Governor signs executive order to expand health care workforce and staff at least an additional 50,000 hospital beds needed for the COVID-19 surge

Medical doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, behavioral health scientists, pharmacists, EMTs, medical and administrative assistants, certified nursing assistants all needed

Governor Newsom: “If you have a background in health care, we need your help. Sign up at healthcorps.ca.gov”

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today launched a major new initiative to expand California’s health care workforce and recruit health care professionals to address the COVID-19 surge. Health care professionals with an active license, public health professionals, medical retirees, medical and nursing students, or members of medical disaster response teams in California are all encouraged to join the new California Health Corps.

Interested medical and health care professionals are encouraged to visit healthcorps.ca.gov for more information and to register for the California Health Corps. Medical doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, behavioral health scientists, pharmacists, EMTs, medical and administrative assistants, as well as certified nursing assistants are encouraged to step up and meet this moment to help California respond to the outbreak.

The Governor also signed an executive order that will temporarily expand the health care workforce and allow health care facilities to staff at least an additional 50,000 hospital beds the state needs to treat COVID-19 patients. A copy of the Governor’s executive order can be found here, and the text of the order can be found here.

“California’s health care workers are the heroes of this moment, serving on the front lines in the fight against this disease. To treat the rising number of patients with COVID-19, our state needs more workers in the health care field to join the fight. If you have a background in health care, we need your help. Sign up at healthcorps.ca.gov,” said Governor Newsom.

“Outreach to unemployed health care workers and under-employed foreign medical graduates will help build the workforce needed to fight the pandemic — and also create new opportunities and jobs for Californians struggling with unemployment,” said California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su.

“California must continue to prepare our health care delivery system and make sure it has every resource to respond to a potential surge in COVID-19 patients. California’s most valuable resource is its people and I join the Governor in calling on all medical professionals to join the fight against COVID-19,” said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly.

More ways for Californians to support their communities and request assistance are outlined on the California Volunteers website serve.ca.gov. For more information on the state’s response to COVID-19, visit covid19.ca.gov.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Black PR Wire, Inc., in partnership with Women Grow Strong will present a powerful webinar entitled “Sistas Who Succeed.”  This national webinar is free and open to the public and takes place on Monday, March 30, 2020 from 2 – 3 p.m., ET.

“We are very excited to present this dynamic online event,” says Bernadette Morris, president/CEO of Black PR Wire and Women Grow Strong, Inc. “We have an all-star line-up of successful professional women who are ready to impart powerful and meaningful words of wisdom that will help empower and inspire us all.”

The Sistas Who Succeed webinar will feature a candid conversation from business and community leaders who will share their best practices and success stories on building a successful business; overcoming obstacles and more.  The all-star line-up of presenters include (pictured above, left to right):

Cheryl Procter-Rogers, APR, Fellow, PCC, MBA, MA,Senior Consultant and Certified Master Coach for A Step Ahead PR Consulting and Coaching

Aisha Becker-Burrowes, Manager, PR and Strategic Communications, Essence Communications, Inc.*

(*invited)

Dr. Cheryl L. Holder, MD – Program Director, Florida International University College of Medicine; and Associate Professor

Dr. ML Taylor, Author, Speaker, & Purpose Pusher

Althea Harris, President/CEO, Harris Global, Inc. will present and be the session’s moderator.

-more-

Black PR Wire & Women Grow Strong’s “Sistas Who Succeed” FREE Webinar

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The webinar is free and open to the public, but advanced registration is requested.  To sign up, click the evite link. Once registered, you will receive the calendar evite with the GoTo Meeting link and call in number.

As an added bonus, the first 50 registrants for the webinar will receive a 50% discount on all BPRW services in April and May.  And all additional registrants will receive a 20% discount on all BPRW services as well.

