Daily Archives: March 31, 2021

JOHNSTON Jonathan Whitfield, a pastor at Corinthian Baptist Church in Des Moines, recalled the ice cream truck that would come to neighborhoods with all manner of sweet treats for children. He said it was especially great for families who otherwise may have had a difficult time getting to the store.

Thats the same spirit, Whitfield said, behind an effort to encourage and help Central Iowa minorities to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Somebody might have thought that maybe if I just be intentional about bringing the ice cream to the neighborhood, Ill be able to bring all of those who might want it out of their homes and they will come to the truck, Whitfield said. I think thats what were talking about here with these efforts were just being intentional about bringing what is needed to our community.

A coalition of Central Iowa medical providers, religious entities and nonprofit organizations is working to inform minority communities about the vaccine and to establish large-scale clinics in the communities.

Whitfield and Dr. Yogesh Shah, chief medical officer at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, discussed the efforts Wednesday during Gov. Kim Reynolds news conference on the states pandemic response.

Whitfield said stigma, misinformation, language or cultural differences and mistrust due to historical discrimination contribute to some people being hesitant to seek or accept medical help like vaccines.

These barriers are real, and we have to face these realities. These barriers are as thick as any wall you can imagine because of the historical data that exists in minority communities relative to experiences with our systems, Whitfield said.

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Shah said the partnership between Broadlawns and dozens of other community religious and nonprofit partners, including United Way, Urban Dreams and the Polk County public health department, already has yielded the distribution of 16,500 masks and 11,500 bottles of hand sanitizer to minority communities. Shah said a vaccination clinic scheduled for this weekend in Central Iowa filled 1,000 appointments in 48 hours.

Studies after studies have showed that our ZIP code is more important than our genetic code for health outcomes, Shah said. We need to expand access to our care where people are: in their homes and in their community.

Reynolds praised the effort and said the state stands ready to assist.

Together their unique ability to connect health care and community services with faith communities and trusted leaders of color is what makes this type of outreach work, and its something we hope that we can emulate and do statewide, she said.

Only 1 percent of doses administered in Iowa so far have been to Black individuals, according to state public health data; but 4 percent of Iowas population is Black, according to census data. And 1.7 percent of doses have gone to Hispanic or Latino individuals, while 6.3 percent of the states population is Hispanic or Latino.

Reynolds said those numbers are not likely completely accurate because individuals self-report race and ethnicity when receiving the vaccine, and said nearly 20 percent have reported unknown. However, Reynolds also said the numbers show the state has work to do to reach minority communities, and insisted ensuring equity in distribution and administration of the vaccine is a priority.

Comments: (563) 333-2659; erin.murphy@lee.net

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Coalition working to boost vaccine participation in Iowa minority communities - The Gazette

Update, March 29: Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed the bill into law.

A bill providing COVID-19 liability protections for assisted living communities and other long-term care settings in Florida is on its way to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.

Friday, the Florida House of Representatives passed SB 72, Civil Liability for Damages Related to COVID-19. The vote followed state Senate passage of the bill a week prior. Protections will be effective immediately upon the governors expected signature and are retroactive. The measure does not apply to civil actions filed before the bills effective date.

We are so grateful to the Florida Legislature for recognizing the importance of protecting senior living communities who were operating in good faith during the pandemic, said Gail Matillo, president of the Florida Senior Living Association. Our members worked harder than ever before to protect their residents and staff members. Protecting them from frivolous lawsuits has been our top legislative priority this year.

The legislation creates a two-pronged system to limit COVID-19 liability claims one for business entities, including independent living communities, and another for healthcare providers, including assisted living communities, memory care communities and continuing care retirement communities.

Theres tremendous work being done across the country among the states to seek reasonable liability protections for assisted living communities, and we applaud our state partner, the Florida Senior Living Association, for their considerable efforts to ensure protections for their operators, Argentum President and CEO James Balda said. We encourage Gov. DeSantis to approve this legislation and support those whove cared for the most vulnerable during this pandemic.

LeadingAge Florida President and CEO Steve Bahmer said it was difficult to remember now how little was known about the virus a year ago and how many lifesaving decisions had to be made with little time and ever-changing information.

