OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2020
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
Giving health care workers their due
E
ach year, Time Magazine
famously dubs a particularly
infl uential person or group
of people as its “Person of the Year.”
While Time went with president-elect
Joe Biden and vice president-elect
Kamala Harris, I’d like
to recognize one of
Time’s runners-up, front-
line health care workers,
as the Hermiston Her-
ald’s own Person of the
Jade
Year.
McDowell
Primary care doctors, NEWS EDITOR
emergency room nurses,
surgeons, respiratory therapists, cer-
tifi ed nursing assistants and other
health care workers are absolutely
crucial to this country’s well-being.
Their services save lives, prolong
lives and improve lives. And yet,
as an American, I have been deeply
ashamed of how we have treated
them this year.
In the spring, we sent them into
hospitals where people were dying
in hallways because there were no
beds available, attempting to fi ght
a deadly disease about which little
was known, all without proper pro-
tective gear because our country was
under-prepared and slow to respond
to the need. Some died as a result.
Others lived in hotels or slept in their
car, terrifi ed of what they might bring
home to their families.
At the time, Good Shepherd Med-
ical Center was fortunate to not be
so overwhelmed and under-equipped
as hospitals in cities like New York.
But when I interviewed nurses partic-
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
Jadie Wick, a front line nurse, poses for a portrait at Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston on
Friday, June 12, 2020. Wick was honored in Gov. Kate Brown’s statewide virtual commencement
address on Sunday, June 14, 2020.
ipating in the “Essential not Sacrifi -
cial” car parade protest through town
in May, they told me that, while they
couldn’t reveal details due to privacy
concerns, what they had seen as they
treated local COVID-19 patients had
left them scared of the virus in a way
no season of infl uenza ever had.
Throughout the year, as waves of
the virus have overwhelmed vari-
ous hospitals across the country, doc-
tors and nurses have described work-
ing inhumane hours in conditions
worse than anything they have ever
experienced in their careers. The per-
sonal protective equipment they’ve
been grateful to fi nally have has
left dark purple bruises across their
faces during the long hours they’ve
spent treating patients who com-
plained it was too much to ask some-
one to wear a mask for 15 minutes in
Costco.
They have had to bear more of the
emotional burden of patients’ deaths
as families have said goodbye to their
loved ones via video while a nurse
held the dying patient’s hand instead
of the patient’s spouse or child. The
mental health toll of the pandemic on
health care providers has been exten-
sive, workers say, but they feel they
must keep pushing through burnout
because they are so badly needed.
All of that would be bad enough,
but an ignorant segment of the pop-
ulation has, instead of being grate-
ful, reviled and vilifi ed health care
COLUMN
workers. On social media and in
the news, doctors and nurses have
described patients who sneer and
scream insults, accusing them of
injecting them with poison to per-
petuate the “hoax” of COVID-19 or
insisting on a magic cure they’re sure
the doctor has but is withholding in
order to make sure they die for politi-
cal reasons.
Imagine dedicating your life to
saving lives, only to have the very
people you’re working to save use
their dying days to baselessly accuse
you of murdering them.
Others have not gone that far,
but on the Herald’s social media
pages and other community Face-
book pages I have repeatedly seen
local residents falsely claim that local
health care workers are committing
fraud by lying about what patients
died of because they “get more
money for COVID” — along with
other slander against their integrity
that would get someone challenged
to a duel were we living in the 1700s.
Enough is enough. We need health
care workers, and we owe them a
great debt of gratitude for their ser-
vice. It’s time people who appreci-
ate that speak up again and reminded
them that we’re with them, cheering
them on as they help us get through a
dark winter and on to a world where
vaccines have helped tame this beast.
To the hundreds of local health
care workers, from hospitals to nurs-
ing homes: Thank you for your
service.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
All I want for Christmas — family and friends
O
ne gig I would never want
to do is serve as Santa
Claus.
