Monday, November 23, 2020
Financial aid from last spring's federal CARES Act allowed Neighborhood Outreach Access to Health and other community health centers to retain employees amid declining patient visits and other threats to funding streams.
The financial hit is estimated to be at least $2.9 billion nationwide, according to a study from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.
In addition to providing standard health services, these clinics have been on the front lines of COVID-19 testing efforts in underserved urban and rural communities.
In Arizona, 23 community health centers operate 176 sites throughout the state. Tara McCollum of the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers said most centers in Arizona experienced drops of 35% to 80% for in-person patient visits.
“Even the sliding fee scale wasn’t enough to bring people in,” she said, referring to discounts offered to uninsured patients. With the sliding scale, the less money a patient earns, the lower the cost.
Such discounts are made possible with financial assistance from the Community Health Center Fund, a federal program created through the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Congress renewed funding for the program last year at $5.6 billion, but that money is set to expire later this year.
With the ACA now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, advocates worry the health center fund could be wiped out if the court decides to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Santa Claus returns this year, but will take up residency in a socially distanced "Santa Snow Globe" in Geronimo Plaza from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 27-29, every Sunday in December through Dec. 21, and on Christmas Eve. Taking pictures with Santa is always free.
Other events include:
Nov. 27—Main Gate Square Blax Friday Pop Up Musicians Virtual Concert from 1 to 5 p.m. in Main Gate’s newly completed Plaza south of 2nd Street between Tyndall and Park. The limited-capacity pop-up events and music performances amplify Black businesses.
Through Nov. 29, the art installation “Monuments” by Arizona Arts Live is in Geronimo Plaza and near the Arizona State Museum on the UA campus after dark. "Monuments" projects the faces of local heroes in an outdoor environment, exploring the conversation around monuments and their meaning.
Dec. 10—Lighting of the Menorah at sunset through the end of Hanukkah.
According to the Marshall Foundation that helps organize these events, mask wearing is required outside unless you can continuously social distance. Masks are required to enter all retail establishments. Masks are also required to enter all restaurants and to remain on until seated. Masks are required to be on when using the facilities or leaving the restaurant.
For more info & additional events, visit maingatesquare.com
With more than 2,659 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases soared past 300,000 as of Monday, Nov. 23, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which reported 544 new cases today, has seen 36,659 of the state’s 302,324 confirmed cases.
A total of 6,464 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 674 deaths in Pima County, according to the Nov. 23 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide continues to climb upward as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly. ADHS reported that as of Nov. 22, 2,008 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, the highest that number has been since Aug. 3. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13; it hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27.
A total of 1,372 people visited emergency rooms on Nov. 22 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.
A total of 469 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Nov. 22, the highest that number has been since Aug. 13. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13 and hit a subsequent low of 114 on Sept. 22.
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,452 cases, according to an Nov. 20 report from the Pima County Health Department. (Numbers in this report are subject to revision.)
Pima County is seeing a dramatic rise in cases in recent weeks. For the week ending Oct. 24, 935 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 31, 1,345 cases were reported; for the week ending Nov. 7, 2,120 cases were reported; and for the week ending Nov. 14, 2,509 cases were reported.
Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry noted that the county had seen 4,620 cases in the first 17 days in November.
“For the first 17 days in July, the worst month of COVID-19 case increases to date, there were 5,057 cases,” Huckleberry said in a Nov. 17 memo. “Therefore, we are on pace to exceed the total number of monthly COVID-19 infections in our previous worst month, July.”
WASHINGTON – Coconino County Supervisor Art Babbott urged senators last week to pass a bill that would let limbs and trees left over from forest maintenance be burned for renewable energy.
Babbott, testifying before a Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee, said the lack of a market for forest waste has been a bottleneck choking efforts to clear national forests of undergrowth and halt the growth of catastrophic wildfires.
“The rules have changed, we can’t use the same strategies that used to work because they don’t work anymore,” said Babbott, who punctuated his remarks by noting that he had received notice during his testimony of another wildfire breaking out in the county.
The hearing comes during a year in which Arizona has seen a sharp increase in wildfires, with 2,375 blazes so far that have burned more than 955,000 acres so far this year, said Tiffany Davila, a spokeswoman with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
And that pales in comparison to states like California, where 9,279 fires have burned almost 4.2 million acres and led to 31 deaths this year, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Friday, November 20, 2020
Snow in the Valley? Unlikely, but Arizonans can make their way about two hours north from Phoenix to Flagstaff to get a taste of winter.