Black PR Wire delivers its clients’ press releases, video and audio news releases, electronic video messages and electronic newsletters to key reporters, writers, and influential grassroots, social and civic community leaders throughout the country.  Black PR Wire also provides specialized services including direct media calls and product placement pitching as well as audio, video and e-newsletter development and distribution. The company’s service center has compiled and owns a comprehensive and continuously updated database of Black media and organizations throughout the country and the Caribbean, and has direct contacts with hundreds of Black and minority media outlets, community, social and civic groups and affiliates nationwide. The company’s database holds a comprehensive listing of over 1,200 Black-owned publications and media and includes a comprehensive listing of key Black journalists throughout the United States and the Caribbean.

Women Grow Strong, Inc., (also known as WINGS for Women in Need Growing Strong), is a not-for-profit support group that serves to help develop, build and sustain women’s contribution, purpose and goals in society.

For more information and to register for the “Sistas Who Succeed” Webinar, call 877-BLACKPR or visit www.blackprwire.com.

WHO:  Black PR Wire and Women Grow Strong present “Sistas Who Succeed” Webinar

WHAT:  A candid conversation from business and community leaders who will share their best practices and success stories on building a successful business; overcoming obstacles and more!

WHEN: Monday, March 30, 2020 ? 2 – 3 p.m. ET

COST:  FREE but advanced registration is required

WHERE:  Click on the link to register (via Evite) http://evite.me/UJ9PfGt3ZH

and the GoToMeeting Link and call in number will be sent to you

FOR MORE INFO:  Contact Black PR Wire at 1-877-BLACKPR

In the time of Coronavirus, the State’s diverse communities are told that participation in the U.S. Census is still crucially important, aside from safe and secure

By Pilar Marrero, Ethnic Media Services

The U.S. Census self-response phase went live on March 12, and civil rights leaders of diverse ethnic groups came together to remind their communities of the many legal and privacy protections guaranteed by federal law for people to participate in the decennial count.

They also encouraged them to continue to “self-respond” by phone, online or mail and outlined the steps they will follow to continue to reach out to hard-to-count communities, addressing at the same time the health emergency of the Covid-19 as an additional challenge in Census 2020.

“We encourage our communities to sanitize and self-respond”, said Jeri Green, 2020 Census Senior Advisor for the National Urban League.

The leaders emphasized that most Americans are now able to self-respond to the Census in the privacy of their own homes without having to meet a Census taker or enumerator. For example, people can go to https://2020census.gov/ and answer nine questions (seven for every person in the household other than the one filling out the questionnaire). They can also respond by phone or in printed form.

Several organizations have mounted massive campaigns to help their communities maximize their participation, given that the data collected by the US Census is used in the distribution of resources, funding of services and political representation through drawing of districts for Congress, State Legislatures, etc.   

Beth Lynk, Census counts campaign Director for The Leadership Conference Education Fund said the Census is “one of the most urgent civil rights issues facing the country and right now every person in the US has a chance to ensure a fair and complete count to all communities”.

Knowing that many in their communities have privacy concerns on the use of the data they will be sharing with the Census, the leaders reminded that the information has extraordinary levels of legal protection.

John Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice pointed to the laws that govern the use of the data given to the U.S. Census Bureau as “the strongest privacy protections allowed in the United States”.

Asian Americans are among the communities where there are many undocumented immigrants and mixed-status households, which creates mistrust towards the government and could affect a complete count. Every person living in the United States by April 1 must be counted, and that includes undocumented immigrants.

“The confidentiality provision known as Title 13 prevents the government from using the Census data for any purpose other than the statistical one”, said Yang. “More importantly, the bureau and its employees are not allowed to share the data with any other government agency or officials for any reason”.  

Certain information gathered by the Census cannot be published for 72 years, such as the name of the individual, business or organization, address or telephone number. Another layer of laws prohibits the use of data in any way against the individual who responded.

Yang pointed to their hotline for the Asian and Pacific Islander Community in several languages as a crucial resource to answer questions: 844-2020-API or 844-2020-0204.

Other communities share the same privacy concern. This is a very important issue in black communities, said Green, of the Urban League, whose 90 affiliates are hard at work reassuring their members of the security of the data and the importance of participation.

“We are fighting to ensure that the black population, including immigrants, lose no ground, be it economic, political or in civil rights”, she emphasized. “The stakes are too high, please go to makeblackcount.org to learn more about our efforts”.

