Twenty-Second Community Health Advisory Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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weekly message from the director...
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Good Data is Very important
If you're a regular reader of the VMRC Health Advisory, you know that we report to you, every week, the numbers of how many people we serve that have been diagnosed with COVID-19. We pay close attention to the impact on the general public because the more impacted our health care system is locally the harder it is for them to care for everyone, and many of our consumers suffer greatly when they get the virus, and those who have died went quickly with very few warnings of the seriousness of their diagnosis. If you or your family has a positive test of COVID-19 please let your regional center service coordinator know. This information will be kept private, but there is some additional support our regional center can provide. We also need to know because we report this information to the state every day. The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) can provide regional centers additional support if large surges happen by getting more Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the region. If you are a service provider it is important to let us know if any of your staff are testing positive, and for you to work closely with us so we can get you the support you need.
We are also studying closely the settings that people are getting this virus, what we have done to prevent the spread, and how we helped these individuals and the people around them, as well as what more we can do. So far, throughout the regional center system statewide, about half of the positive COVID-19 cases occur in the licensed residential settings. When you consider that only 20% of the people we serve live in these settings the number becomes alarming. The good news, though, is that this is the one area where the service providers, regional centers, and licensing authorities all have some oversight and ability to put in place lifesaving health and safety measures. Consumers and families also have some ability to ensure their choices are honored and that they can still remain connected to one another. The regional center has a responsibility to maintain a service network with a sustainable capacity to support people with disabilities, and yet people with disabilities have the right like everyone else to pursue happiness and joy in their life. In normal times these perspectives are not difficult to hold simultaneous, but in times like these it will take extra patience and kindness with each other. Strict health and safety rules to protect people with disabilities must be adhered to, and every effort needs to be made to ensure people with disabilities are prevented from social isolation from their friends and family.
This directive gave Valley Mountain Regional Center an opportunity to establish an array of services that people with disabilities can choose, schedule, and supervise. They can utilize their own Direct Support Professionals to provide the following services:
1. Respite
2. Day Care
3. Transportation
4. Nursing
5. Day Services
6. Personal Assistance
7. Independent Living Skills
8. Supported Employment
Tony Anderson
Executive Director
Valley Mountain Regional Center
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Case Management Update
Local Schools Will Start with Virtual Learning
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “Back to School” will look different this year. Schools will be starting soon using Virtual Distance Learning. Due to varying school start dates within the VMRC area, the supportive services you have had in your home during normal school hours over the past few months will be honored and continue through August. We ask that you contact your school district to determine the distance learning needs for your child as soon as possible. During the month of August, your VMRC Service Coordinator will confirm that you have spoken to the district regarding additional support for your child. We need to confirm offers or denials made by the school district or county regarding additional staffing/supports for the consumer before approving additional VMRC services beyond August 31st.
If you have not spoken to the school district you will need to do so before we can extend or approve additional support services such as day care, personal assistance, or respite effective September 1st. If your child requires additional support during distance learning, please request those supports (such as a 1:1) through the school district. If your child does not need 1:1 support or additional support but the family is required to provide support during distance learning, VMRC may provide some of those additional support needs. Your Service Coordinator will assist you through that process after we have the confirmed information from your school district.
Was Your Stimulus Payment Lost?
If you should have received a stimulus payment during the first stimulus phase but have not, you can check this website
https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment
to see if you were eligible. The IRS indicates that if you have misplaced the check, you can call 800-919-9835.
If you have already tried to call the IRS number, but to no avail, you can submit IRS Form 3911, which you can find on
https://www.irs.gov/
. That completed form will start the process to track lost stimulus checks. If you threw
the debit card away or think it was lost or stolen, you can get a free replacement by calling 800-240-8100 (option 2 from the main menu). You do not need to know your card number to request a replacement but will be required to provide your Social Security number.
PG&E Power Safety Shutoffs
Wildfire season is upon us and it is always a good idea to be prepared. Update your contact information to be sure you get notified of a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).
“Meet and Greet” Zoom Today
Valley Mountain Regional Center invites you to a free Self-Determination (SD) Informational Gathering session today, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Financial Management Services (FMS), Person-Centered Planners, and Independent Facilitators will be presenting important information for those interested in pursuing SDP.
