Fifty-First
Community Health Advisory Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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weekly message from the Executive Director
By the Numbers
Last week we reported 25 consumers tested positive for COVID-19 and this week we saw a drop to 18, and overall we saw a 10% reduction in all reported cases across the system, which makes this our second week in a row seeing a reduction in positive cases. This week one of our counties, Calaveras County, moved from the Purple Tier to the Red Tier, which means they can now open restaurants and movie theaters at 25% capacity. Some of the other counties have gotten closer to the 7 cases per 100K requirement, but none have reached that mark yet, and when they do they must maintain that rate for three weeks before moving to the next tier. This is great news, but please remember, don't let your guard down. Over 200 Californians are still dying every day, and in our region alone 11 people passed away last week, and 1 of them was our consumer (we missed that reporting last week). With so much hope in sight there is still a lot of work to do, and we are still living with this dangerous virus. California has about 28% of the population vaccinated, but as Dr. Anthony Fauci has indicated, it will take anywhere from 70-90% of the population to achieve immunity.
A lot of our providers are preparing for reopening their programs and this is exciting to hear. They have submitted "safe return" policies and procedures to licensing entities and their VMRC liaisons preparing for the day when they can begin their modified reopens. Reopening will include safe return plans, local public health input, individual program and service plans, and lifted restrictions as indicated by the Blue Print for a Safer Economy.
Vaccination Update
Throughout this week's Health Advisory, you will see there has been tremendous activity regarding the vaccinations for our consumers. Claire Lazaro, our Clinical Director, is covering new CDC guidance for vaccinated individuals, and additional vaccination resources and Cindy Mix, our Director of Consumer Services, will be providing an update on the letters we're sending out to assist our consumers in getting their vaccinations. Last week I reported that the Newsom administration has set aside 40% of vaccines for zip codes that have a low "Healthy Places Index" (HPI) as a way of to achieve vaccine equity. We have been informed that we will be working with our county officials and Blue Shield to help coordinate dedicated vaccination clinics for our consumers who live in these low HPI zip codes.
Message to Staff
With so many people getting their vaccinations, and some counties reopening their businesses to the public, we know many are wondering what that means for our offices and your work conditions. Recently, the CDC released a guidance for fully vaccinated people (see Clinical Director’s section below), and while it is true many protocols for visiting your family have been relaxed, it does not include indoor offices, and it specifically excludes healthcare settings. The guidance warns against visits with someone who is not vaccinated and has a vulnerable health condition or lives with someone with a vulnerable health condition. It also recommends using the safety precautions of wearing a mask, physical distancing, doing an outdoor meeting instead of indoor, and hand washing. The guidance is applicable to visits from one household to another and does not apply to workplaces.
Part of the CDC guidance is an emphasis on what fully vaccinated individuals should continue to do. These are to:
· Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing
· Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
· Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
· Avoid medium-and large-sized in-person gatherings
· Follow guidance issued by individual employers
· Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations
Having said that, our office re-opening plan is still the same. Our plan follows the tiers as assigned by the California Department of Public Health. The state is planning on updating their tiers to include vaccination status of each county. When that happens, our senior leadership will discuss and update our office re-opening plan. For now, we want our staff to continue following the safety precautions in place in all our offices. That includes temperature check and sign-in at assigned entrance doors every time you enter the building, using the assigned exit doors for going out of the building, using the assigned stairwells for going up and for going down, physical distancing, wearing masks, and hand washing or hand sanitizing. VMRC will continue the enhanced cleaning schedule and HEPA filter replacements, and we will remain closed to the public until the county health officials where the building is located indicates otherwise.
Similarly, quarantine measures are still to be followed. Per CDC guidance, if you are a fully vaccinated health care worker, you should continue to quarantine for 14 days when exposed to someone suspected of or confirmed with COVID-19. Our staff are considered health care workers, and one of the reasons we got the vaccine under Phase 1a. As such, we need to follow the CDC recommendation for healthcare workers.
