“One size does not fit all,” said Gov. Newsom at a press conference yesterday addressing mounting evidence that more African Americans are dying from COVID-19 complications than any other race across the United States and here in California.
“We are disaggregating the data to break things down — on hospitalizations, ICUs and the death rates. We have gotten preliminary data back on that, but we are waiting to get all the data before I make it public and present it. I want it to be accurate. But that is being broken down in real time.”
The governor says the state plans to dig up the numbers on disparities in testing as well, “to make sure all communities in California are being tested.”
From all indications, early evidence shows Black people are dying at a disproportionate rate from the coronavirus. That is what data from a handful of states revealed. Numbers show African Americans are more likely to experience novel coronavirus complications from hospitalizations to death. Black people are also less likely to have health insurance compared to their White counterparts.
And despite the national campaign to “Stay Home and Save Lives,” a recent report from the National Bureau of Economic Research has found that working from home is not an option for most people.
Democratic lawmakers, including Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass), have joined advocates in calling on state and federal leaders to release demographic information about people infected with and dying from COVID-19.
Los Angeles County released figures amid a national conversation on how COVID-19 is affecting racial groups differently. The city’s racial breakdown of coronavirus deaths shows the majority of people who died were White or Latino. However, Black people accounted for a disproportionate 17 percent of the deaths while making up 9 percent of the population.
Across the nation, states including New Jersey, North Carolina, and Illinois have released numbers that reveal racial disparities as well. Illinois, for example, reports that African Americans account for 42 percent of 380 deaths. That jumps to 70 percent in Chicago, a hotspot where cases are concentrated.
In Michigan, Black people make up 41 percent of the deaths but only 14 percent of the population. Louisiana reports a staggering 582 deaths, most were Black.
“It’s not that they’re getting infected more often. It’s that when they do get infected with their underlying medical conditions: diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma — those are the kind of things that wind them up in the ICU and ultimately death,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci during Tuesday’s White House briefing on the federal response to the pandemic.
The nation’s top infectious disease doctor says the coronavirus is magnifying health disparities that “have always existed” between Whites and African Americans. “It is shining a bright light on how unacceptable that is because, yes, again when you have a situation like the coronavirus, they’re suffering disproportionately.”
Dr. Fauci says the efforts to limit health care disparities should resume after this global crisis.
“There is nothing we can do about it right now except to give them the best possible care to avoid complications,” he said.
Back in California, Newsom says the state’s COVID-19 Testing Task Force will address health equity as it relates to COVID-19.
“The disparities on testing are a point of obvious and real concern,” he said.
Newsom’s task force includes Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever African-American woman Surgeon General.
Harris says she researches the cause of health disparities, “because of the true and unfortunate history of medical maltreatment of different groups of people, but especially African Americans in the United States.
“There are real issues of trust between the African American community and the health care system,” she said.
Newsom says as the state scales up testing efforts he wants to make sure resources reach underserved communities, “to make sure we’re in East Palo Alto, East LA, East Oakland and other parts of this state, and making sure that we do justice to the prism as it relates to race and ethnicity as well as making sure that geographically needs are met.”
Newsom has not offered details about how the state will address disparities if presented. He also did not give a timeline for the release of data specific to race.
Advocates say this information is needed to pinpoint the source of racial disparities and to ultimately better protect vulnerable communities.
As governors and mayors across North America order the shutdown of bars, restaurants, and gathering events, cannabis stores are experiencing a dramatic surge in sales that started over the weekend and now continues into the work week. (Leafly has an updated page tracking store closures, openings, and new delivery allowances.)
Consumers are stocking up now, eyeing their potential future over in Europe, where some nations have closed all retail outlets except food stores and pharmacies.
On Saturday, Boston’s WGBH broadcast images of customers lining up outside New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Brookline, one of the few licensed cannabis stores operating in Massachusetts. WGBH’s Tori Bedford reported:
In Brookline, marijuana dispensary New England Treatment Access has eliminated all walk-in orders due to a high volume of customers and will now only serve customers who place orders in advance. “In light of the current environment, we will remain open,” an announcement on the NETA website reads, “but will move to Reserve Ahead only starting on Saturday.”
Inside the Brookline store, employees wear latex gloves, and bottles of hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray sit beside each checkout station. The process is efficient, a quick in-and-out, as compared to the massive lines seen snaking around the parking lot of the shop in the past few days, according to NETA employees.
Later Sunday, Boston Mayor Mary Walsh imposed new restrictions on the city’s bars and restaurants. Those establishments will have to cut their capacity in half, and close by 11pm every night. As of now, there are no unusual restrictions on cannabis stores.
Also Sunday, the governors of Ohio and Illinois ordered all bars and restaurants closed. By mid-day Monday, similar orders had been issued in too many states to mention.
