“One size does not fit all,” said Gov. Newsom at a press conference yesterday addressing mounting evidence that more African Americans are dying from COVID-19 complications than any other race across the United States and here in California.
“We are disaggregating the data to break things down — on hospitalizations, ICUs and the death rates. We have gotten preliminary data back on that, but we are waiting to get all the data before I make it public and present it. I want it to be accurate. But that is being broken down in real time.”
The governor says the state plans to dig up the numbers on disparities in testing as well, “to make sure all communities in California are being tested.”
From all indications, early evidence shows Black people are dying at a disproportionate rate from the coronavirus. That is what data from a handful of states revealed. Numbers show African Americans are more likely to experience novel coronavirus complications from hospitalizations to death. Black people are also less likely to have health insurance compared to their White counterparts.
And despite the national campaign to “Stay Home and Save Lives,” a recent report from the National Bureau of Economic Research has found that working from home is not an option for most people.
Democratic lawmakers, including Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass), have joined advocates in calling on state and federal leaders to release demographic information about people infected with and dying from COVID-19.
Los Angeles County released figures amid a national conversation on how COVID-19 is affecting racial groups differently. The city’s racial breakdown of coronavirus deaths shows the majority of people who died were White or Latino. However, Black people accounted for a disproportionate 17 percent of the deaths while making up 9 percent of the population.
Across the nation, states including New Jersey, North Carolina, and Illinois have released numbers that reveal racial disparities as well. Illinois, for example, reports that African Americans account for 42 percent of 380 deaths. That jumps to 70 percent in Chicago, a hotspot where cases are concentrated.
In Michigan, Black people make up 41 percent of the deaths but only 14 percent of the population. Louisiana reports a staggering 582 deaths, most were Black.
“It’s not that they’re getting infected more often. It’s that when they do get infected with their underlying medical conditions: diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma — those are the kind of things that wind them up in the ICU and ultimately death,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci during Tuesday’s White House briefing on the federal response to the pandemic.
The nation’s top infectious disease doctor says the coronavirus is magnifying health disparities that “have always existed” between Whites and African Americans. “It is shining a bright light on how unacceptable that is because, yes, again when you have a situation like the coronavirus, they’re suffering disproportionately.”
Dr. Fauci says the efforts to limit health care disparities should resume after this global crisis.
“There is nothing we can do about it right now except to give them the best possible care to avoid complications,” he said.
Back in California, Newsom says the state’s COVID-19 Testing Task Force will address health equity as it relates to COVID-19.
“The disparities on testing are a point of obvious and real concern,” he said.
Newsom’s task force includes Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever African-American woman Surgeon General.
Harris says she researches the cause of health disparities, “because of the true and unfortunate history of medical maltreatment of different groups of people, but especially African Americans in the United States.
“There are real issues of trust between the African American community and the health care system,” she said.
Newsom says as the state scales up testing efforts he wants to make sure resources reach underserved communities, “to make sure we’re in East Palo Alto, East LA, East Oakland and other parts of this state, and making sure that we do justice to the prism as it relates to race and ethnicity as well as making sure that geographically needs are met.”
Newsom has not offered details about how the state will address disparities if presented. He also did not give a timeline for the release of data specific to race.
Advocates say this information is needed to pinpoint the source of racial disparities and to ultimately better protect vulnerable communities.
POMONA, CA—- Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) announced today more than 6.4 million dollars in relief funding for communities across the Inland Empire.
The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants are for two housing and homelessness prevention programs: The Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) and the Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG).
Congresswoman Torres was joined by Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren, Ontario Mayor Paul Leon, and Pomona City Council Member Robert Torres in releasing the following statements:
“Families across the Inland Empire who are struggling to make ends meet in the economic downturn are finally receiving some much-needed relief,” Rep. Torres said. “The CDBG and ESG grants I’m announcing today will help residents stay in their homes, and provide shelter for those who need it. This is only the beginning of the relief the Inland Empire will receive in the weeks to come, and I will keep the pressure up in Washington to ensure our community receives as many of these vital dollars as we can.”
