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Sept. 4-10
Physician Shortage?
Did your family doctor retire or close up shop? Having trouble finding a new one? Using urgent care rather than a primary physician? Quarterbacking your own results from health care specialists? If any of that sounds like you, you’re not alone. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, we are at a tipping point with respect to access and use of primary care physicians.
The primary care physician was once the quarterback of health care delivery. He or she built the relationship with the patient, coordinated the results from specialists, and provided health care services for the variety of illnesses big and small over the years.
Now, the percentage of doctors in primary care roles – family physicians, internists and general practitioners – is anywhere from 12% to 25% depending on the source of data you use. They are also not evenly distributed.
New Jersey has a better ratio of primary care doctors to permanent population than does the nation as a whole, but counties in the Garden State vary greatly in access to these non-specialist physicians. Cape May County ranks 17th out of 21 counties in the ratio of primary care doctors to population – a statistic made potentially worse when one considers that the county has the highest percentage of population 65 years of age and older.
Large numbers of individuals are no longer relying on that special relationship with a primary doctor and are instead using urgent care settings for non-specialist care, a move both caused by the shortage and contributing to the shortage. The American Association of Medical Colleges says the problem is bound to get worse.
Cape May County already lost in-county maternity services. Now, the numbers suggest many in the county have resigned themselves to using urgent care facilities, or what some call retail clinics, for primary care. The downside we are told is you become the sole person responsible for coordinating your overall health.
Retail Weed
Recreational cannabis has taken a long time in coming to Cape May County, but it may be here soon. A cannabis retail shop is preparing to open, perhaps as early as this month, on Sunset Boulevard in West Cape May.
Hoping for a cut of the action, Middle Township adopted a new ordinance that increases from one to two the number of cannabis retail shops the township will allow. The ordinance also permits space in ordinary commercial districts for such businesses as long as the location is a sufficient distance from a church or school.
In Cape May County, West Cape May, Lower and Middle townships and Woodbine have opened their borders to one or another form of cannabis business. Some local police have come out as opposed to legal weed.
What does the experience elsewhere tell us about what we might expect? The reports are a mixed bag, with something in them to support those in favor or those opposed to the hosting of a cannabis retail establishment.
One peer-reviewed journal study argues that it found home values in the immediate vicinity of a dispensary decreased by 3% to 4% over surrounding areas and that while major crime rates did not change, there was a rise in what the study called nuisance crime.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says the opposite, arguing that legalizing marijuana helps property values, although it does not speak to homes specifically near dispensaries. The NAR does note that with marijuana still criminalized at the federal level, many financial institutions are reticent to get involved with the emerging industry. That leaves the cannabis industry as a largely cash-based business, which NAR says “can be challenging for both business owners and communities.”
One further study, a bit dated, showed statistics from states that were early endorsers of legal cannabis. It showed home prices in general rising, but that a slight majority of potential buyers (54%) were unwilling to buy a property within 1 mile of a dispensary.
A Stockton poll from April had legal weed users giving high marks (69%) to licensed dispensaries in the state. The biggest negative, and the factor that keeps some using illegal sources, was the high price of legal cannabis.
Short-Term Rentals
This week, a surprise greeted the announcement by Airbnb that the most family visits in New Jersey were booked in Lower Township. No disrespect to the township, but one might have predicted Ocean City, “America’s Greatest Family Resort,” or Cape May, with its National Landmark status, or even Long Beach Island as examples of better known destinations.
What the selection showed is that short-term rentals (STR) are thriving in a variety of locations. Lower Township adopted a short-term rental tax just in time for summer 2023. It’s a tax, up to 3%, that comes state approved for any municipality that opts to impose it.
The short-term rental boom during and immediately following the pandemic opened up new areas of travel and positively impacted home sales as investors sought to capitalize on the emerging industry. Municipalities chased after the rapidly growing phenomenon with regulations to ensure safety and inspections and to garner revenue.
Travel company Skift says in a July report the market may be suffering from oversaturation of rental options. Skift says, “There are opportunities in this market, but it now needs more thought and you cannot wake up and decide to do it.”
Short-term rental market tracking company AirDNA said it expected 2023 to be a year of “mature performance.” That may be a nice way of saying the frenzied boom period for short-term rentals could be over. The numbers will tell the tale soon.
Happenings
Michael Voll announced his retirement as Cape May city manager at the end of 2023. Voll served as Middle Township mayor for 16 years and as township administrator in Lower Township before coming to Cape May.
The former clerk in Stone Harbor filed an $800,000 tort claim against the borough, Aug. 29. The claim argues she was subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.
Crime took no holiday as a Rio Grande man was arrested for possession of a loaded shotgun, a Bayonne man was detained for allegedly groping a teen in the ocean, and a vehicle stop in the Crest resulted in charges for drug possession and child endangerment.
Police identified the father who died saving his stepdaughter at an unguarded beach. This comes as warnings intensify over fears of strong rip currents caused by major storms out at sea.
Atlantic City Electric’s regional president held a virtual session to assure residents and businesses in the Wildwoods that the utility is fully committed to providing safe and reliable service. This follows three outages since early July that negatively impacted Five Mile Island in the middle of its high season.
Cape May seeks to have the National Park Service endorse its efforts to commemorate the contributions African Americans made to the city’s National Landmark Status.
The parking ticket barrage slows but continues in Stone Harbor, with the public promised a full review prior to the start of the 2024 season.
Middle Township may know more about the fate of its decision to bar large electronic billboards when oral arguments are heard Oct. 6 in a suit brought by an outdoor advertiser against the township.
Wildwood saw a record home sale when a bayside property near the border with Wildwood Crest sold for $3.2 million.
Concerned Citizens of Whitesboro celebrated their 35th anniversary at their recent annual reunion. Pastor Aaron Campbell took a moment to recognize the baby boomer generation for “showing mainstream America how a generation can pave the way for change.”
Stone Harbor must decide what to do next with a triplex on Third Avenue that the borough bought, intending its three units as affordable housing. The property must either be elevated due to flood requirements or demolished and rebuilt.
A Little Free Library in Cape May has given away more than 1,000 children’s books this summer. The book collection was a product of a 32-year teaching career.
Spout Off of the Week
Wildwood Crest – Thank you to the Wildwood Crest resident who found the envelope with my paycheck in it, after it had accidentally fallen out of my pocket, and came to my door to return it to me. It’s great to live in a borough where folks care enough to do the right thing by their neighbors.
Read more spouts at spoutoff.capemaycountyherald.com.