Stores moving to pre-order and pickup only
In Chicago, MOCA dispensary has gone medical-only, discontinuing adult-use sales.
On Seattle, Have A Heart is limiting the number of customers allowed in stores at any given time. All online orders get 10% off.
On Monday morning, Higher Leaf stores in Kirkland and Bellevue, WA, went to a mandatory pre-order system. “We will also be limiting the number of customers in the store so as to maintain a safe distance between people,” the store announced.
California sales spiking
In California, delivery services and stores report 4/20 and Black Friday-style sales volume has arrived early this year, thanks to COVID-19.
Overall, delivery services are doing brisk business as people socially isolate. Statewide delivery service Ganja Goddess Delivers reports month over month sales traffic spiking first 20%, then 50%. The California Delivery Alliance reports sales are way up across all the states 200 or so licensed delivery services.
In San Jose, Airfield Supply Co. announced free delivery and has experienced a 100% increase in sales in the last two days.
At the brick & mortar level, The Farmacy retail stores are seeing less of a bump than delivery services, but still double-digit percentage increases.
The Green Cross adult-use cannabis store in San Francisco reports many shoppers buying up to the legal limit (one ounce) in California. Up from just a few shoppers prepping last week.
Over at Harborside in Oakland, owners asked customers Monday to use their delivery service, as well as online order ahead options.
Writer and editor Lindsey Bartlett sent out this tweet from an Orange County store on Saturday:
At one of the few dispensaries in Orange County, it is slammed. There are about 20 people (the allotment allowed into the room) in line. And more outside.
This is usually a busy dispensary but at this hour, it’s 10x the amount of people you usually see. Staff is wearing gloves.
A statewide shutdown of non-essential businesses, ordered on Tuesday afternoon by Gov. Steve Sisolak, sparked a run on cannabis stores on Wednesday morning. Here’s the scene:
The cannabis data experts over at Headset have been tracking the surge. They report:
Sales of Adult Use cannabis in WA were up 23% on Friday, 14% on Saturday, and 33% on Sunday (over prior week). This was driven by a modest increase in total baskets (about 6% increase in tickets) and a large increase in average basket. Average baskets on Sunday were $33.70 before taxes, up 22% over the prior week and 28% compared to baskets in Jan and Feb of this year.
Update: Dutch coffeehouses still open for takeout
In cities across the Netherlands, consumers lined up outside that nation’s famous coffeehouses to stock up on supplies before a nationwide shutdown took effect on Sunday. The government had announced that all cafés and coffeeshops must close at 6pm until April 6.
Our friends at VOC Nederland retweeted this video of customers lined up outside a coffeehouse in the Dutch city of Groningen:
Twintig minuten voor zes uur: “Om zes uur gaan alle #coffeeshops dicht”
But wait! On Monday morning, the Dutch government revised its order and allowed coffeehouses to remain open for takeaway orders only. Government ministers realized a ramp-up of illicit trade could be a greater public health hazard than regulated retail.
Shopping tips during COVID
Use licensed delivery—if available—in your area.
Use Leafly Pickup to order ahead, and save time in-store.
Go early when the store opens to decrease exposure to others.
Keep six to nine feet apart from others.
Consider personal protective equipment like gloves, masks, and goggles when in enclosed spaces—like stores—with strangers. (Remember to discard that equipment afterward, and decontaminate, so as not to bring contamination inside your home.)
Much print has been devoted to adverse relationships between school districts and charter schools. However, good positive partnerships that benefit thousands of children have also been formed.
The San Bernardino City Unified School District announced that “In light of Governor Newson’s order for all California residents to stay at home, … all schools will remain closed until May 1. We are glad to inform you that SBCUSD will provide grab and go meal service for children Monday through Friday during spring break, which begins March 23rd and ends April 3rd”.
Everyone was excited, however, the unionized Nutrition Services of the school district could not fulfill that promise. The California Charter School Association, and representative Fatima Cristerna-Adams, stepped up to the challenge. Steve Holguin, representative for Better 4 You Meals, was contacted. Holguin then called Dwaine Radden, CEO of the PAL Center and PAL Charter Academy (PCA) asking if PCA would be the San Bernardino hub for the distribution of food. Mr. Radden replied, “Yes, we have a moral obligation to make sure students and families in the community have food to eat”. Charter schools to the rescue.
The PAL Charter Academy’s two sites – 1691 N. Sierra Way in San Bernardino, and 2450 Blake Street in Muscoy – were mobilized by PCA Community Coordinator, Edward Brantley, along with four District schools to feed over 3,000 students per day. The third charter school site was provided by Options for Youth at 985 South E Street, Suite A.
Better 4 You Meals, that provide daily lunches at the PAL Charter Academy, has provided well over 400,000 breakfasts and lunches throughout California since the statewide school closures began, according to Holguin.