“Thank you so much, Congresswoman Torres, for assisting in our efforts to maintain essential services to all the residents who call Fontana home,” Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren said. “Your passion for keeping our community safe and healthy during this crisis is immensely appreciated by me and my fellow councilmembers.”
“During these unprecedented and trying financial times, these funds will provide some much-needed relief for the residents of Ontario,”Ontario Mayor Paul Leon said. “On behalf of the City Council and the City of Ontario, I would like to thank Representative Torres for her leadership in obtaining these funds for the region.”
“It has been a priority of mine to correct years of mismanagement at City Hall and make sure Pomona’s federal grant money goes to revitalizing our neighborhoods and repaving streets,” Pomona City Council Member Robert Torres said. “We are extremely grateful for Congresswoman Norma Torres’ leadership in making this funding possible.”
Below is a breakdown of funds distributed across California’s 35thCongressional District:
As governors and mayors across North America order the shutdown of bars, restaurants, and gathering events, cannabis stores are experiencing a dramatic surge in sales that started over the weekend and now continues into the work week. (Leafly has an updated page tracking store closures, openings, and new delivery allowances.)
Consumers are stocking up now, eyeing their potential future over in Europe, where some nations have closed all retail outlets except food stores and pharmacies.
On Saturday, Boston’s WGBH broadcast images of customers lining up outside New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Brookline, one of the few licensed cannabis stores operating in Massachusetts. WGBH’s Tori Bedford reported:
In Brookline, marijuana dispensary New England Treatment Access has eliminated all walk-in orders due to a high volume of customers and will now only serve customers who place orders in advance. “In light of the current environment, we will remain open,” an announcement on the NETA website reads, “but will move to Reserve Ahead only starting on Saturday.”
Inside the Brookline store, employees wear latex gloves, and bottles of hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray sit beside each checkout station. The process is efficient, a quick in-and-out, as compared to the massive lines seen snaking around the parking lot of the shop in the past few days, according to NETA employees.
Later Sunday, Boston Mayor Mary Walsh imposed new restrictions on the city’s bars and restaurants. Those establishments will have to cut their capacity in half, and close by 11pm every night. As of now, there are no unusual restrictions on cannabis stores.
Also Sunday, the governors of Ohio and Illinois ordered all bars and restaurants closed. By mid-day Monday, similar orders had been issued in too many states to mention.
Stores moving to pre-order and pickup only
In Chicago, MOCA dispensary has gone medical-only, discontinuing adult-use sales.
On Seattle, Have A Heart is limiting the number of customers allowed in stores at any given time. All online orders get 10% off.
On Monday morning, Higher Leaf stores in Kirkland and Bellevue, WA, went to a mandatory pre-order system. “We will also be limiting the number of customers in the store so as to maintain a safe distance between people,” the store announced.
California sales spiking
In California, delivery services and stores report 4/20 and Black Friday-style sales volume has arrived early this year, thanks to COVID-19.
Overall, delivery services are doing brisk business as people socially isolate. Statewide delivery service Ganja Goddess Delivers reports month over month sales traffic spiking first 20%, then 50%. The California Delivery Alliance reports sales are way up across all the states 200 or so licensed delivery services.
In San Jose, Airfield Supply Co. announced free delivery and has experienced a 100% increase in sales in the last two days.
At the brick & mortar level, The Farmacy retail stores are seeing less of a bump than delivery services, but still double-digit percentage increases.
The Green Cross adult-use cannabis store in San Francisco reports many shoppers buying up to the legal limit (one ounce) in California. Up from just a few shoppers prepping last week.
Over at Harborside in Oakland, owners asked customers Monday to use their delivery service, as well as online order ahead options.
Writer and editor Lindsey Bartlett sent out this tweet from an Orange County store on Saturday:
At one of the few dispensaries in Orange County, it is slammed. There are about 20 people (the allotment allowed into the room) in line. And more outside.
