Time for a change: The Pierce County sheriff should be appointed | Opinion

Make Pierce sheriff an appointed position

On June 17, the News Tribune described a proposal to make the Pierce County sheriff position appointed and confirmed by the county executive and council, instead of an elected position as it is now. Appointing the sheriff will be a good thing for Pierce County.

The problem with electing the sheriff is the candidate pool. Think about running in this election. You have to live here, run an entire election campaign, and then wait until after the election to see if you have a job. The only people who can run in such an election are already working here in law enforcement. Unfortunately, Pierce County law enforcement is currently languishing in a toxic culture. Swank didn’t win because the majority of voters in Pierce County agree with his philosophy of policing. He won because all of the other candidates were just as bad.

A national candidate search run by the elected county executive and council will do a better job of finding a sheriff who shares the values of the majority of Pierce County voters. A local election with a very limited candidate pool has not. I encourage everyone to vote to approve the appointed sheriff position this November.

Robert Elliott-Steinke, Tacoma

Health care needs compassion

Medicine is in the middle of a transformation. Advances save countless lives, yet the soul of medicine is dying.

Compassionate care, privacy, professional judgment, and time with patients are becoming casualties of efficiency initiatives driven by financial pressure and workforce shortages.

Healthcare providers face relentless pressure to see more patients in less time. Productivity metrics and patient throughput now define success, rather than quality of care and health outcomes. Emergency departments are overcrowded and patients are evaluated and treated in hallways, often with limited privacy and dignity. Practices once considered unacceptable have now become routine.

After over four decades in pediatric medicine, including nearly 25 years as an attending physician at Mary Bridge Children’s Emergency Department, I have witnessed profound changes in the practice of medicine. Many changes have been extraordinary; many have been harmful.

Healthcare systems spend millions on consultants and redesigns, while medical workers and patients are forced to bear the consequences of dysfunctional decisions.

As physicians, we entered medicine to care for people, not to function as production units in a factory assembly line. Efficiency must not come at the expense of compassion, nor should it override professional judgment.

There is no time to wait and see.

Andrea R. Gravatt, Seattle

Behavioral health crisis mounting

Washington State’s behavioral health crisis continues to strain hospitals, first responders, and families seeking care for loved ones with severe mental illness. Closing the Civil Commitment Center at Western State Hospital would only deepen that crisis.

The Civil Commitment Center provides specialized inpatient treatment for individuals who cannot safely care for themselves or who pose a danger to themselves or others. These patients require intensive psychiatric care in a secure, therapeutic setting that community-based services alone cannot provide.

Reducing inpatient capacity would leave fewer treatment options for those in crisis, increase pressure on emergency departments, and place additional burdens on hospitals and behavioral health providers across the state. Most importantly, vulnerable individuals and their families would face even greater barriers to receiving the care they desperately need.

Community-based treatment is essential, but it cannot replace state psychiatric hospitals. A strong behavioral health system requires a full continuum of care, including specialized inpatient treatment for those with the most serious mental illnesses.

Rather than closing the Civil Commitment Center, Washington should preserve this critical resource. Maintaining this facility strengthens the state’s ability to respond to behavioral health crises, supports public safety, and ensures that individuals have access to lifesaving treatment.

Chad Cummings, Spanaway