Furthermore, the CDC, the State of California, and the California Department of Public Health has not changed their travel advisory. CDPH is still advising Californians to avoid non-essential travel more than 120 miles from their residence, or to other states or countries. Individuals returning from out of state or out of the country travel must quarantine for 10 days after arrival. We will update you with any changes on our office re-opening policy. This is not the time to let our guard down. Our state and local counties are on the right path to COVID-19 recovery, but we are not there yet. We still need to continue practicing all the safety precautions we have been following for a year now to continue the path to recovery. Please continue to stay safe and healthy as we all look forward to the days when we can get together to support each other and be with our consumers, families, providers, and community partners in service to people with disabilities in our region.
COVID-19 Testing
VMRC will be hosting another COVID-19 drive through testing event at our Stockton office (702 N. Aurora Street, Stockton, CA 95202) next Thursday, March 18th, from 9am - 11am. Registration is required and we will send out the registration link via email, our website, and social media this coming Monday, March 15th. We encourage anyone who may have been exposed to register for the event and come get tested.
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Tony Anderson
Executive Director
Valley Mountain Regional Center
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Case Management Update
Vaccination Eligibility Outreach
The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) has issued a Directive for Regional Centers to contact consumers ages 16 through 64 regarding eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination. VMRC has been directed to conduct outreach to, and make contact with, regional center consumers ages 16 through 64 who are not already known to be vaccinated, their family or conservator, or with the administrator of their licensed residential facility.
VMRC is sending personalized letters to all individuals served who are over 16 years of age. The letters are being mailed out by end of day today, so they should be received early next week, at the latest. We have identified 5,423 letters going out in English and 865 Spanish letters that will be processed. These letters will be proof of eligibility to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when available. Individuals with developmental and other disabilities will be given vaccine priority, beginning March 15.
To view the entire department directive for more information:
In Tuolumne County, VMRC staff successfully reached out to all eligible consumers wanting the vaccines as the county allotted time for our consumers on March 11. Upon contact and screening, it was determined that 54 individuals would have their 1st round of vaccines on March 11. For those not available on that date, the county reserved a slot for them on March 16.
And, starting next week, Calaveras County consumers can sign up for clinics at Frogtown through My Turn (https://myturn.ca.gov). Our San Andreas office Service Coordinators are in the process of notifying consumers of this opportunity. Having a letter from a medical provider or the letter from DDS will be accepted but will need to be accompanied with some form of photo ID or other verification if possible.
Self-Determination Conference in April
Disability Voices United (DVU) will be holding a statewide virtual conference about California’s Self-Determination Program (SDP) in April. The event, “All In for Self-Determination” will be held April 16-18. Join self-advocates, family members, independent facilitators, FMSs, regional center staff, service providers, advocates, and anyone else interested in the SDP.
The conference will include keynote speeches by key leaders in California, panels of self-determination experts, and numerous breakout sessions for beginner, intermediate, and advanced self-determined individuals and their supporters.
The conference will take place on an innovative platform that gives conference attendees the ability to network with other participants as well as virtually visit all of the “booths” in our Expo which will include FMSs, independent facilitators, service providers, and advocates who can help you get started in your self-determination journey.
Conference registration includes access to the conference platform and participation in all sessions and Expo plus a conference T-shirt and the Thinking Outside the Box manual, which will be mailed in advance.
All current SDP participants can register, with DVU invoicing your FMS. All other consumers and families interested, please register and indicate VMRC; billing will occur through agreement with DVU. Contact your Service Coordinator with any questions.
Registration is available at the following link:
Chasnoff Webinar on April 21
A virtual training titled “Living in an Anxious World: COVID-19, Substance Misuse, and the Impact on Families” will be held on Wednesday, April 21 from 9am to 3pm. The information will be presented by Dr. Ira Chasnoff, and two members of his NTI Upstream’s training faculty.
The presenter will examine the effects of isolation and rising anxiety in Central California and its impact on family functioning and, most especially, its effects on service providers as they work to prevent and intervene in child abuse and neglect related to substance abuse in pregnancy and the family.