Lycia Maddox, Vice President of External Affairs for the National Congress of American Indians (which also includes Alaska Natives) said that the tribal nations across the country present a special challenge due to restrictions they have imposed on access to their lands, due to the Coronavirus.

“These communities often have no access to online and broadband to self-respond, and these new security measures make it impossible for enumerators to visit them and it delays mail delivery”, Maddox said. “We are as we speak working with different networks to come up with plans, and to increase community outreach and advertising”.

Lizette Escobedo, Census Director for the National Association of Latino and Elected Officials (NALEO) invited Latinos to call the bilingual Spanish-English hotline 877 ELCENSO or 877 352-3672 where there will be live paid operator answering questions and watching for reports of potential scammers or disinformation.

The organization has trained 3500 Census Ambassadors to assist the community in 15 states in filling out the Census and has launched two national campaigns, “Hágase contar and Hazme contar” focused on the larger Latino community and children younger than four, which experienced a large undercount in the 2010 Census.

Additional paid media campaigns will remind people that there is absolutely “NO CITIZENSHIP QUESTION” in the Census and addressing “fears of data privacy and cybersecurity”.

An additional ad campaign targeting Latina Millennials who are English-dominant was launched 2 months ago.

“Ensuring an accurate count seems like a heavier lift as every day happens folks have mentioned, we are committed to working with national local and media partners to do what we can to ensure that Latinos are heard, seen and counted this 2020 census”, she added.

 In the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, organizations are revising the way they conduct the outreach to maintain community safety,

“Several grassroots organizations are moving to phone banks and text banks because the table opportunities are very restrictive right now and we want to exercise caution”, said Yang. “We are also leaving drop off literature in supermarkets, community centers, and clinics”.

Ditas Katague, from the California Complete count office, said that the state of California has spent more than all the other states combined to reach out to the hardest to count populations and ensure everyone participates.

“The investment is unprecedented, a total of 172.2 million dollars and is larger than all other states combined, we are on a league of our own”, said Katague. “We have unique challenges, a diverse population, and a large geographic size. We have 120 partners throughout the state and we are coordinating the largest mobilization of partners in our state´s history”.

The leaders reiterated that their overall goal is that every Californian understands that the Census is not only “safe and secure”, and vital for the future of all the communities. “The goal is to ensure that everyone is invited and able to participate in the 2020 Census”, said Beth Lynk of the Leadership Conference.

“We know that we are all focused on the health of ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities, and with 16 weeks until the scheduled 2020 ESSENCE Festival of Culture, we wanted to provide an update to our community and partners regarding our plans in light of coronavirus/COVID-19.

Our first priority will always be the safety and well-being of our Festival-goers and everyone who contributes to making the ESSENCE Festival of Culture such an enriching, entertaining and incredible experience, and we will continue to evaluate the situation and use all available resources and intelligence to that end. We are closely monitoring the unfolding developments and updated information from the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), public health agencies and our partners in the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana.

Based on the latest information, including increasing public health interventions and measures being implemented domestically and internationally, and the considerable amount of time to assess and respond to developments between now and July, we are planning to proceed with the 2020 ESSENCE Festival of Culture as currently scheduled, July 1-5 in New Orleans. Still, as a precautionary and proactive measure and with health as the foremost consideration, we are also identifying and securing alternate dates to ensure that we can adjust as quickly and seamlessly as possible in the event that circumstances require. Should that happen, we will honor all tickets sold for prior scheduled dates.

In the meantime, we are excited to share more about our daytime empowerment programming and our nighttime concert line-up — including headliners Bruno Mars and Janet Jackson — as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of ESSENCE and look forward to seeing everyone in July.

‘ESSENCE is a multi-cultural, multi-generational treasure in the City of New Orleans and this year, with the return to Ghana, we’ve come full circle,’ said Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Mayor of New Orleans. ‘However, with the commemoration of our past, we must lean on wisdom and sound judgement to shape our future. Public health and public safety will always remain top priorities. As we continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19, know that we are taking every precaution to operate in the best interest of the attendees who make ESSENCE what it is.’

