Lack of affordable housing plays big role in island’s workforce crisis, reader writes
Island has housing crisis
The workforce crisis on Hilton Head is not just that – it is also an affordable housing crisis.
Middle to lower income housing is basically non-existent on the island.
Those of us who work in service industries or are on disability cannot afford to live on the island without taking on a second or, in some cases, third job.
To have a place to live that you can afford should not be a luxury.
With gas prices and car maintenance, it is just as expensive to commute.
The mayor and the town pay lip service to this issue, but since it does not affect tourism, nothing is done.
It is a shame we do not take care of our own.
Jeanine A Wald, Hilton Head
Don’t let bills progress
I have recently become aware of two bills before the S.C. Senate, S. 988 and S. 907, and I am gravely concerned.
S. 988 has been drafted in anticipation of the possibility that Roe. V. Wade will be overturned. That the legislature is so determined to prevent any woman from having an abortion for any reason is bad enough; the fact that it would rather spend time on a theoretical situation rather than addressing matters that demand attention now is unconscionable.
You have limited time. Get your priorities in order. Try legislating for childcare assistance for women who carried their children to full term.
S. 907 has legislators, individually and as a group, inserting themselves in the midst of medication (abortion pill) procedures.
First, it is not a politician’s business.
Second, trying to reverse a medication abortion has been proven neither safe or effective. In fact, trials were ended because they were found to be downright dangerous. Are politicians really so determined to interfere with a woman’s life choices that they would intentionally put her at risk? Shame on them.
Please do not go forward with these bills.
RIta Conrad, Bluffton
Church Mouse does good work
Recently I had the opportunity to attend a ceremony at the Church Mouse Thrift Shop. The occasion was the organization’s second grant-awarding session for 2021.
I have been a part-time and full-time resident of Hilton Head for some 30 years, and like many, I knew of the Church Mouse, but had never visited their location nor understood much about the organization.
What a surprise to find out what they mean to the many agencies in our area.
On this recent occasion, more than 30 community service organizations were present to receive a grant. Each organization was asked to give a brief overview on the services it provides to the community. It was extremely rewarding to hear of so many groups in our area who are passionate about their respective organization.
The Church Mouse distributed approximately $480,000 to various community organizations in 2021.
Stop by their shop on Arrow Road and look at the exceptionally fine items they have, and don’t forget to donate items as well so this special group of people can continue their great work.
We are fortunate to have groups like the Church Mouse in our community.
Steve Caywood, Bluffton
A healthcare tribute
For nurses of every stripe, the opportunity to care for patients in their times of greatest need is an honor and privilege.
This week is National CRNA Week, when Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) typically celebrate our own profession. But due to COVID-19, this year feels a lot different. So on behalf of South Carolina’s CRNAs, here’s to our nurse colleagues who we proudly work with every day.
In operating rooms, CRNAs and Operating Room nurses work together to ensure patients’ comfort and safety.
In recovery, we know our patients will be well cared for by vigilant PACU nurses, while in ICUs, critical care nurses meet patients’ complicated healthcare needs.
In emergency rooms, CRNAs join ER nurses on the frontlines of trauma, and in OB, the labor epidurals CRNAs deliver to new moms assist the nurses who help bring tiny lives into the world.
During the pandemic we have supported each other through the physical, psychological, and emotional roller coaster of battling a virus that together we will help defeat.
This CRNA Week, the South Carolina Association of Nurse Anesthetists pays tribute to all nurses. We are family, and patient care is our passion.
Elizabeth Wilkes, Aiken