influencers from the golfers to the reality stars, to the carefully coiffed singers, will be forced to shun the hashtags and the @‘s with good reason.

Wake up North Idaho … Free speech is not hate speech. Here’s a hashtag for you: #boycottcoeurdaleneresort.

Erica Apfelbaum

Spokane