ESSENCE will continue to provide updates to our valued community of Festival-goers and partners regarding any new developments.”

We hope you are staying safe and healthy during this time. As you read on, we wanted to share some resources and information about coronavirus — from symptoms to ways to mitigate the spread of the disease, this is all good to know while we are all working on getting through this.

As you know, Governor Gavin Newsom has called for all Californians to remain indoors except for absolutely necessary reasons like a trip to the pharmacy, a visit to a doctor, or a run to the grocery store to stock up on food.

Folks are safer at home, and by practicing social distancing, we can mitigate the spread of coronavirus. Projections show that more than 50 percent of Californians could contract COVID-19 without taking safety measures as drastic as this — so please be careful and follow the governor’s orders.

There are a lot of great resources out there, including:

LA County’s Department of Public Health’s website

Ventura County Emergency Information website

California’s Coronavirus Response website

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website

If you think you might have coronavirus, contact your health care provider. Local health departments and health care providers determine who needs testing and hospitalization on a case-by-case basis.

Seek treatment by calling your doctor for a phone evaluation if:

• You have difficulty breathing (shortness of breath);
• You feel like symptoms (such as fever and cough) are getting worse rapidly;
• You are unable to care for symptoms at home.

LA County’s Department of Public Health put together this guide on how to cope during this emotionally stressful time:

Manage Your Stress

• Maintain a routine.
• Make time to relax and rest.

Be informed and inform you family

• Become familiar with local medical and mental health resources in your community.
• Give honest, age-appropriate information to children and remember to stay calm; children often feel what you feel.

Connect with your community online or through the phone

• Keep contact with family and friends through social messaging or through phone calls.
• Reach out to neighbors and friends with special needs who may need your help.

Reach Out and Help while maintaining necessary social distancing guidelines

• If you know someone affected by the outbreak, call them to see how they are doing, and remember to keep their confidentiality.
• Consider an act of kindness for those who have been asked to practice social distancing, such as having a meal delivered.

Be sensitive.

• Avoid blaming anyone or assuming someone has the disease because of the way they look or where they or their families come from.
• An infectious disease is not connected to any racial or ethnic group; speak up in kindness when you hear false rumors or negative stereotypes that foster racism and xenophobia.

LOS ANGELES, CA—- Melissa Wyatt is an innovative and forward-thinking serial entrepreneur, real estate developer, coach and mentor who has spent decades honing her skills through multiple startups.  As the powerhouse behind MW Enterprises, LLC, a privately managed and diversified real estate company with holdings in excess of $7mm, and headquartered in Los Angeles, Ms. Wyatt’s  focus includes acquisition, development and management of residential, multifamily, small office, and commercial properties as well as undeveloped land. Her newest land project will pay homage to her grandparents and bringing food resources and solutions to impoverished, resource-scarce communities. 

Melissa offers these tips for landlords and real estate developers. “Now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to show leadership, add stabilization to the market, and ensure that our tenants feel safe and secure in their homes. For tenants, here are a few ways MWE is assisting in this current crisis:

1. Assisting with rent
2. Assisting with medical bills
3. Allowing tenants to pay when they can (being flexible on due dates)
4. Sending positive vibes that everything will be okay soon
5. Letting tenants know if they need something to reach out to us at MW Enterprises LLC so we can try to help”

Check out Melissa’s recent interview in Equity Movement Magazine for more information on how she became a real estate mogul. 

INLAND EMPIRE, CA—- The 2020 Wrightwood Arts & Wine Festival is reaching out to local artists from Southern California to invite participation in its exciting event on Saturday, September, 19, 2020, from 11 a.m.to 6 p.m. Mountain High Ski Resort has joined forces with them as their premier sponsor, which means much more event publicity for artists and their town! More advertising equals more people attending and more sales. Participating Artists will be provided with a 10’x10’ canopy, one 6’ table, two folding chairs, and 50+ promotional postcards to send to their constituents. Booth fees range from $125 – $200. Artists will keep 100% of their sales transactions! Deadline to apply is April 1, 2020.