Sure, I can be as holly and
jolly as the rest, but I would
have a hard time listening to the
wish lists of children that are
fi lled with all the
new-fangled toys
and latest gadgets.
I think we lose
the spirit of the sea-
son when the focus
becomes a big old
gift grab. Don’t
get me wrong, I’m Tammy
not the bah humbug Malgesini
type. I love to give —
especially presents that are cho-
sen specifi cally for the person.
In addition, utilizing one’s
creativity with gift giving is very
special. Whether making sweet
treats, crafts, artwork or even
writing songs, poetry, creating a
video or putting a favorite photo
in a frame — gifts made from
the hands or heart can truly be a
priceless labor of love.
When John and I were
fi rst married, we lived on an
extremely tight budget.
John was in college and
worked part time while I had
a full-time job. We sometimes
got creative with Christmas
presents.
We had some friends that
owned a fi lbert farm. They
invited us to pick all the hazel-
nuts we wanted. After they
dried, our evening entertainment
included cracking nuts — lots
and lots of nuts. I then roasted
some (not on an open fi re), while
others were dipped in choco-
late and topped off with festive
sprinkles. I also made dozens
and dozens of spritz cookies.
We packaged the homemade
treats in festive tins and gave
them to several close friends and
family. Everyone was so gra-
cious, commenting about how
wonderful they were. And they
were — I wish I still had unlim-
ited access to fi lberts.
During recent holiday sea-
sons, my husband has experi-
mented in the kitchen — mak-
ing everything from caramel and
chocolate dipped pretzel rods to
a variety of cookies. Last year,
he even made canine cookies for
several of our friends who have
dogs.
With the onset of the global
pandemic, I found myself with
a lot more time on my hands.
Rather than immersing myself
in TV and the news of the day,
I have enjoyed being able to get
in touch with my crafty side.
My friends, hairdresser and
parents have been the recipi-
ents of my dabblings in paint-
ing on rocks and small wooden
elephants.
In addition, I’ve had more
time to go through photos and
have made and ordered special
gifts utilizing some favorites.
In a recent conversation with
my bestie, she said she was hav-
ing a hard time deciding what to
get her oldest granddaughter for
Christmas.
In past years, Carol said the
10-year-old would readily share
what she wanted.
In order to go to school
during the pandemic, the girl’s
parents made the heart-wrench-
ing decision to have their daugh-
ters temporarily live out of state
with their other grandmother.
When Carol pressed her grand-
daughter what she might like for
Christmas during a recent video
call, she responded, “Grandma, I
just want to come home.”
It is my hope this holiday
season that people truly recog-
nize what’s most important —
family, friendships and creating
memories.
I wish everyone a merry
Christmas and good riddance to
2020.
———
Tammy Malgesini, the former
Hermiston Herald community edi-
tor, enjoys spending time with her
husband and two German shep-
herds, as well as entertaining her-
self with random musings and
being crafty.
U.S. PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP
STATE REP. GREG SMITH,
DISTRICT 57
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
whitehouse.gov/contact/
———
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Email: Rep.GregSmith@state.
or.us
———
U.S. SENATORS
RON WYDEN
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
•
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 49
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673
Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Kelly Schwirse | Multi-Media consultant • kschwirse@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
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———
JEFF MERKLEY
313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building
Washington, DC 20510
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Pendleton offi ce: 541-278-1129
———
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
GREG WALDEN
185 Rayburn House Offi ce
Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
La Grande offi ce: 541-624-2400
CORRECTIONS
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STATE SEN. BILL HANSELL,
DISTRICT 29
It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as
soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be
corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page
will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in
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Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or
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Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the
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No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person.
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GOV. KATE BROWN
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Email: www.oregon.gov/gov/
Pages/
share-your-opinion.aspx
———
MAYOR DAVID
DROTZMANN
180 NE Second St.
Hermiston, OR 97838
ddrotzmann@hermiston.or.us
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