Seventieth

Community Health

Advisory Coronavirus (COVID-19)

By the Numbers

This week we reported four more consumers testing positive for COVID-19, and 2 direct support professionals. One thing that is becoming more evident is that since early June, we are seeing younger consumers testing positive with an average age of 17 years old, 5 consumers are under 3 years old, and all but one is living at home with their families. This week on July 19, 2021 the Stanislaus county public health officials reported that only 45% of residents have been vaccinated and the county is calling for masks to be worn indoors even if vaccinated. The next day, Wednesday July 20, 2021, San Joaquin County reported that only 48% of the population has been fully vaccinated and have also recommended wearing masks indoors if around others. Both counties are experiencing a doubling in positive cases in the past week. Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health officer was quoted saying, "We know fully vaccinated people are well protected even from the delta variant and are unlikely to experience severe disease, but they can still get and transmit COVID."

Given the low vaccination rates in our two largest counties (under 50%), our below average vaccinated rate of consumers (27%), and low reported vaccination rate among VMRC employees (30%) and in accordance with the guidance from San Joaquin and Stanislaus County Officials, we will be pushing back our 50% building occupancy date from August to September and we will be requiring all employees to wear masks, even if vaccinated, physically distance themselves and follow the safety precautions in place when in VMRC property and during work hours.

Day Program Prohibitions - The DDS Rescinding Letter

On Wednesday July 21, 2021, the Department of Developmental Services published a notice rescinding their directive prohibiting attendance at day services for people who have high risks health conditions and or live in Adult Residential Facilities for Persons with Special Health Care Needs, Intermediate Care Facilities/Developmentally Disabled-Nursing and -Continuous Nursing. We will no longer have to have planning team meeting to take into consideration overall health status and associated risks. However, the department's new direction does say that day services must be provided in accordance with local county public health orders or recommendations (in Stanislaus County and San Joaquin County the public officials recommend masks in indoor settings) and relevant guidelines issued by the California Department of Social Services and/or California Department of Public Health.  

Tony Anderson

Executive Director

We recently received a message from Pete Cervinka, Chief, Data Analytics and Strategy, from DDS, about a new campaign to "raise awareness and to provide suggestions or strategies for promoting wellness and health and mitigating risk." Pete says you can find these resources on the DDS website in the Health Toolkits: DDS Wellness Toolkit.

Below are their first two Wellness and Health Bulletins:

For Self-Advocates & Families-

·        Identifying & Preventing Urinary Tract Infections

·        Identificar y Prevenir Infecciones del Tracto Urinario (Spanish)

• Pagtukoy at Pag-iwas sa Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) (Tagalog)
• 識別和預防尿路感染（UTI）(Traditional Chinese)
• Xác định và Ngăn ngừa Nhiễm trùng đường tiểu (UTI)(Vietnamese)

For Vendors and DSPs-

·        Identifying & Preventing Urinary Tract Infections

• Identificar y Prevenir Infecciones del Tracto Urinario (Spanish)
• Pagtukoy at Pag-iwas sa Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) (Tagalog)
• 識別和預防尿路感染 (UTI) (Traditional Chinese)
• Xác định và Ngăn ngừa Nhiễm trùng đường tiểu (UTI) Vietnamese

·        Identifying & Preventing Sepsis

• Identificar y Prevenir Sepsis (Spanish)
• Pagtukoy at Pag-iwas sa Sepsis (Tagalog)
• 識別和預防敗血症 (Traditional Chinese)
• Xác định và Ngăn ngừa Nhiễm khuẩn huyết (Vietnamese)

Christine Couch (she, her, hers)

Director of Consumer Services - Adults

Clinical Update

Delta Variant on the Rise!

The SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant is now more than 83% of the cases in our country, per the latest report from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[1]^,[2] It is very aggressive and goes from one person to another way faster than the previous variants.^1,2 About 97% of those hospitalized are those that are not vaccinated.^1,2 The vaccines are effective. The clinical trials and real life data have shown this. But as Dr. Anthony Fauci has emphasized, no vaccine is 100% effective.^1,2 This is the best vaccine modern medicine can offer according to Dr. Walensky.^1,2 Those who are not yet vaccinated, please get your vaccine. Talk to your health care provider, trusted community leaders, and friends about the vaccine. It will protect you and your family, as well as the entire community. Getting the vaccine is how we help stop the pandemic. As Dr. Walensky said, “…We are not out of the woods yet…”^1,2