Password: 864928
Stanislaus Virtual Book Club
The Stanislaus County Library is offering a virtual book club for children on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM on Facebook.
Videos will be kept on Facebook for 24 hours before they are deleted. So, you can watch at your leisure.
facebook.com/StanislausCountyLibrary/
A Giant Thank You
Valley Mountain Regional Center (VMRC) would like to take the opportunity to again thank Father Mark Wagner and Lori Freitas from Presentation Food Pantry for their continued support and collaboration with VMRC. Food bags provided to our consumers and families in need during this difficult time has been much appreciated. Since starting our collaboration with Presentation Food Pantry, the regional center has been able to deliver food bags to more than 65 families per month. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with this very generous community partner.
SJ Farmer’s Market Guide
The San Joaquin County Public Health Services Nutrition Education & Obesity Prevention (NEOP), a CalFresh Healthy Living Program, compiled the
2020 Farmers’ Markets Guide
for San Joaquin County
as a quick & easy reference for the community to a great variety of fresh, nutritious & affordable fruits & vegetables.
Family Support Zoom Meetings
Our Cultural Specialist, Gaby Lopez, recommends that we encourage our families to continue to explore some of these resources available to our consumers and their families.
Vamos a Platicar (Let’s talk) UC Davis Mind Institute, Centro de Recursos,
Vamos a Platicar meets every Thursday at 7:00 pm and provides Zoom meetings with topics on how to support families during this difficult time. Ph. (916) 703-0439
Cindy Mix
Director of Consumer Services
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Clinical Update
COVID-19 is staying in the community longer than expected. And the longer it stays with us, the more we know about it. Recent studies show that after one has recovered from mild COVID-19, one is not totally over it. Symptoms linger even after 2-3 weeks among healthy 18-34 year olds who had no underlying medical conditions.
[1]
And 4 out of 10 Americans are at risk for severe COVID-19.
[2]
This is due to the fact that 40% of Americans have at least one underlying medical condition such as obesity, diabetes, COPD, heart disease and chronic kidney disease.
One way to help identify if someone is getting worse from COVID-19 is to use a pulse oximeter. Using 92% as cut off for monitoring oxygen saturation will help identify those that may need hospitalization.
[3]
With the mandate to wear masks in our state, which type of mask is effective? Of course surgical/procedure masks are better than cloth coverings, and having a cloth covering is better than no covering. Furthermore, a single layer cloth covering is good at reducing droplet spread when speaking, but for sneezing and coughing, a double layer is better.
[4]
It is then recommended that home-made masks have at least 3-layers to be effective.
While FDA reiterates warning against alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing the harmful substance methanol
[5]
, Moderna announced their Phase 3 Clinical Trial in developing the vaccine against COVID-19.
[6]
At VMRC, we have created
a guide for outdoor meetings
with service coordinators to help support our consumers. Our hope is to ensure the health and safety of our consumers and service coordinators while they agree to meet in a safe environment.
My continued hope is for all of you to be safe and healthy at all times by wearing masks when outside your home, staying more than 6 feet away from individuals not part of your household, wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face. Yes, COVID-19 is in our community, but with us, the community, working together as one, we will emerge victoriously in the end.
Claire B. Lazaro, MSN, RN, NP, PHN, CCRN, FNP-C
Clinical Director
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Education/Early Start/OT and Intake Update
Education
As we start school with distance learning in most of our VMRC counties, our Education Specialist, Olivia Held would like to share the following resources with you:
This link takes you to a list of multiple different resource links:
This is what the website says: This
is a non-comprehensive list of publishers offering free distance learning resources. At the URL listed, users can learn about the specific resources available as publishers continue to expand their offerings. Districts are not mandated to utilize only state-adopted instructional materials, and many classrooms utilize a network of resources.
In this list below, educators and parents/guardians may discover the individual resources they want for a particular need:
CAPTAIN has a lot of resources for parents...below are links in English and Spanish:
Early Start
Our VMRC Early Start Service Coordinators continue to contact all families in order to determine needs. We moved to distance intervention and distance IFSP meetings at the beginning of shelter in and this method continues to be our primary contact and service modality for most of our Early Start children. I’m amazed by the work of our staff and vendors who have stepped up to the plate during this time.
