Even if girl consented, this was not an affair
Regarding the June 11 story headlined “Police: Girl’s family turned in teacher”:
Please know the difference between an “affair” and “consensual sex,” and the alleged molestation of a 15-year-old student by a grown teacher, twice her age. I am hopeful that whoever wrote this article will realize this and be more sensitive and up to date as to what police say went on between these two individuals.
Someone should explain to the writer what these words mean and how they do not apply in this case. I can possibly, if I stretch it enough, understand “consensual,” if it means the girl was not attacked physically, but she is not capable of understanding what it meant to consent, not being an adult. Please educate the staff on this type of crime.
These types of words make it seem more acceptable than it is; it is never acceptable or an affair.
ó Janet Dennis
China Grove
Medicaid cuts hit home care
At Bayada Nurses, we are concerned about the N.C. Legislature’s proposed cuts for a program that provides desperately needed services for some of the state’s most vulnerable and poorest citizens.
The Senate’s budget includes a $55 million cut to the Medicaid Personal Care Services (PCS) program, which provides home care to over 36,000 people in North Carolina, including the frail, the elderly and children with profound physical and developmental disabilities. In addition, the PCS program supports the economy by offering employment for 20,000 home health aides throughout the state. Members of the N.C. House, who are working on their budget, have proposed a $49 million cut to the PCS program. State cuts to the PCS program will also result in the loss of federally matched dollars, bringing the total funds lost to $160 million.
The average cost to care for each individual in the PCS program is $750 per month. Compare that figure to the cost of facility-based care, which can total as much as $1,700 to $3,000 per month.
Aides help with bathing, dressing, feeding, toileting, medication reminders and getting around. Without this help, many of the people in the program would be forced to enter facility-based care, or to manage on their own.
Without the PCS program, the frail and elderly could experience an increase in falls or accidentally take the wrong medication. In addition, without help with feeding and meal preparation, they are at risk for nutritional deficiencies or dehydration, or a worsening of chronic conditions like diabetes. This could result in a significant increase in hospital emergency room visits, putting further strain on the state’s healthcare resources.
On behalf of all of the people who benefit from the PCS program, I implore our legislators to raise revenue from other sources and restore money back into health and human services so that these massive cuts can be prevented.
ó Shawn Widrick
Salisbury
Widrick is director of the Bayada Nurses office in Salisbury.