Snowbowl Ski Resort, the Alpine slopes on Northern Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks, opens for the winter season on Friday, with some slight changes due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“Obviously we want people to have fun on the mountain,” said Li Cui, the marketing manager of Snowbowl Ski, “but health and safety is the most important thing for us because if you don’t feel safe then you’re probably not going to have fun.”
The biggest operational changes on the mountain are through ticket sales and capacity limitation.
“Ultimately our entire plan comes down to spreading people out as much as possible, outdoors,” Cui said.
“We feel very comfortable and believe skiing outside with plenty of space is a safe environment.”
The Snowbowl team will be closely monitoring weather conditions, the number of open trails, and the parking lot and lodging capacity.
“That daily limit is going to be very fluid … even honestly hour by hour,” Cui said.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero joined three other Arizona mayors on Friday to discuss the surge in cases across the state and call for stricter COVID-19 mitigation actions from Gov. Doug Ducey.
Coronavirus cases are surging across the state and county, with 562 new cases reported in Pima County on Friday.
“Here in Pima County, we are seeing numbers we've seen only in the summer. Positivity rate is increasing throughout our state, and these things are very, very troubling for all of us,” Romero said. “The fact is that currently, we are heading in the wrong direction.”
Romero is calling for Ducey to implement a statewide mask mandate and a 14-day self-quarantine or a negative test for travelers entering the state.
In a media conference Wednesday, Ducey said he won’t implement a statewide mask mandate because 90% of Arizona is under local mask mandates.
“As much as I'd love the city of Tucson to be in a bubble, all it takes is one person traveling to Tucson to visit family during the holidays to make a huge impact in terms of spread here in the city of Tucson,” Romero said. “That's why it's so important that we have a statewide mandate for masks because we should all be holding hands in this. This should not be a political issue, this should be an issue that we hold hands that we work together and that we defeat.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans and Tolleson Mayor Anna Tovar joined Romero in calling for a mask mandate statewide.
The Arizona Department of Health Services issued an emergency measure that masks be worn on all school premises, but the mayors are calling for further action.
“There are very significant portions of rural Arizona that do not have a mask requirement. We are certainly seeing a surge in cases in rural Arizona,” Gallego said. “I think it would send an important message to rural Arizona, the governor has extended mask requirements for our students, their parents and grandparents deserve the same.”
If a statewide mask mandate is implemented, Romero says the Pima County Health Department would be responsible for enforcing it.
“[Tucson Police Department] doesn't go into a business and take it upon themselves to enforce the mask mandate,” Romero said. “What we're doing is coordinating and cooperating with Pima County Health Department. Pima County Health Department then has the ability to call that restaurant or bar and take further action.”
At the onset of the pandemic, the group of mayors said Ducey’s staff held daily coronavirus briefings, which then turned into biweekly briefings. The updates have since ceased altogether.
“In regards to communication, I think that's something that is very much needed in regards to all 91 cities and 15 counties throughout the state of Arizona. We used to have daily updates at the beginning of COVID . . . and then suddenly those were terminated,” Tovar said. “One of my biggest frustrations is not having that communication to update us to stay proactive in trying to come up with solutions, hearing from mayors all across Arizona.”
In addition to communication, some of the mayors expressed concerns about a lack of funding to address the pandemic in their jurisdictions.
Evans says the state received $1.86 billion in federal CARES Act funding, but cities and towns that were less than 500,000 in population did not receive a direct allocation.
“Instead, the monies went to the governor's office, and those monies were then dispersed with regulations, and also not fully dispersed . . . only $441 million was actually dispersed to the smaller cities and towns,” Evans said. “One of the things that we could use is for the rest of the money that is currently with the governor's office to be dispersed to the smaller cities and towns without restrictions, that way we can utilize that money to take care of the issues that we see here at a local level.”
Romero says Tucson received $95 million in CARES Act funding, and that “the city of Tucson Mayor and Council have put millions of dollars for workers and families for utility and rent assistance, for small business assistance, nonprofit assistance for arts and culture entertainment venues.”
Tucson's mayor says Ducey’s executive order in April implementing his “stay home, stay healthy, stay connected” policy prevented local municipalities from creating their own mitigation strategies.
“Back in the summer, when cases were spiking as they are now, [Ducey] untied the hands of mayors and health departments across Arizona, but only to institute a face mask mandate. All other mitigation strategies are off the table for mayors across Arizona, because of their prevention from Governor Ducey,” Romero said. “Here in Pima County, we just saw 660 cases reported Thursday, more than 4,400 cases across the state. If this is not an emergency to get our governor to institute additional mitigation strategies and in a mandatory face-covering across the state, I really don't know what is.”