The next time that charter schools are criticized, please think of the void filled, and the thousands of children and families fed, because of the efforts of the California Charter Schools Association and their local affiliates. It took a village to feed the children.
Florida’s undercount in the 2010 census lost the state about $20 billion in federal dollars in the last decade, according to foundation executive Susan Racher. That money translates not only into missed funding for hundreds of social service programs and capital improvements, it also is likely to affect the state’s ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nonprofits, foundations and other agencies have been working hard to avoid a repeat of the undercount in this year’s census. On March 24, activists, community organizers and career census professionals described their concerns and strategies in an online ethnic media telebriefing sponsored by Ethnic Media Services., the Walter H. Coulter Foundation, Miami Foundation, and the Leadership Conference Education Fund, among others.
Susan Racher, vice president of the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, described how the lost billions would have helped Florida fund 325 programs that rely on some percentage of federal revenue to serve the state’s residents — subsidized meals for school children from low-income families, housing and school construction, and funds to expand and improve hospitals, to name a few.
The bitter reality of scarce medical supplies, equipment, resources, and insufficient hospital staff to meet the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic could be a dire example of the undercount’s effect. One of Racher’s graphs citing figures from the Urban Institute showed that Florida drew down only about 10% of the funds it expended on its health and hospital sector from federal contributions, relying on its own coffers to cover most of the 90% balance.
An estimated 1.4 million Florida residents went uncounted in the 2010 census, and their per capita federal dollar returned to the state never arrived. Yet Florida — America’s fourth largest state by population and one experiencing phenomenal growth in several of its ethnic communities — hasn’t contributed state funding to encourage its residents to participate in the 2020 census.
The probability of another significant undercount spurred community-based organizations and philanthropies in Florida to intensify their efforts to educate the public about the census. Their optimism has been tempered by the yet unmeasurable drag the pandemic will have on their initiatives and the Census Bureau’s performance.
“The coronavirus quarantine has impeded outreach, but not crippled it,” said Lindsey Linzer, senior director of programs and grants administration for the Miami Foundation, describing the work of the Miami-Dade Counts 2020 Collaborative, an entity that formed in 2018 and grew out of her foundation’s resources and contacts.
“We partnered with 29 grantee organizations to do outreach, to do canvassing, to get the message out at early childhood education centers, at schools and universities, at health care centers to help them embed census messaging in everything that they were doing,” Linzer said.
Margaret Sanchez, NALEO Educational Fund regional census manager for South Florida, pointed out that in the last census, “450,000 Latino kids were not counted in the United States.” Of those, 18,000 were in Miami and 6,000 in Broward County, she said.
NALEO has been addressing immigrants’ concerns about the kinds of questions asked on the census forum, Sanchez said. Of the nine questions, none touch on the respondent’s documented or undocumented legal status, yet unfounded rumors and beliefs persist throughout the Latino and other immigrant communities that a question about citizenship status is included — despite a judicial ruling prohibiting its addition to this year’s census form.
Sanchez said NALEO’s imperative is to educate communities about the census and its value to their daily lives through the programs that census dollars fund: “We have to make sure they become conscious that this is an important issue.”
Toward that goal, social media postings and a new communication toolkit for organizations needing additional resources to strengthen their community outreach are available from NALEO. Sanchez said the toolkit has various applications, from in-person training to webinar training, instructions on how to produce posters about the census for placement in highly visible locations like grocery stores, plus counsel on how to best use social media platforms.
Telebriefing participants concurred that while social media has become invaluable in improving public awareness, other bedrock issues impeding census participation may require different skills and resources.
Among newer Asian American immigrants, cultural customs and government distrust may hinder civic and census participation, said Winnie Tang, president of Florida Asian Services. Her organization is engaged with a burgeoning Asian American and Pacific Islander presence, including immigrants from India, the Philippines and China.
Florida’s Asian population increased more than 70% between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, Tang reported, but three counties — Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade —- contain a third of the Florida’s Asian American population. The state’s Asian American population of 400,000 in the 2010 census now is estimated to have grown to 741,000.
Generally speaking, Tang said, poor English language skills often exist among the immigrant elderly, a formidable barrier for many in whether they choose to participate in census education activities and the census itself.
Marilyn Stephens, U.S. Census Bureau assistant regional census manager, acknowledged that the size and diversity of Florida’s foreign-born population complicates attempts to get a complete count.
However, concerns about whether the Census Bureau can share a respondent’s personal information are addressed by Title 13 of the U.S. Code. Any census employee knowingly violating the confidentiality of an individual who has submitted personal information to the Census Bureau faces stringent laws exist that levy fines and possible jail time. Personal information is sealed and can’t be shared with other agencies or made public for 72 years.
But there is an exception to the 72-year moratorium, Stephens pointed out, which is a compelling reason for why everyone should be counted in the census.