This is usually a busy dispensary but at this hour, it’s 10x the amount of people you usually see. Staff is wearing gloves.
A statewide shutdown of non-essential businesses, ordered on Tuesday afternoon by Gov. Steve Sisolak, sparked a run on cannabis stores on Wednesday morning. Here’s the scene:
The cannabis data experts over at Headset have been tracking the surge. They report:
Sales of Adult Use cannabis in WA were up 23% on Friday, 14% on Saturday, and 33% on Sunday (over prior week). This was driven by a modest increase in total baskets (about 6% increase in tickets) and a large increase in average basket. Average baskets on Sunday were $33.70 before taxes, up 22% over the prior week and 28% compared to baskets in Jan and Feb of this year.
Update: Dutch coffeehouses still open for takeout
In cities across the Netherlands, consumers lined up outside that nation’s famous coffeehouses to stock up on supplies before a nationwide shutdown took effect on Sunday. The government had announced that all cafés and coffeeshops must close at 6pm until April 6.
Our friends at VOC Nederland retweeted this video of customers lined up outside a coffeehouse in the Dutch city of Groningen:
Twintig minuten voor zes uur: “Om zes uur gaan alle #coffeeshops dicht”
But wait! On Monday morning, the Dutch government revised its order and allowed coffeehouses to remain open for takeaway orders only. Government ministers realized a ramp-up of illicit trade could be a greater public health hazard than regulated retail.
Shopping tips during COVID
Use licensed delivery—if available—in your area.
Use Leafly Pickup to order ahead, and save time in-store.
Go early when the store opens to decrease exposure to others.
Keep six to nine feet apart from others.
Consider personal protective equipment like gloves, masks, and goggles when in enclosed spaces—like stores—with strangers. (Remember to discard that equipment afterward, and decontaminate, so as not to bring contamination inside your home.)
Much print has been devoted to adverse relationships between school districts and charter schools. However, good positive partnerships that benefit thousands of children have also been formed.
The San Bernardino City Unified School District announced that “In light of Governor Newson’s order for all California residents to stay at home, … all schools will remain closed until May 1. We are glad to inform you that SBCUSD will provide grab and go meal service for children Monday through Friday during spring break, which begins March 23rd and ends April 3rd”.
Everyone was excited, however, the unionized Nutrition Services of the school district could not fulfill that promise. The California Charter School Association, and representative Fatima Cristerna-Adams, stepped up to the challenge. Steve Holguin, representative for Better 4 You Meals, was contacted. Holguin then called Dwaine Radden, CEO of the PAL Center and PAL Charter Academy (PCA) asking if PCA would be the San Bernardino hub for the distribution of food. Mr. Radden replied, “Yes, we have a moral obligation to make sure students and families in the community have food to eat”. Charter schools to the rescue.
The PAL Charter Academy’s two sites – 1691 N. Sierra Way in San Bernardino, and 2450 Blake Street in Muscoy – were mobilized by PCA Community Coordinator, Edward Brantley, along with four District schools to feed over 3,000 students per day. The third charter school site was provided by Options for Youth at 985 South E Street, Suite A.
Better 4 You Meals, that provide daily lunches at the PAL Charter Academy, has provided well over 400,000 breakfasts and lunches throughout California since the statewide school closures began, according to Holguin.
The next time that charter schools are criticized, please think of the void filled, and the thousands of children and families fed, because of the efforts of the California Charter Schools Association and their local affiliates. It took a village to feed the children.
“The Movies May Be Closed, but the Grill Is Still Open”
Studio Movie Grill (“SMG”) has served up American Grill fare in all its theaters to millions of hungry movie-goers for over 20 years and, like so many friends in the hospitality industry, after temporary closings, they are trying to help their team in every way they can during this crisis. So, SMG is trying new ways to serve its community starting this week.