With a lot of local county public health authorities advising people to wear a mask in indoor places, you may be asking, “Why do I have to wear a mask again if I am already vaccinated?” The reason is because vaccinated people can still get the virus and transfer it to other people. When you are vaccinated, and you get COVID-19, most are asymptomatic, meaning no symptoms, or only has mild symptoms. The vaccine is there to protect you from getting the severe form, from hospitalization and from dying of COVID-19.^1,2 Being vaccinated, the virus won’t affect you much, but you can spread it to other people in the community. Our community has one of the lowest vaccination rates in our state with only between 30-39% of people fully vaccinated, based on the CDC data.[3] Four of our counties has 30-39.9% of its population fully vaccinated, while Tuolumne County has 40-49.9% of their population fully vaccinated. Having this low vaccination rate gives the community more chance to mingle with non-vaccinated individuals and spread the virus more. Mask wearing of vaccinated individuals will help mitigate this process of transmission. This will also give the virus less chance to mutate and create new variants. I say this because the more chance the virus spread and transfer, the more chance it has to mutate and create different variants. As of now, the Delta variant is considered a variant of concern.[4] We do not want to give the chance for the virus to create a Variant of High Consequence – a variant wherein the vaccine is almost not effective and more severe disease and hospitalization than what we have now.⁴ We can avoid this by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in our low vaccination rate community while indoors such as in grocery stores, shops, movie theater and others.[5]^,[6] This additional layer of protection will protect not just you and your family but the entire community.

[1] White House COVID-19 Task Force. July 22, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/07/22/press-briefing-by-white-house-covid-19-response-team-and-public-health-officials-46/

[2] White House COVID-19 Response Team. July, 22, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g2g-XJl-rM

[3] CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker. July 22, 2021. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations-county-view

[4] CDC SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions. July 20, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/variant-info.html

[5] SJC Indoor Mask Recommendation. July 20, 2021. http://www.sjcphs.org/assets/20210721_PR_Rising%20Covid%20Delta%20Cases%20Recommendation%20to%20Mask%20Indoors.pdf

[6] Stan County. July 19, 2021. http://schsa.org/pdf/press-releases/2021/21-27-COVID19-Increase-in-Stanislaus-County-v2.pdf

SANDIS COVID-19 Tracking Data

Delta Variant on the Rise!

The SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant is now more than 83% of the cases in our country, per the latest report from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[1]^,[2] It is very aggressive and goes from one person to another way faster than the previous variants.^1,2 About 97% of those hospitalized are those that are not vaccinated.^1,2 The vaccines are effective. The clinical trials and real life data have shown this. But as Dr. Anthony Fauci has emphasized, no vaccine is 100% effective.^1,2 This is the best vaccine modern medicine can offer according to Dr. Walensky.^1,2 Those who are not yet vaccinated, please get your vaccine. Talk to your health care provider, trusted community leaders, and friends about the vaccine. It will protect you and your family, as well as the entire community. Getting the vaccine is how we help stop the pandemic. As Dr. Walensky said, “…We are not out of the woods yet…”^1,2

With a lot of local county public health authorities advising people to wear a mask in indoor places, you may be asking, “Why do I have to wear a mask again if I am already vaccinated?” The reason is because vaccinated people can still get the virus and transfer it to other people. When you are vaccinated, and you get COVID-19, most are asymptomatic, meaning no symptoms, or only has mild symptoms. The vaccine is there to protect you from getting the severe form, from hospitalization and from dying of COVID-19.^1,2 Being vaccinated, the virus won’t affect you much, but you can spread it to other people in the community. Our community has one of the lowest vaccination rates in our state with only between 30-39% of people fully vaccinated, based on the CDC data.[3] Four of our counties has 30-39.9% of its population fully vaccinated, while Tuolumne County has 40-49.9% of their population fully vaccinated. Having this low vaccination rate gives the community more chance to mingle with non-vaccinated individuals and spread the virus more. Mask wearing of vaccinated individuals will help mitigate this process of transmission. This will also give the virus less chance to mutate and create new variants. I say this because the more chance the virus spread and transfer, the more chance it has to mutate and create different variants. As of now, the Delta variant is considered a variant of concern.[4] We do not want to give the chance for the virus to create a Variant of High Consequence – a variant wherein the vaccine is almost not effective and more severe disease and hospitalization than what we have now.⁴ We can avoid this by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in our low vaccination rate community while indoors such as in grocery stores, shops, movie theater and others.[5]^,[6] This additional layer of protection will protect not just you and your family but the entire community.

[1] White House COVID-19 Task Force. July 22, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/07/22/press-briefing-by-white-house-covid-19-response-team-and-public-health-officials-46/

[2] White House COVID-19 Response Team. July, 22, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g2g-XJl-rM

[3] CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker. July 22, 2021. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations-county-view

[4] CDC SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions. July 20, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/variant-info.html

[5] SJC Indoor Mask Recommendation. July 20, 2021. http://www.sjcphs.org/assets/20210721_PR_Rising%20Covid%20Delta%20Cases%20Recommendation%20to%20Mask%20Indoors.pdf

[6] Stan County. July 19, 2021. http://schsa.org/pdf/press-releases/2021/21-27-COVID19-Increase-in-Stanislaus-County-v2.pdf

Please continue to stay safe and healthy.