There are now more than 1,500 pages of orders, directives and FAQs, which, in some cases, changed as many as six times in three weeks, Bahmer said. In spite of the unprecedented challenges, our long-term care heroes fought courageously, under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, to protect Floridas seniors from the coronavirus. Today, we applaud the legislature for protecting them.

Liability protections for COVID-19-related claims against a healthcare provider mainly relate to claims arising from the diagnosis or treatment of a person with coronavirus, the provision of a novel or experimental treatment, transmission of the virus, and the delay or cancellation of a surgery or medical procedure.

The bill requires plaintiffs to provide sufficient detail that a provider was grossly negligent or engaged in intentional misconduct that caused death or harm. The bill also provides immunity for claims related to supplies or personnel not readily available or not available at a reasonable cost to comply with COVID-19 standards.

The bill limits the time for which an action can be filed based on the type of action. A COVID claim that accrued before the effective date of the bill must begin within one year of that effective date.

This is an important step toward protecting senior living communities who were working hard to follow guidance that often changed daily, all while trying to keep their residents and staff safe from the virus, said Jason Hand, FSLA vice president of public policy and legal affairs.

For claims against someone other than a healthcare provider, the bill establishes preliminary requirements before a case is allowed to proceed. The bill requires an affidavit signed by a physician attesting that the claim is a result of a provider acting grossly negligent or with intentional misconduct.

Plaintiffs also would be required to prove that the provider did not make a good faith effort to substantially comply with public health standards or guidance in effect at the time of the action.

FSLA worked with lawmakers on the bills, educating them on issues specific to senior living communities. Hand previously testified before Senate and House committees aboutassisted living communities needing protections. Such communities were not licensed, designed, staffed or trained to house residents with communicable diseases. For the past year, however, they were asked to ignore that rule to keep hospital surge numbers down.

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Florida measure will give operators new COVID-19 liability protections - News - McKnight's Senior Living

In Long Beach, a lifeguard tower that was painted in rainbow colors for LGBTQ-plus pride was burned down last week. Now a city once praised by the Human Rights Campaign for its LGBTQ-friendly laws and policies is grappling with the implications. The incident was also the first time in several decades that a lifeguard tower was burned in the city. KCRW speaks with Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.

KCRW: Whats the latest with the investigation? Do we know how this happened, and was it intentional?

Robert Garcia: The investigation itself is ongoing. And so we won't know the complete results of that for some time, but I think that what we do know is pretty clear. We have not had a lifeguard station burn down in over 70 years, we've gone all the way back to the 1950s. And the one lifeguard station that has burned down in these in the last few decades is the one that was painted for pride in rainbow colors in just the last year. And so these things are hard to burn down. And so it's been pretty clear to us what happened, and the community is upset as am I.

Who is behind the rainbow tower? Give us a little history of how it became painted and the gay pride aspect of it.

The tower itself was actually painted by the lifeguards. LGBTQ-plus lifeguards themselves took the initiative. And to support each other and to support the community, they went out and painted the tower. Last year, it was amazing to see when it was done. It's a very popular place for the community and for tourists and folks taking pictures. And so it's something that's, for us, a point of pride. Long Beach is a very kind of pro gay, progressive community. And so we loved it, and they're probably more upset than anybody else.

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia speaking at a Unity Rally on March 24, 2021. Photo by Detrick Manning, Office of Mayor Robert Garcia.

What was your personal reaction when you heard about it?

I was both upset and sad. I mean, obviously, as a gay person myself, but also as mayor, it's really unfortunate that someone or some folks would be so hateful, and burn something down that way that represents a symbol in the city.

But it's a reminder that as forward thinking and inclusive as a community is and the state is, a lot of people are not supportive of the LGBTQ-plus community or about equality.

The story received some national attention. Are you concerned that it could negatively affect Long Beach's image as friendly to the LGBTQ-plus community?

I'm not because I think that folks know that the city is very forward thinking. We have one of the largest LGBTQ-plus populations in the state. We're constantly ahead of the game when it comes to inclusivity laws and have been for many, many years.