Romero also expressed concerns about the disproportionate amount of minorities affected by COVID-19.
“With this pandemic, we have seen the ills of our society highlighted. We are seeing here in Arizona, that our indigenous communities, Latino communities and communities of color are much more exposed and are the numbers that we're seeing rise in exponential levels,” she said. “That is much more of a systemic issue that this country has the inability to provide health care for Americans and provide a safety net to our low-income communities and communities of color. That is the underlying issue that COVID-19 is highlighting.”
Although evidence of potentially effective COVID-19 vaccines has recently surfaced, the mayors say Arizona is in need of a united voice to actually implement them.
“We also are concerned in regards to the vaccine that is months away. We are excited about the news that is coming out of the potential releases of multiple manufacturers that have vaccines that are showing great scientific data that they are effective . . . but that message falls short here, nationwide, and also at our state level,” Tovar said. “We need a plan of action in place so that when the vaccines do come out, we have a strong unified message on how we vaccinate our communities.”
Whether Ducey takes statewide executive action for further COVID-19 mitigation, Romero said “it's up to all of us to take a personal responsibility of following public health guidelines.”
The mayors implore all Arizonans to wear a face mask, frequently sanitize and avoid large gatherings as Thanksgiving approaches.
“Masks are important. I understand they hurt your ears, mine too. But wearing a mask is more comfortable than wearing a ventilator,” Gallego said. “Thousands of Arizonans have lost their lives, there will be empty seats at Thanksgiving. We can take steps to make sure that we stop this growth and save lives.”
Romero echoed the same message.
“I know this pandemic has been frustrating, it has been exhausting, but we need to maintain our resolve for a little bit longer. I know this will be especially hard during Thanksgiving….We have to stay the course, we need to wear a mask, we must avoid gatherings, and all of these actions will save lives,” she said.
“Here in Arizona, we’ve lost 6,600 lives. 6,600 lives that are not going to join their families for Thanksgiving or Christmas or any other holidays. 6,600 lives that we are not going to recover. And so we are asking for clear statewide action and leadership by Governor Ducey.”
Districts report their coronavirus cases to the Pima County Health Department, which provides guidance to schools based on metrics in its COVID-19 progress report. However, these are merely guidelines, and schools aren’t necessarily obliged to follow them.
The health department recommends each school site designate a team to implement a COVID-19 mitigation plan, who are then connected to a liaison at the department.
In a reference guide for school reopenings, the health department says to reopen, schools should be ready “to consult with the local health authorities if there are cases in the facility.”
As many districts reopen for hybrid learning, they’re reporting COVID-19 cases among students and staff causing groups of potential contacts to quarantine.
Sunnyside Unified and Marana Unified have created dashboards listing their positive cases. Public information officials from the Amphitheater Unified District and Flowing Wells Unified School District have been responsive in providing their positive case numbers to the press.
However, Tucson’s largest school district is not revealing their case counts.
Although Tucson Unified School District doesn’t plan to implement hybrid learning until January, is has on-campus learning spaces available to some students.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association’s executive board voted during a special meeting Thursday to postpone the start of the high school winter sports season until Jan. 5 in response to rising COVID-19 rates across the state.
Competitive play for winter sports including basketball, soccer and wrestling was originally scheduled to start on Nov. 30.
This move will give schools more time to develop protocols to safely conduct winter sports while trying to keep students in school as virus cases trend upward, said AIA Executive Director David Hines.
“Delaying the start of the season will give our coaches and administrators time to implement safety protocols and put sports modifications in place,” Hines said. “ Just like getting fall sports off the ground, doing things the right way will allow for our sports to continue.”
According to the AIA, the start of the winter competitive season will be based on five factors:
- If a student-athlete participates with a non-school team/group, that student-athlete is excluded from practice and competition with the school team for 14 days since the last practice or competition of the non-school team/group.
- All winter sports modifications are required.
- No fans will be permitted until metrics are appropriate. AIA staff will be communicating with schools and districts statewide to evaluate readiness on a regular basis.
- No scrimmages, invitational tournaments or region tournaments will be allowed.
- No out-of-state competitions will be allowed.
Friday, Feb. 19, will be the last permissible day of competition for winter sports, including any play-in competitions, according to AIA officials.
Teams will be required to hold practice for a minimum of 14 days before competitive play. Winter sports practice for many area high schools began earlier in November.
To compensate for the postponement, the upcoming high school spring sports season, which was scheduled to start on Feb. 8, has been delayed to Feb.15.
