Carolyn A. Virtue: Liquor store workers get hazardous duty pay but not health care providers?

To The Daily Sun,

Governor Chris Sununu issued an emergency order giving the state Liquor Commission’s retail employees a temporary 10 percent raise because of COVID-19 due to higher exposure risks than other state employees. While I’m still trying to understand why liquor stores are essential. . . 

Please consider N.H.’s Health Care Workers. N.H.; citizens on the front lines of this epidemic who deliver care to those in need through a full spectrum of providers. Our hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, case managers, home health care providers, the majority of the them, have NOT benefited from provider rate increases anywhere near 10 percent in the last 20 years. These workers did not sign up for the risk they are taking. They did NOT sign up to work without adequate personal protective equipment. They did NOT sign up to work in a system which has been woefully inadequately staffed due to years of underfunding. But everyday, the New Hampshire citizen’s who are the members of our health care teams show up to fight their part of this battle.

Many other states have requested and received waivers from CMS to increase provider rates. N.H. should do the same.

Maybe if the liquor stores closed we would not have needed an additional $600,000 for the domestic violence centers. Stop ignoring the real heroes!

Carolyn A. Virtue

Canterbury