In fact, I think what's more important is the reaction that communities had. And I think that's been covered as well. And the community has completely come together and renounced what happened.

And we're already replacing the tower. It will be repainted and redone and rebuilt. And we're going to redo it even bigger and better than before. So I think, if anything, I think it shows the strength of the city and our support for diversity and inclusivity.

Are you doing anything differently in terms of community outreach or policing? Do you think this is maybe a one-off incident? Or maybe this could be a pattern?

Our lifeguards and our police are obviously taking some additional note, and kind of looking at it a little bit more, but we have not had a history of this type of activity in the city. Again, it's been 70-plus years since we know of that this has happened to a lifeguard tower. So we're pretty optimistic that this is a one-off kind of hate incident. But we're still vigilant and most importantly, people are themselves more aware and are taking a look, and I think when the new one comes on board, we're absolutely going to pay a little closer attention. And I think the lifeguards are going to as well.

KCRWs Press Play: Long Beach mayor on rapidly vaccinating residents, from health care workers to teachers and food workers

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'We're going to redo it even bigger and better': Long Beach mayor on burned LGBTQ lifeguard tower - KCRW

During a year of escalating racism and violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, Sam Hyun, MBA/MPP22, has been a tireless advocate for AAPIs in Massachusetts and beyond. Hyun is currently chair of the Massachusetts Asian American Commission and a vocal activist in person and on social media through campaigns like #HateIsAVirus, using his role to bring AAPIs together and push for legislation to better define hate crimes and fight discrimination.

We co-sponsored an AAPI Town Hall on March 25 led by community organizers and organizations. We are trying to get to the table with Massachusetts legislators, speaker of the house, the governor, to get key stakeholders into the community into those conversation with us. Were making sure we are delivering results that our community needed for a long time, such as the passage of legislation.

State Rep. Tackey Chan has sponsored a bill on data disaggregation, which is important because the Asian American community is not a monolith. Disaggregating data is so critical because of the disparate needs and situations of the different sub-ethnic groups of our community. State Rep. Tram Nguyen has sponsored a bill on hate crimes. We must more clearly define what hate crimes are, because when you speak to prosecutors and law enforcement, they have a hard time defining it.

Read the commission's "Statement Against Violence and Xenophobia Faced by Asian Communities."

Its been heavy. Im trying to weigh all the voices within our community and make sure everyone feels seen and safe and valued, while understanding that everyones at a different place. How do we make sure we move forward collectively without leaving anybody behind? Navigating that and capturing everybodys perspectives and feelings is so hard but so necessary if were being intentional about including the entire community.

Hyun with the South Korean Consul General

Given that four of the murder victims in the Atlanta shootings were ethnically Korean, he wanted to understand what is going on here in this country with systemic racism. What can be done? What is being done? I just walked him through the complexities of it. We also discussed how to work together to make sure we are supporting the Korean American community hereits very important to the consulate.

The #HateIsAVirus campaign came about a year ago as a response to the anti-Asian racism in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We try to amplify the voices and leadership of community organizers that have been doing anti-racism work for decades, and mobilize the rest of the community to get behind those leaders and those initiatives to make sure that we are maximizing our impact. These organizations are working on mutual aid, violence prevention, intervention and bystander training, and really making sure were dealing with all the needs within our community. We actually launched a community action fund with a goal is of raising $1 million for vetted and trusted organizations.

I think Heller, to really live up to its name and ethos of being a school predicated on social justice and social impact, needs to fully understand and capture the value of Asian and Asian American students. That includes teaching and training students to understand the nuances and complexities of different communities. As I said before, the Asian American community is not a monolith. When youre looking at it from a public policy standpoint, if you dont have the right frame of mind, its going to be impossibleif not harmfulto craft policy pertaining AAPIs.

At this moment, I would love for everyone at Heller to really sit and hear the Asian and Asian American members of our community. Often, we are an afterthought. We are an integral part of the fabric of the Heller family and we all deserve better. I truly do believe that Heller is committed to ensuring that all members of the Heller family are valued and loved, and that we will continue to create change at our school and in the world.

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Leading and Advocating for the Massachusetts Asian American Community in a Time of Crisis - Brandeis University