OT Services
OT clinics are happening virtually so that we can meet the needs of our consumers. We are seeing a huge impact from serving families and consumers in this manner. Working parents and providers are able to attend OT clinic because it is more convenient. Thank you Juanita Lazar and Brittney Coleman for your dedication to your work!
Intake
Although intake numbers are down dramatically across the state, we are edging up a little in the mountain counties. A huge shout out to Melisa Oldeen, Jeff Trail and Marlene Juarez for outreach follow-up! We have worked hard in all five counties to streamline intake procedures. Thank you Kazu Enoki and Lynda Macabales for developing intake procedures, fidelity checks and for keeping the ball moving in unprecented times.
Tara Sisemore-Hester
Assistant Director, Clinical Services
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North Valley Hills Update
Dena Hernandez, Regional Manager
Now might be a good time to think about YOUR or your family member’s future!
Please check out these informative and FREE resources from the
Future Planning:
It’s Possible
and
Necessary
Thinking about a child's future after their parent is gone is hard for most people. For the parents of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD), the topic can be so daunting that it can feel impossible to broach. The result? Families all over the country shelve this conversation as long as possible. But the COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder that planning can't wait.
Future planning is creating a guide for a person with I/DD to lead a good life as independently as possible. Planning for the future—after a parent or caregiver is no longer able to provide support—is important and possible for all families.
Do you know what a future plan looks like?
The Arc's Center for Future Planning offers free resources to help self-advocates, families, professionals, and others tackle all aspects of future planning, including housing, finances, employment, support services, and more.
As you start to think about what a plan might look like or how you can help others plan, we encourage you to explore the following resources:
When you're ready to start building a plan
, use our
free tool
, which will guide you through each step of the process.
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Self-Advocacy Council 6
Lisa Utsey - Self Advocacy Council 6 chairperson invites you to join the SAC6
Friday CHATS!
With so much happening because of the virus SAC6 wants to hear how you are doing and share information so we can all get through this together!
Health and Wellness
Join us on a SAC6 ZOOM CHAT!!
Let’s Check In with each other!
WHEN
: Friday July 31st, 2020
TIME
: 11:00am-12:00pm
WHERE
: ZOOM- computer, tablet, cell phone
The next SAC6 CHAT:
·
Friday, July 31, 2020 - Voting - How to do it? Why do it? Where do I do it? - Disability Rights CA/Office of Clients' Rights Advocacy
Join Zoom Meeting on your computer, tablet or phone
Meeting ID: 989 8567 1780
Password: 588860
You must enter the Password or you can call in:
TOLL FREE NUMBER TO CALL IN:
· 888 475 4499 US Toll-free or
· 877 853 5257 US Toll-free
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Five County Data Update
as of July 31, 2020
San Joaquin County
- 11,342 total positive cases and 151 deaths
- 3,868 cases in the last 14 days with a 12.6% testing positive rate
- 274 current hospitalizations
- 13% of ICU beds available and 59% of ventilators available
Stanislaus County
- 8,754 total positive cases and 104 deaths
- 2,968 cases in the last 14 days with a 13.5% testing positive rate
- 248 current hospitalizations
- 20% of ICU beds available and 52% of ventilators available
Tuolumne County
- 134 total positive cases and 2 deaths
- 50 cases in the last 14 days with a 2.3% testing positive rate
- 1 current hospitalization
- 33% of ICU beds available and 83% of ventilators available
Calaveras County
- 108 total positive cases and 1 death
- 32 cases in the last 14 days with a 2.8% testing positive rate
- 1 current hospitalization
- 75% of ICU beds available and 100% of ventilators available
Amador County
- 115 total positive cases
- 36 cases in the last 14 days with a 3.4% testing positive rate
- 0 current hospitalizations
- 17% of ICU beds available and 75% of ventilators available
State of California
- 492,937 total positive cases and 9,019 deaths
Valley Mountain Regional Center
- 77 positive consumer cases and 5 deaths
- 5 positive staff cases
- 1 positive volunteer case
- 37 positive provider cases
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Local County, State and National Public Health Resources
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