“One thing I’d like to say, especially to the immigrant communities, is that you’ll be able to get your personal information if you need it,” Stephens said.
She described a woman trying to qualify for Social Security benefits who couldn’t prove the dates or duration of her life in America. The solution was form BC-600. Through the Census Bureau’s age-search program, it can document that a person was in the U.S. and when the person responded to the census during those years.
“With that document, you can get entitlements, you can get a passport,” Stephens explained. “You can literally put your life back together.”
She reminded attendees that Hurricanes Rita and Katrina victims, displaced from their homes, often lost all ways to identify themselves because their property and belongings had been destroyed. “So for immigrant communities, the census becomes very important. During the Reagan administration, for the amnesty program, people used that [BC-600] to prove that they had been in the United States for a certain length of time.”
Still, distrust of government intentions and practices persist in South Florida’s ethnic communities, said Emmanuela Jean-Etienne, advocacy coordinator for the Urban League in Broward County. Her organization reaches about 11,000 people through door-to-door canvassing and other activities in African American neighborhoods as well as in those whose residents are predominantly of Haitian and Caribbean descent — census tracts among those deemed hard to count because of their low census response rate.
“Most people are distrustful about sharing information,” Jean-Etienne said. “We get common responses — this won’t make a difference in their community; they don’t see what the changes are [from the last census.]” But she submitted that being engaged at the grassroots level is the best way to dissolve distrust. “We found that when we make it local, people are more trusting and have said that they’re more likely to fill out the census because we’re speaking from a place of integrity.”
That sentiment captured the media’s importance in increasing the census count.
“The media is a major, trusted voice,” the Census Bureau’s Stephens said. “In many of our communities, they rely on you for information.”
The Edison Scholars Program recognizes students who want to be makers of tomorrow — the dreamers, inventors, guardians and pioneers — those who dare to be great.
Each year, Edison International awards $40,000 college scholarships to 30 high school seniors to help them follow their dreams in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) and empower them to change the world.
This is a chance for students with big dreams to advance their education and take part in shaping a brighter future.
The Details
Here’s the rundown of requirements:
Must be a high school senior with at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA, plan to pursue studies in the STEM fields at a four-year accredited college or university and show financial need.
Eligible STEM majors include computer and information systems, engineering, engineering technology, management information systems, mathematics, natural resources and conservation and physical sciences.
SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that provides additional support for older adults and vulnerable young children.
The order will allow for a 60-day waiver for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program caseworkers to continue their work and be able to care for older adults, as well as individuals with disabilities.
A copy of the Governor’s executive order can be found here and the text of the order can be found here.
Learn more about the state’s ongoing COVID-19 response efforts here. Visit covid19.ca.gov for critical steps Californians can take to stay healthy, and resources available to those impacted by the outbreak.
LOS ANGELES, CA— Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the establishment of the Los Angeles Surge Hospital, a temporary facility in Los Angeles that will expand access to additional beds and expand ICU capacity for patients who contract COVID-19. Dignity Health and Kaiser Permanente will partner with the State of California and the County of Los Angeles to open the facility, which will be located on the campus of the former St. Vincent Medical Center in central Los Angeles.
Last month, under his Declaration of State Emergency and Executive Order, Governor Newsom authorized the leasing of facilities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the recently closed St. Vincent Medical Center. The hospital will create additional inpatient capacity in the community to treat the expected surge of patients with COVID-19 in the coming weeks. The facility will operate as a dedicated referral hospital and will not have an emergency room or accept walk-in patients. The County of Los Angeles’ Department of Health Services will play a critical role in coordinating intake and transfer requests from hospitals across the County.
The Los Angeles Surge Hospital is expected to open April 13. It will open in phases, ramping up to accept more patients as physicians and staff are hired and supplies and equipment are secured, up to a projected capacity of 266 beds when fully operational.
The State of California will fund the hospital and its operations and will be responsible for obtaining all federal and state permits, licenses, and waivers to operate. The State is also responsible for procuring critical equipment and supplies, such as personal protective equipment and ventilators.
Dignity Health and Kaiser Permanente, two of California’s largest not-for-profit healthcare systems, are providing expertise in establishing the Los Angeles Surge Hospital and will oversee management at the facility. Operational support will not diminish either healthcare system’s existing frontline capacity.
Los Angeles County is working with the Governor’s office and contracted health workers to temporarily re-open the recently closed St. Vincent Medical Center to act as a transfer facility for COVID positive patients. (Photo Credit: Los Angeles County)
“LA County has the largest concentration of confirmed COVID-19 cases in California. A time like this demands leadership, partnership, and collaboration—and I applaud my fellow leaders and our community partners who have risen to that challenge with aplomb,” said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “Gov. Newsom’s swift effort to utilize the space at St. Vincent’s, and the collaboration of our private partners to operationalize this along with the Department of Health Services, is a true testament to the strength of our community here in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles Surge Hospital is one component of our county’s comprehensive effort to respond to the need for surge capacity as we come together to serve our community.”