Registration is required. Go to:
Ira J. Chasnoff, M.D. is an award-winning author, researcher and lecturer. He is president of NTI Upstream and a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine in Chicago. He is one of the nation's leading researchers in the field of child development and the effects of maternal alcohol and drug use on the newborn infant and child. Chasnoff’ s most recent work focuses on community approaches to the integration of behavioral health services into primary health care for women and children and the occurrence of co-occurring mental health disorders in children who have been exposed to alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, and other drugs.
Jerrard’s “Artism”
Some good things are happening during the pandemic. Jerrard Degala who has autism and a Northern California connection loves to draw and create art. In fact, those around him refer to his ability as “artism”. He was featured in a local news spot because of his extraordinary talent. During the past year, he has accelerated his love for drawing and is now holding art displays at his favorite burger joint and producing coloring books for retail sales.
He is selling his coloring book on Amazon for $12. Proceeds for the book will be donated to the Autism Speaks organization. Linda Payang, a local VMRC vendor purchased 20 books and has generously donated them to VMRC for distribution. We applaud Jerrard and those who support him.
To learn more about Jerrard, his art and his journey, you can access through the links below. If you are interested in purchasing the coloring book, the link to his Amazon product is also included.
Color My Artist
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Cindy Mix
Director of Consumer Services
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Clinical Update
COVID-19 has been her for a year now and has cost us more than 530,000 American lives. Almost 1 in 5 Americans know someone that died of COVID-19, be it a family member, friend, or relative.[1] But despite this grim reality, I am thankful to the wonderful individuals that have stepped up and went an extra mile during this time – friends, family members, co-workers, first responders, healthcare workers, community workers, everyone in the community who believed that we are all in this together.
I am especially grateful to the partnership and collaboration we had with our local county public health offices, the counties of Amador, Calaveras, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne. They have assisted our consumers, families, vendors, and staff during this vaccination period and have coordinated with us on how we can assist the individuals we serve. A special shout out to Amador County, who have vaccinated our consumer, Patrick Demetrus, an Amador County resident, living independently. He got vaccinated last week, way earlier than the March 15th date we are all waiting for our consumers living independently. And some of our independently living consumers got vaccinated yesterday at Tuolumne County. This is truly an example of the community working together, collaborating, for the good of each other.
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With the state and the whole nation trying to ramp up the vaccination efforts to reach underserved communities, there will be pop-up clinics in communities with the lowest Healthy Place Index (HPI) scores and that includes San Joaquin County. The state has also expanded the vaccine access by having more vaccine providers in the form of Health care providers, pharmacies, local health departments and the statewide vaccinator network -https://myturn.ca.gov/ with eight languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Japanese. It also has a phone hotline: 1-833-422-4255 or 1-833-4CA-4ALL (M-F 8AM-8PM, Sa-Su 8AM-5PM).[1] More details on this FACT SHEET: Vaccines for People with High-Risk Medical Conditions or Disabilities.
More so, CVS Pharmacy has announced that it has added 119 sites in California and partnered with Target to help increase the vaccine distribution in the state.[2] This CVS expansion includes Stanislaus County.
A lot of people have been made aware of the new guideline that CDC has released with regards to fully vaccinated individuals.[3] This new guideline defined what fully vaccinated means: more than or equal to 2 weeks after one has received his/her second dose of a 2-dose mRNA vaccine, or more than or equal to 2 weeks after receiving the Janssen (J&J) vaccine. To clarify, this is for small household gatherings. This is not for medium to large size gatherings with multiple families. It is not for offices that are in an enclosed building with workers from multiple households. This CDC guidance does not affect the VMRC office re-opening plan. We are continuing to follow the infection control measures that has been in place before.
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To give a better perspective of the new CDC guideline, I have included here an illustration from CDC website. The new guideline wants people to consider not just the vaccination status of a person, but also if that person is high risk for severe COVID-19, OR if that unvaccinated person lives with someone who is high risk for severe COVID-19. Not using any prevention method such as mask is only recommended if the unvaccinated individual is low risk for severe COVID-19 AND does not live with someone who is high-risk for severe COVID-19. It is also recommended only for 2 households. If it is 3 or more households, even with low risks for severe COVID-19, individuals should continue to wear masks, practice 6 feet physical distancing, choose well ventilated areas, and hand washing. Vaccinated individuals are advised to continue following these safety precautions.
