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Julie Kjorsvik From: Dede <dede.utley@sbcglobal.net> Sent: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 11:22 AM To: Brett Wachsmith; Cory Wright; Laura Osiadacz Cc: Kittitas County Commissioners Office Subject: 1/10th of 1% Increase in Sales & Use Tax-public comment 12/7/21 CAUTION:This email originated from outside the Kittitas County network. Do not click links, open attachments, fulfill requests, or follow guidance unless you recognize the sender and have verified the content is safe. Hello Commissioners, My name is Dede Utley and I am a Kittitas County resident residing in District 1 . You have each heard me speak in favor of the 1/10th of 1% Increase in Sales and Use Tax as authorized by RCW 82.14.460, and I continue to voice my support for you to pass it this evening. I am writing in favor as an emergency department nurse who has seen the devastation that mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) can cause. I am writing in favor to help my staff and our partner agencies across the county. As the Nursing Director of the Emergency Department (ED) at Kittitas Valley Healthcare, where I have worked for the last six years, I can let you know we continue to see patients with mental health and SUD complaints daily. The first week of December 2021 has brought us 14 patients in need of services, four under the age of 18. Many of these patients require an extended length of stay in our department as we work with Comprehensive Healthcare to provide the resources they need. We are very thankful for the Crisis Case Managers which have been placed in the ED with your support through the Community Development Block Grant. As you will see in the presentation this evening, this position has already made a difference in our ED. Many vested organizations and community members have been at the table working on ideas and proposals for how funding from this tax can assist our community. Ideas include care for patients in crisis, warm hand-offs between services, and our youth. We are fortunate that grants have been found and obtained for assistance to begin programs both in the ED and in corrections. During this last two years with COVID, care can be more challenging, acuities of all patients are higher, and we are seeing community members in crisis that are more intense. I hear the same story from our partners in law enforcement and EMS. I hear