“I applaud Gov. Newsom’s bold and decisive action to temporarily transform the St. Vincent Medical Center into a surge hospital that will help individuals exposed to COVID-19,” said L.A. County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis. “Under my direction, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services will provide transportation, referrals and other support in tandem with Kaiser Permanente and Dignity Health to expedite the opening of this temporary hospital on the St. Vincent campus. Once operational, the facility will serve the region with the primary mission of increasing hospital capacity to care for patients with COVID-19 and helping slow the spread of this pandemic. This facility, located in the heart of my Supervisorial First District, will address our urgent health care needs through this unique public-private partnership among the State of California, LA County, Kaiser Permanente, and Dignity Health. No one stands alone in this critical moment, and I thank each partner for coming together to treat COVID-19 patients and for ensuring our communities remain safe and healthy.”
“The opening of this COVID treatment facility speaks to the power of partnership at a critical moment, united in our shared mission of service to our communities as we confront this pandemic,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS). “We are grateful for the vision and support of the State of California, and the ingenuity and commitment of Kaiser Permanente and Dignity Health to open this medical facility at lighting speed, bolstering the resilience of our County’s healthcare system and our ability to meet the medical needs of those impacted by this terrible virus.”
Los Angeles County is working with the Governor’s office and contracted health workers to temporarily re-open the recently closed St. Vincent Medical Center to act as a transfer facility for COVID positive patients. (Photo Credit: Los Angeles County)
“As we confront an unprecedented public health crisis, we are honored to be able to continue our legacy of service as part of this unique public-private partnership to expand access to additional beds as the COVID-19 threat continues to evolve,” said Lloyd H. Dean – CEO of CommonSpirit Health, which includes Dignity Health hospitals. “More than ever, this is the time for our communities to come together to care for people affected by this disease. We have worked with each of these partners over time, and this groundbreaking collaboration will help meet the urgent demand for health care services in California.”
“Beating this pandemic requires all of us to work together, nimbly and creatively, and there is no better proof of that than our collective work to stand up this surge hospital in a matter of days,” said Greg Adams, Kaiser Permanente’s chairman and CEO. “This temporary hospital will add much needed resources to help us safely meet the needs of an expected surge of patients affected by this pandemic. We are proud to be able to help launch it, and appreciate California’s leadership and collaboration as we look to leverage every resource available to fight COVID-19.”
Julie Sprengel, President of Dignity Health’s Southwest Division, will serve as acting CEO. David Quam, MD, who served in multiple leadership roles for Kaiser Permanente, will be the Chief Medical Officer. Jason Black, RN, formerly of Dignity Health, will be the Chief Nursing Executive. Additional leaders will be selected in the coming days.
Executive Bios:
Julie Sprengel, MBA, RN, Chief Executive Officer
Julie Sprengel, MBA, RN, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles Surge Hospital. Julie currently oversees Dignity Health’s Southwest Division, which encompasses nine acute care hospitals in Southern California and Nevada: California Hospital Medical Center, Community Hospital of San Bernardino, Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center, Northridge Hospital Medical Center, St. Bernardine Medical Center, and St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, and three St. Rose Dominican facilities in Nevada. With nearly 20 years of progressive health care management, Julie’s experience includes operations, strategic planning, financial analysis, and clinical integration. She holds a nursing degree from LAC+USC School of Nursing, a bachelor’s degree in management, and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
David Quam, MD, Chief Medical Officer
David A. Quam, MD, has accepted the role of chief medical officer for the Los Angeles Surge Hospital. The former medical director and chief of staff of Kaiser Permanente San Bernardino County, Dr. Quam most recently served as an assistant executive medical director overseeing the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Laboratory System and the Regional Genetics and Pathology Departments. In addition, he was instrumental in the planning of the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine and participated in Kaiser Permanente’s program-wide Precision Medicine/Genomics efforts. During his career, he has planned and opened multiple medical office buildings and two large hospitals.
Jason Black, RN, DNP, MBA, Chief Nursing Executive
Dr. Black has been named chief nursing executive for the Los Angeles Surge Hospital. Most recently, Dr. Black served as Chief Operating Officer at Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital, where he was accountable for day-to-day operations of the 334-bed facility. Dr. Black’s breadth of experience spans acute care, sub-acute care, and ambulatory care in community medical centers and public hospitals. Previous experience includes serving as chief nursing officer at the West Anaheim Medical Center and as senior director of clinical operations and performance improvement at San Diego-based Scripps Health. Dr. Black holds a doctor of nursing practice from Case Western Reserve University, a master of business administration and a master’s in nursing leadership from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s in nursing from Loma Linda University.
About Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is the second largest municipal health system in the nation. DHS operates as an integrated health system, operating 26 health centers and four acute care hospitals, in addition to providing health care to youth in the juvenile justice system and inmates in the LA County jails. Across the network of DHS’ directly operated clinical sites and through partnerships with community-based clinics, DHS cares for about 750,000 unique patients each year, employs over 22,000 staff, and has an annual operating budget of $6.2 billion.
Through academic affiliations with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU), DHS hospitals are training sites for physicians completing their Graduate Medical Education in nearly every medical specialty and subspecialty. In addition to its direct clinical services, DHS also runs the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency and the County’s 911 emergency response system, as well as Housing for Health and the Office of Diversion and Re-entry, each with a critical role in connecting vulnerable populations, including those released from correctional and institutional settings, to supportive housing.
About Dignity Health
Dignity Health is a multi-state nonprofit network of 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 41 acute care hospitals, and 400-plus care-centers, including community hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. Dignity Health is a part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system committed to advancing health for all people and dedicated to serving the common good. For more information, please visit our website at www.DignityHealth.org.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care and is recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of its members and the communities its serves. Kaiser Permanente currently serve 12.3 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Its experts and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. https://about.kaiserpermanente.org.
About CommonSpirit Health
CommonSpirit Health is a nonprofit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. It was created in February 2019 through the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. CommonSpirit Health is committed to creating healthier communities, delivering exceptional patient care, and ensuring every person has access to quality health care. With its national office in Chicago and a team of approximately 150,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, CommonSpirit Health operates 137 hospitals and more than 1000 care sites across 21 states. In FY 2019, Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health had combined revenues of nearly $29 billion and provided $4.45 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unreimbursed government programs. Learn more at commonspirit.org.
COVID-19 is changing the way we handle everything from work to play to fresh produce and other groceries. With so much uncertainty and anxiety in the air, it’s only natural to wonder whether that perfectly ripe avocado could be a potentially deadly weapon. But what are the actual facts around food safety? Is now a good time to go vegan, and do I really need to be washing my vegetables in soap and water?We consulted the experts. Some useful best practices and myth-busting below.
Do I need to wash fruit and vegetables with soap?
The debate around giving your fruits and veggies a bubble bath blew up last weekfollowing a viral video in which a family doctor from Michigan said soap and water was a good way to keep veggies COVID-19 free, which sounds like it makes sense (treat your honeydew melon as you would your hands). Since then a whole bunch of experts have refuted this advice, many pointing out that of the 1-million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, not a single one has come from contaminated food. Still not convinced?
Okay, there is also this from the FDA: “Washing fruits and vegetables with soap, detergent, or commercial produce wash is not recommended.” Jodi Koberinski, a food safety researcher at the University of Waterloo, agrees, noting that dish soap is likely to cause more problems than it solves including nausea, diarrhea, and cramping. “It is not made for and not safe for human consumption,” she explains.
But what if I rinse everything really well?, you may be thinking. The problem is that fruits and vegetables are porous and may absorb harmful chemicals that won’t come out with even the most rigorous rinse.
Okay, but isn’t a little diarrhea better than contracting COVID-19? First off, nobody said anything about a little diarrhea — you can get really sick, and so can your kids, if you have them. Secondly, that question is based on exactly the kind of false equivalency we need to be avoiding right now (along with bars, playgrounds, and IRL hangs). “Technically, it may be possible to contract COVID-19 from the surface of a piece of fruit,” says Koberinsk, noting that is not the threat that people should be focused on. And also that there’s no evidence that soap and water kills the COVID-19 virus on fruits and vegetables anyway. (Ditto for lemon juice, baking soda, and bleach — whatever you do, please don’t wash your edibles in Clorox.)
In other words, contracting COVID-19 through produce isn’t something you need to stress about. So chill out. And then do the same for your produce, washing them in cold (wan-wan) water, which will remove between 90% and 99% of germs and bacteria. For items with tough skin (avocados, potatoes) you can also use a scrub brush. It’s okay to wash that with soap. Same goes for your hands before and after you handle food of any kind.
Should I quarantine my groceries before I bring them inside?
This one is a little more straight forward: No, there is absolutely no reason to leave groceries outside or in the garage or the car, despite what you may have read on that fountain of misinformation known as the Internet. “This is absolutely not a good idea,” says Koberinski.And, in fact, the potential risks of ignoring best practices around refrigeration (ie, putting things that need to be in the fridge in the fridge) make this behavior not just excessivebut dangerous.
“It’s really important to remember basic food safety,” says Koberinski. “Both because best practices haven’t actually changed much. And also because any kind of sickness may weaken the body’s ability to withstand a truly virulent illness.” (Cough, cough, COVID-19.)
