Letter: New Health Care Center, Jail Should be Priority
To the Editor-
We have had a Health Care Center (at times called a nursing home) in Portage County since 1932. For 80 years our community has supported and paid for long term (and end of life) care. And I am glad.
It is time for a new health care facility and a new jail or justice center. Portage County has qualified employees and elected supervisors with financial acumen and foresight to accomplish planning new facilities, ongoing upkeep and staffing. They have all been hired and elected by us.
There are personal benefits for keeping our own local. It means we can bring mom here and see her more frequently, improving her and our own quality of life. There are also important economic benefits for local public services, jobs and employee taxes to our city and county.
There are businesses that provide good health services, but they are unlikely to provide all the same services. There is money in health care, but some services are more profitable than others and if profit is the motive, some of our own may not be served.
I appreciate the taxpayer funded benefits of living in Stevens Point and in Portage County. We are a community with strong values, capable of planning and funding two new facilities and repurposing old buildings with expertise in renewable energy and beautiful design. We get what we pay for, and I feel we get a lot.
Jo Seiser
Stevens Point