Artists that are interested may contact Pat Farrell at 760.249.6709 or festival@wrightwoodarts.com to be included on the Festival mailing list.  Or simply complete the artist application which is now available at www.wrightwoodarts.com/festival.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The Community block party scheduled at Ecclesia Christian Fellowship and Hunt Elementary School has been rescheduled to Saturday, August 1, 2020 at 12 p.m. They will; however still give out food on Saturday, March 28 at The Way World Outreach located at 1001 N Arrowhead in San Bernardino from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. If your family is in need, come and grab a bag of FREE groceries.

For more information Call 909-353-7977 visit our web site to volunteer at any capacity call The Way 909-884-7117. Standing on His Word, to God be the Glory.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County (CAPSBC) is asking the public to help them keep Food Bank services responsive to the increased need for food as the coronavirus (COVID-19) impacts our communities. The Food Bank, which receives food from a variety of sources including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and private food donations, makes food available to those in need through 250 community distribution sites and soup kitchens. In 2019, the program served over 50,000 unduplicated households and 150,000 individuals monthly. More than 15 million pounds of food was provided to meet the needs of San Bernardino County’s food-insecure residents in 2019. Partner soup kitchens served over 400,000 meals during the same year.

But that changed with COVID-19.

Under Governor Newsom’s order that all California residents stay at home and non-essential businesses close their doors, the Food Bank remains open as an “essential service.” But they need help from the communities that depend on them to have enough food and volunteers. Several distribution sites have closed due to senior volunteers staying home. As the need for food assistance continues to grow, having distribution sites stay open with people to staff them will become even more crucial.

“Our Food Bank Program is a vital component in the health, well-being, and in some cases, the survival of thousands of residents throughout San Bernardino County,” explained CAPSBC’s President and CEO Patricia Nickols-Butler. “When distribution sites close and supplies at soup kitchens run short, people go hungry. It’s that simple and that devastating for those who depend on the food we provide. We urgently need help from our communities in order to help us provide food where it’s needed most.”

The Food Bank is asking for assistance in three ways: through financial donations, food donations, and volunteering, particularly by groups and organizations. 

“We are taking every precaution during this time to safeguard the health and safety of our volunteers as well as our staff,” said Food Bank Program Manager Brandon Romano. “I can’t emphasize enough how critical volunteers are to our operations, especially in a time of crisis.”

Potential volunteers should contact Xiomara Henriquez-Ortega, Manager of Administrative Support, at 909-723-1525 or email xhenriquez@capsbc.org for more information and to sign up.

Those wishing to make a financial donation can do so at CAPSBC’s website, https://www.capsbc.org/donate.

For information on how to make food donations, contact the Food Bank directly, (909) 723-1581 or email foodbank@capsbc.org.

For additional information about CAPSBC’s programs, including the Food Bank, visit their website at https://www.capsbc.org/ or call 909-723-1500.

The San Bernardino Public Library will be temporarily closed to the public through Sunday, April 5.

Patrons who have library cards can utilize various free online resources and information available at our library’s website www.sbpl.org.

Among the various resources:

• Overdrive – eBooks and eAudiobooks;
• ReferenceUSA – Business and phone directories;
• Brainfuse – Live Homework Help offering assistance for elementary, middle school and adult learners in various subjects via chat almost every day of the year;
• New York Times – Up to 5 full-text articles a month can be viewed;
• Britannica School and Escolar offering information in elementary, middle school and high school modules;
•  Footsteps2Brilliance offering information to promote early literacy;
• R & B Digital Magazines & Audiobooks featuring electronic editions of popular magazines;
• America’s News featuring full-text of newspaper articles including the San Bernardino Sun since 2001.

Materials can be returned to book drops at the libraries. Patrons can also renew materials that are already checked out to them at the library website. Fees will be not charged for materials due starting March 17 until the libraries re-open.

Please check www.sbpl.org for updates. Patrons are encouraged to follow the library on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sbcitylib and Twitter at https://twitter.com/sbcitylibrary. They can also follow the Friends of SBPL at https://www.facebook.com/SBPLfriends/ .