By all means, she says, bring groceries inside when you come home from the store. Place your bags and do your unloading on a surface that you can wipe down — with any alcohol-based cleaning spray — once everything has been put away.
Should I disinfect all the grocery packaging too?
Paranoia around packaging spiked last month after a new study showed that the COVID-19 virus can survive longer on certain surfaces (24-hours on cardboard, up to three days on plastic and stainless steel). So you can go to the hypothetical scenario where an infected grocery shopper has contaminated your box of Cheerios, and use this as justification for sanitizing every bit of packaging that passes your threshold.
Or, you can simplify by washing your hands and surfaces before and after all eating. If that doesn’t feel like enough, Koberinski suggests discarding packages rather than disinfecting. A lot of groceries (like cereal and crackers) have a bag within the box. Others can be stored in homemade jars of Tupperware. That way you’re feeling protected without wasting valuable cleaning products, which is probably the more relevant safety concern, Koberinski says.
What about using a UV light to kill the virus on groceries? That wouldn’t waste cleaning products.
UV lights don’t work, either. In short, because the level of UV required to kill COVID-19 is extremely unsafe.
Is now a good time to go vegetarian? I’ve heard meat holds particular threats.
There are plenty of reasons to consider a plant-based diet, but COVID-19 safety is not one of them. Particular worries around meat may come from the fact that the virus is believed to have originated with animals. But as far as food safety goes, that has zero baring. “Heating meat to the recommended temperature is the recommendation, same as always,” says Koberinski.
What about reheating takeout just to make sure it’s coronavirus-free?
Obviously you want to be careful about all food that is coming into your home, and if you don’t feel secure about food safety practices of a particular restaurant maybe just stick to home cooking, since repeated reheating isn’t safe either.
Is there a problem with being extra cautious?
If by that you mean upping safety measures, and erring on the side of caution, then no. Obviously people have every reason to feel scared and since the grocery store is pretty much the only place anyone’s allowed to go these days (as infrequently as possible), concerns around food safety are something we’re all talking about. That’s a good thing, and if COVID-19 gets us to think more seriously about food safety in the long term, that’s good too, says Koberinski. At the same time, she says, “We don’t want everyone turning into a cartoon version of a germaphobe or shelling out big bucks for bogus miracle cures.” Safety is important, but so are the facts.
Governor also announces COVID-19 Testing Task Force to boost California’s testing capacity
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the launch of a new website, covid19supplies.ca.gov, to get critical medical supplies to the front lines of California’s fight against COVID-19. The website will allow individuals and companies to donate, sell or offer to manufacture 13 of the most essential medical supplies, including ventilators, N95 respirators and testing materials.
Governor Newsom also announced the COVID-19 Testing Task Force, a public-private collaboration that will work with stakeholders across the state to quickly and significantly boost California’s testing capacity. The Task Force plans to scale up testing as demand increases.
“These actions marshal the generosity and innovative spirit of Californians to help us achieve two essential goals: getting more lifesaving supplies into our health care system and increasing our testing capacity,” said Governor Newsom.
Governor Newsom called on companies, organizations and individuals who have medical supplies to contribute, either for donation or purchase, to support California’s response to COVID-19 and visit covid19supplies.ca.gov.
Additionally, three specific collaborations have launched today as part of the testing effort:
Collaboration with the University of California, San Diego and University of California, Davis to establish high throughput testing hubs.
Collaboration with Stanford Medicine to launch the first serology test invented in California.
Collaboration with Abbott Laboratories to deploy the first rapid point-of-care test across 13 health care delivery systems and 75 sites.
The Task Force, co-chaired by California Department of Public Health Assistant Director Charity Dean, M.D., M.P.H. and Blue Shield of California President and CEO Paul Markovich, will ensure the state has sufficient capacity and supplies to administer a significantly greater number of tests.
“The Task Force is connecting with laboratories across California to tap into unique technologies to improve and refine our testing capabilities to ensure we’re meeting the needs of patients across the state,” said Dr. Dean.
The Testing Task Force is focusing on:
Ensuring California has lab capacity to rapidly turn around test results and increase capacity strategically to meet demand;
Improving the supply chain to ensure that California can both collect samples and evaluate results without delay;
Enabling new, high-quality tests to launch in California as soon as possible;
Improving our ability to accurately track and evaluate COVID-19 testing capacity, results and reporting; and
Building the workforce necessary to meet our testing goals.
“The Task Force will work together with California academic systems, private systems, public health experts and others to ensure we’re creating the most streamlined and effective way to evaluate testing data,” Blue Shield of California President and CEO Paul Markovich said. “This kind of public-private collaboration will allow us to tap into the systems needed to get the results California deserves.”
Usually it’s come as you are, but this past Sunday the message to parishioners of African-American churches across the Golden State was tune in online.