Claire B. Lazaro, MSN, RN, NP, PHN, FNP-C

Director of Clinical Services

Community Services Department Updates

Weekly Service Provider Informational Session hosted by VMRC’s Community Services Department EVERY FRIDAY at 9:00 a.m. to Question-and-Answer session about changes, trends and general inquires related to vendored care and providing services

https://zoom.us/j/99862863596 

Meeting ID: 998 6286 3596

Quality Assurance Update:

•    The Letter (attachment 1), (attachment 2, attachment 3) with the letter-

•    standalone Link only Community Care Licensing Resumption of Annual Inspections: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CCLD/PINs/2021/ASC/PIN-21-31-ASC.pdf

Transportation Services:

Transportation Alternative Services

"Beginning August 1, 2021, transportation service providers may submit claims for reimbursement for both Alternative Services and traditional services. The following terms apply:

• For consumers who received Alternative Services, the methodology for calculating the reimbursement amount remains the same and the vendor’s monthly maximum still applies.
• For consumers who received only traditional services for the entire month, the vendor’s traditional reimbursement rate shall be used. These consumers may not be included in the Alternative Services reimbursement calculation for the month to prevent over-billing for the consumer. The reimbursement for traditional services does not need to be factored into the Alternative Services monthly maximum.
• If a consumer received a combination of traditional and Alternative Services within a month, the Alternative Services methodology applies.
• If a vendor is providing both traditional and Alternative Services, any billing for fuel for Alternative Services may not include fuel expenses that were specifically for the delivery of traditional services.

Vendors may need to determine a reasonable approach for claiming the fuel expenses only for Alternative Services and should maintain documentation of the approach used. The Department encourages transportation providers, regional centers and stakeholders to continue to network and evaluate new ways to meet the needs of consumers. Additional support may be requested of the selected Statewide Technical Assistance and Training Agents."

standalone Link: https://www.dds.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DDSDirective_TransportationReimbursement_07222021.pdf

Weekly Service Provider Informational Session hosted by VMRC’s Community Services Department EVERY FRIDAY at 9:00 a.m. to learn about important changes and trends:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/99862863596

Meeting ID: 998 6286 3596

HCBS for Day Program and Employment Services Providers Training

HCBS for Residential Providers Training

Brian L. Bennett

Director Of Community Services

North Valley Hills Update

Dena Hernandez, Regional Manager (209) 473-6930

DDS wants to hear from you!

Are there things you wish you knew when you started regional center services? DDS wants to hear from you!

DDS is creating standardized information packets for families starting regional center services. Share your opinion on what should be included in the packet:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5FPQYQV

For more information or if you are interested in joining a focus group on this, is it: https://www.dds.ca.gov/consumers/new-information-packet/ 

¿Hay cosas que desearía haber sabido al

comenzar servicios del centro regional? DDS

quiere oír sus aportes!

DDS está creando paquetes de información

estandarizados para las familias que inician

servicios con un centro regional. Comparta su

opinión sobre lo que debería incluirse en el

paquete: www.surveymonkey.com/r/9MMWVHC

para más información: https://www.dds.ca.gov/consumers/new-information-packet/

California Foundation on Independent Living (CFILC) is starting their new Smart AT Home series, and their first entry to the series, Accessibility 101, will be at the end of this month on July 27^th at 2:30pm PT. It will build a foundation upon which we will expand into many disability related topics such as, programing your smart home hub to interact properly with your AAC devices, funding opportunities and Environmental controls. This series will occur every other month and will always be free and available to professionals and the general public alike.

They can register for this FREE Smart AT Home webinar at CFILC’s training and events page. 

How to connect to SCDD through Social Media

Family Resource Network Update from

Lisa Culley, Executive Director

PDF Version Here

Join SAC6

Learn about Toxic Stress - What it is and what to do about it! Become Aces Aware!

Presented by: Child Abuse Prevention Council's Gene Hardin, Director, ACEs Aware and José Heredia-Rodriguez, ACEs Aware Project Coordinator

“Adverse Childhood Experiences” are childhood experiences such as physical and emotional abuse, neglect, caregiver mental illness, and household violence.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84268085812?pwd=enByait3VU9XeUx6UmcrWHZPTnpWdz09

Meeting ID: 842 6808 5812

Passcode: 392274

You must enter the Password

OR you can call in:

TOLL FREE NUMBER TO CALL IN

888 475 4499 US Toll-free

877 853 5257 US Toll-free

Also–VMRC Update by Tony Anderson and Mental Health Tip of the Day by Dr. Dave Demetral 

PDF Version of the SAC6 Flyer Here

Update from the Self Determination Advisory Committee

PDF Version of Flyer Here

COVID-19 Update

Valley Mountain Regional Center



·    750 positive consumer cases and 29 deaths

·    34 positive VMRC staff cases

·    4 positive volunteer cases

·    307 positive provider cases and 1 death