Our state and country are on the right track to recovery. But in order to continue in this track, we also must continue doing our part in practicing all the safety precautions. Hoping everyone will continue to be safe and healthy.
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Claire B. Lazaro, MSN, RN, NP, PHN, FNP-C
Director of Clinical Services
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Community Services Department Updates
Quality Assurance News
The Quality Assurance Department is offering Special Incident Report Training for vendors on March 24th from 1-4 p.m. and on March 29th from 9-12 a.m. Attendance is limited. If interested watch your e-mail for registration information.
Weekly Residential Informational Session hosted by VMRC’s Community Services Department EVERY FRIDAY at 9:00 a.m.
Meeting ID: 912 0489 6749
Residential providers are invited to join to learn about important changes and trends as it relates to the COVID pandemic
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Day Program Information Session in partnership with Community Care Licensing (Adult & Senior Care) to be held via ZOOM on Monday March 15thth from 10-11:30 a.m.
Zoom Meeting Link for VMRC Day Program Providers ONLY
Home and Community Based Services
If your program has been selected by DDS to participate in a virtual site visit to evaluate compliance with HCBS regulations, the virtual site visits will be completed by a 3rd party vendor contracted by the Centers for Medicaid Services (CMS). The 3rd party vendor will be contacting you directly to schedule your virtual site visit. DDS has requested that we provide updated contact information for all selected vendors. If you have been selected, please provide VMRC with the following information no later than Friday, March 12th at 5:00pm to Anna Sims ASims@vmrc.net.
1. Contact Person/Administrator Name (this should be the person most familiar with your agency’s compliance with HCBS regulations)
2. Phone Number
3. Email Address
Resource Development
VMRC has awarded the service provision of our Community Crisis Home (VMRC CRDP 2021) for Children to Y.A.I. (Young Adult Institute, Inc.)
This exciting project is expected to be operational by Fall 2021. We are excited to partner with Y.A.I. ; to learn more about them https://www.yai.org/about.
The Community Services Department
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This toolkit is a practical guide to support early care and education, foster care, home visiting, mental health and other family serving agencies to implement or refine a high-quality approach to embedding developmental screening and linkage within their programs and organizations. It elevates best practices from First 5 LA’s First Connections initiative that promotes innovative approaches for community-based providers to embed developmental screening and strengthen referral processes within their practices since 2014.
This Learning Collaborative is open to all First 5 members and other stakeholders in early childhood. Please feel free to share this with your contacts in childcare, home visiting, mental health and others.
Intake
Our intake numbers are increasing in San Joaquin and our mountain counties. We continue our outreach project so that we can increase Early Start referrals. Information regarding our services for children birth to 5 has been disseminated to our community partners, physicians, etc. so that we can make sure that all children that may be eligible for this important service has the opportunity.
Early Start
Early Start Service Coordinators have reached out to families to ensure that their needs are met during the pandemic. They have worked incredibly hard during the past year to ensure that important services are provided based on the Individual Family Service Plan for each child.
Education
As schools start to reopen it is important to families that their child is prepared for this change in routine. Please look at this link from Autism Speaks that discusses ways to help your child be prepared.
The plan to reopen schools continues to be an everchanging matter and the CA Safe Schools for All website https://schools.covid19.ca.gov/ is an amazing resource for families during this time. The website provides access to interactive maps that show district, charter, and private school's current reopening status. The maps are continuously updated and have a grid that shows whether the area selected is holding in-person, hybrid, or distance learning. The maps are also broken down into elementary, middle, and high school options so families can get a better idea of the status of their child's school, no matter the grade level. The website also has links to the summary, rationale, and science behind California's Safe Schools for All plan. Additional links that can be found on the website include information on vaccines for K-12 staff, comparing the recent CDC guidelines and existing CA guidance, FAQs, school centered testing, and access to the Virtual Training Academy (training and webinars).
