Letters to the Editor (Feb. 4)

Caregivers are needed

Editor:

As the administrator of Comfort Keepers In Home Care Agency in Los Lunas, I have witnessed first hand the devastation this pandemic has had on our seniors and chronically ill.

Not only are they isolated from family and friends, they are seeing a decline in their own health and then a shortage in caregivers that are needed to care for them. This is a problem that affects our entire community.

Most of us either know someone who needs in-home or community-based care, or we know someone who will need care at some point (possibly even ourselves). What will we do if quality care becomes a thing of the past due to lack of caregivers? Who will take care of your loved one, or you, as you age or become ill?

“The number of job vacancies in the direct care industry is projected to reach more than 8 million (by 2028).” It is projected that the demand for caregiver jobs will continue to surge. (Home Health Care News). We are facing a community and national crisis if we cannot meet these demands.

Caregiving jobs can be very rewarding for someone who enjoys working with people in a one on one environment, who has enjoyed taking care of elderly family members in the past, who gets along well with older adults or finds joy in making a difference in someone’s life.

Caregiving positions can be the gateway to professional advancement like obtaining certifications (CNA/MA), nursing degrees and internal promotions into leadership roles.

This is a time when many people are fearful to be around others. Care agencies are providing their caregivers with necessary personal protective equipment, frequent testing opportunities, as well as keeping them up to date on all developments regarding COVID-19. Seniors and caregivers are also slated by the state of Colorado to receive vaccination opportunities ahead of the general public.

Caregivers are in need and opportunities exist in home care and long term care communities to name a few. Reach out to people you know, spread the word that these employment opportunities are available, highly valued and the career of today and the future.

Denise Moreno

Comfort Keepers

An unjust law

Editor:

Regarding the op-ed titled “The Energy Transition Act needs fixing” that appeared in Albuquerque Journal, Sunday, Jan. 3, written by Sens. William Tallman, Elizabeth Stefanics and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, all Democrats. Alarmingly, we have another case of “we have to pass the bill in order to see what’s in it” as declared by the mother of all Democrats Nancy Pelosi.

What we have in this op-ed is the confession of these three senators that they obviously did not bother to read SB489, the Energy Transition Act (ETA) in 2019 before they voted in favor of it; in fact, they probably did not even read the 19 page FIR (Fiscal Impact Report) which is a synopsis of the bill. Their confession also includes “so much pressure from environmental groups to pass the bill,” that they had to vote for it in spite of suspecting that the cost to rate-payers would be horrendous. In other words, planting their lips squarely on the derriere of environmentalists was far more important than looking out for the interests of us rate-payers.

According to the ETA, rate-payers will pick up the tab for all the costs of PNM decommissioning their coal-fired plants, plus their nuclear and gas plants, including the costs of transitioning to renewable energy such as wind and solar. But if the three (senators) had read the 82-page bill, or the FIR, they would’ve known that. Now that they somehow realized the high cost to rate-payers, they are scrambling to “fix” the problem with several bills to appear in our 2021 Legislature. When the ETA was so gloriously passed in 2019, it was promised that it will actually save customers money. Definitely not the case!

The (senators) were also “unaware because it was tucked into the 82-page bill” that the ETA completely rendered the Public Regulation Commission useless. The PRC has no control over rate cases now. As it stands, PNM can charge rate-payers anything they want for their decommissioning efforts. The PRC is the rate-payers “first line of defense” against high electricity rates. There is no regulatory oversight.

In all fairness, I greatly commend the (senators) for “fessing up” to the error of their ways … How many of the 95 do you think read the 82 pages before voting on it?

The ETA is a vicious law that will rip apart the people of New Mexico just as the same energy policies are ripping apart California. The Energy Transition Act should be fully repealed.

Donna Crawford

Los Lunas