Worship houses from Southern California to beyond the Bay Area have been instructed not to hold in-house services for some time due to the novel coronavirus outbreak making its way around the globe.
“We may not be able to touch in the natural but we are connected in the spirit,” the Rev. Jacqueline Thompson, pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, told her parishioners via video stream last Sunday. The 100-year-old congregation is one of the oldest Black churches in the Bay Area.
For Clint Thompson of Santa Monica the governor’s shelter in place order meant abandoning his weekly jaunt to West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles for Sunday service. The popular South Los Angeles church canceled its service and instead live-streamed Bishop Charles E. Blake’s message online. Thompson, a 37-year-old actor, said he watched the service for his weekly inspiration, but noted that he missed sitting in the pews.
“The service is good and its theatrical,” he said. “The music is good, the praise dancing. It feels like a live music festival.”
Thompson isn’t the lone California worshipper who will be catching the gospel online during this time.
Churchgoers across the state are tuning into worship services online via video streaming on their websites or social media pages in response to government officials across the state requesting that church services not convene anytime in the foreseeable future to slow the rapid spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes.
Sermons, choir performances, praise and worship, and other church service mainstays go on as usual. But they happen in front of a handful of worshippers, camera crews and technicians responsible for posting the services online — instead of the dozens to hundreds of people who usually pack California Black church benches on Sunday mornings.
The Rev. Kenneth C. Curry, Jr., pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Yorba Linda, said not preaching in front of hundreds of familiar faces is a strange feeling, but it is an essential one because of the health risks that come with the rapidly spreading respiratory illness. Curry said when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a health emergency that put restrictions on public gatherings larger than 250 people, his church’s services were immediately cancelled. They began taping them for the internet.
“I’ve preached in small groups, but its hard when you are standing in a sanctuary that you know holds 700 people, and you might be preaching to ten, and you are trying to make it feel like Sunday morning, and you’re far from Sunday morning,” he said. “It’s different, but it’s a service that is needed, so I make it happen for my people to the best of my ability.”
Last Sunday, was men’s Sunday at Allen Temple Baptist in Oakland. The members of the men’s chorus performed on stage in a formation that allowed six feet of social distance among them. Each man had his own mic.
“We’re scared right now, lord. We don’t understand what you are doing and we don’t like it,” Thompson, the pastor at Allen Temple, prayed during her Oakland church’s live stream that was broadcast on Facebook and on the church’s website.
“But remind us that you are gracious. Even in the midst of this, thank you for slowing us down and connecting us with family and what is important in this world,” she added.
The spread of the coronavirus, officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, has sickened more than 329,000 people on six continents according to official tallies by governments and health organizations. It has caused the deaths of at least 14,522 people, as of Monday morning.
In the United States, there have been 428 deaths and 33,018 health cases attributed to the illness.
In California, so far, there have been 33 deaths related to COVID-19 and an estimated 1,849 people have tested positive.
The high infection rate of the untreatable virus has changed life across the globe, shuttering businesses, schools, offices, restaurants, sports and entertainment venues and any other places groups of people might gather.
Governments have urged people to stay indoors.
California’s Black churches say they are taking the pandemic seriously by vigorously cleaning their worship houses and closing their doors to the public for regular church activities.
Pastor “J” Edgar Boyd of First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles said in an online statement his church is working on ways for the church body to stay connected through video chats and conference calls.
“Please know that we are praying for the safety, physical wellbeing and spiritual strength for you, your household, and for your entire family,” Boyd wrote.
Curry said no services have taken place at his church since March 15. The church has been streaming its 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. services, and Sunday was the first time they broadcast their Sunday school service, which had about 130 viewers. He said churchgoers watch online messages.
“I don’t care what a church does, even if it is in a minimized form, I think every church has to have some type of online presence,” Curry said. “They will figure out how to watch it. Even if they have to bring their grandkids over to get them online. They will figure out how to access it.”
The pastor hinted at a question some churches will have: How to deal with deaths in church families? One of Curry’s congregants recently died, and another expected to pass soon.
“We have to find a way to figure out how to celebrate that individual’s life,” he said.
Pastor Touré Roberts of The Potter’s House at One L.A. said in his Sunday morning sermon, that it seems like the world has been flipped on its head during the coronavirus emergency, but he saw a silver lining
“There are sometimes it feels like the world wasn’t turned upside down, but it was turned right-side up,” he said. “People are spending more time with their families. People are texting one another and checking on one another. In the midst of all this craziness, it seems we are getting our priorities straight, and I have just come to suspect that God is somewhere in it.”
At Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, a 168-year old African-American congregation, pastor Amos Brown prayed a solemn prayer for those affected by the Coronavirus crisis.
“We pray for those on hospital bed waiting for healing, waiting for medical supplies desperately needed in this time of a pandemic worldwide,” he said.
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