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Tara Sisemore-Hester
Assistant Director of Clinical Services
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Remembering Kathleen
The VMRC family sadly lost Kathleen Desmond recently. Kathleen’s family was gracious enough to make a very generous donation to our Popplewell Fund with the following message:
“Kathleen Desmond and her family would like to make this contribution to the Popplewell Fund in order to thank the Valley Mountain Regional Center and its many years of service and dedication to Kathleen. Her life was given much joy and purpose through your engaging programming and passionate and caring staff. We miss Kathleen very much and take comfort in knowing that many others like her will benefit and thrive under Valley Mountain Regional Center’s care, just like she did for many years!”
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The James R. Popplewell Fund
The Popplewell Fund was created in 2012 to both honor the much beloved Dr. James R. Popplewell and provide a special fund to pay for emergency expenses our consumers face that the Lanterman Act does not allow regional centers to pay for. Sometimes our consumers are faced with emergency expenses that threaten their ability to maintain community living and a short term no interest loan or a small gift helps them sustain themselves during these hard times.
To learn more about the Popplewell Fund, please see our website.
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North Valley Hills Update
Dena Hernandez, Regional Manager
Join us for an Independent Facilitator Brainstorming Session.
You can scan the QR code or you can follow this link for the English Session.
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Go to www.scdd.ca.gov to learn more and see events happening across the state!
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Update from Family Resource Network |
Family Resource Network (FRN) continues to assist consumers and families with Project DATA registration to provide devices and internet services to those in need. Please see the flyer for more information or contact the FRN office for assistance at 209-472-3674.
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The Diaper Distribution Event on Saturday, March 27th is accepting requests for diapers. Child must have a special need and live in San Joaquin County to participate. The event is by invitation only, registration is required, and supplies are limited. Please see details on the flyer.
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Lisa Culley
Executive Director
Family Resource Network
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Self-Advocacy Council 6 (SAC6)
Join SAC6 for Our Weekly Chat!
Let’s Check In with each other!
WHEN: Friday March 12, 2021
TIME: 11:00 AM -12:15 PM
WHERE: ZOOM - computer, tablet, cell phone
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 939 0856 0514
Passcode: 713436 (MUST ENTER PASSCODE) OR you can call in:
TOLL FREE NUMBER TO CALL IN 877 853 5257 US Toll-free
Topic: How to Use Technology with Doug Bonnet of VMRC and Project DATA with Lisa Culley of Family Resource Network
ALSO at each CHAT: A VMRC update by Tony Anderson Executive Director and a Mental Health Tip of the Day by Dr. Dave Demetral!
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Five County Data Update
as of March 11, 2021
San Joaquin County
· 67,817 total positive cases and 1210 deaths
· 11.2 new cases per 100,000 people and 4.4% positivity rate (Widespread/Purple....Most Restrictive)
Stanislaus County
· 51,468 total positive cases and 963 deaths
· 13.6 new cases per 100,000 people and 5.3% positivity rate (Widespread/Purple....Most Restrictive)
Tuolumne County
· 3989 total positive cases and 59 deaths
· 7.9 new cases per 100,000 people and 3.4% positivity rate (Widespread/Purple....Most Restrictive)
Calaveras County
· 1941 total positive cases and 50 deaths
· 4.8 new cases per 100,000 people and 2.4% positivity rate (Substantial/Red....2nd Most Restrictive)
Amador County
· 1622 total positive cases and 36 deaths
· 10.4 new cases per 100,000 people and 2.5% positivity rate (Widespread/Purple....Most Restrictive)
State of California
· 3,613,719 total positive cases and 55,066 deaths
· 8.1 new cases per 100,000 people and 2.8% positivity rate
Valley Mountain Regional Center
· 691 positive consumer cases and 24 deaths
· 34 positive VMRC staff cases
· 4 positive volunteer case
· 277 positive provider cases and 1 death
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Local County, State and National Public Health Resources |
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