Customers can now order curbside pickup from select SMG locations between the hours of 11am–8 pm, Monday- Saturday. SMG will be offering a special menu of comfort foods and fan favorites including Coconut Chicken Tenders, BBQ Glazed Chicken Pizza, Pretzel Bites, and Chocolate Beignets. Bottled beer and wine will also be available to go. Credit card payments only. All the details can be found HERE. Best of all, when a customer orders their favorite menu items, SMG gets to keep its lights on and their beloved team members working and that saves hundreds of jobs during this crisis. 10% of proceeds from all food orders support SMG team members at locations nationwide affected by theater closures.
SMG will be participating in part 2 of The Great American Takeout (#GreatAmericanTakeOut) today, a national initiative asking customers to support restaurants in their area, and will soon be offering delivery in partnership with GRUBHUB™.
“As a conscious company that cares deeply about its team members, SMG is exploring every conceivable way to keep them working while staying safe and healthy as well as offering our local communities additional food options. We will continue to plan ahead for the day we can once more open our doors and welcome everyone back to relax and enjoy dinner and a movie together,” said Brian Schultz, Founder/CEO.
SMG is also offering movie fans a slate of alternate programming virtual screenings, including a selection of titles from Film Movement and Magnolia, at the link HERE which they can rent to enjoy with their meal and proceeds will additionally support SMG team members at locations nationwide. SMG dinner and a movie at home.
Florida’s undercount in the 2010 census lost the state about $20 billion in federal dollars in the last decade, according to foundation executive Susan Racher. That money translates not only into missed funding for hundreds of social service programs and capital improvements, it also is likely to affect the state’s ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nonprofits, foundations and other agencies have been working hard to avoid a repeat of the undercount in this year’s census. On March 24, activists, community organizers and career census professionals described their concerns and strategies in an online ethnic media telebriefing sponsored by Ethnic Media Services., the Walter H. Coulter Foundation, Miami Foundation, and the Leadership Conference Education Fund, among others.
Susan Racher, vice president of the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, described how the lost billions would have helped Florida fund 325 programs that rely on some percentage of federal revenue to serve the state’s residents — subsidized meals for school children from low-income families, housing and school construction, and funds to expand and improve hospitals, to name a few.
The bitter reality of scarce medical supplies, equipment, resources, and insufficient hospital staff to meet the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic could be a dire example of the undercount’s effect. One of Racher’s graphs citing figures from the Urban Institute showed that Florida drew down only about 10% of the funds it expended on its health and hospital sector from federal contributions, relying on its own coffers to cover most of the 90% balance.
An estimated 1.4 million Florida residents went uncounted in the 2010 census, and their per capita federal dollar returned to the state never arrived. Yet Florida — America’s fourth largest state by population and one experiencing phenomenal growth in several of its ethnic communities — hasn’t contributed state funding to encourage its residents to participate in the 2020 census.
The probability of another significant undercount spurred community-based organizations and philanthropies in Florida to intensify their efforts to educate the public about the census. Their optimism has been tempered by the yet unmeasurable drag the pandemic will have on their initiatives and the Census Bureau’s performance.
“The coronavirus quarantine has impeded outreach, but not crippled it,” said Lindsey Linzer, senior director of programs and grants administration for the Miami Foundation, describing the work of the Miami-Dade Counts 2020 Collaborative, an entity that formed in 2018 and grew out of her foundation’s resources and contacts.
“We partnered with 29 grantee organizations to do outreach, to do canvassing, to get the message out at early childhood education centers, at schools and universities, at health care centers to help them embed census messaging in everything that they were doing,” Linzer said.
Margaret Sanchez, NALEO Educational Fund regional census manager for South Florida, pointed out that in the last census, “450,000 Latino kids were not counted in the United States.” Of those, 18,000 were in Miami and 6,000 in Broward County, she said.
NALEO has been addressing immigrants’ concerns about the kinds of questions asked on the census forum, Sanchez said. Of the nine questions, none touch on the respondent’s documented or undocumented legal status, yet unfounded rumors and beliefs persist throughout the Latino and other immigrant communities that a question about citizenship status is included — despite a judicial ruling prohibiting its addition to this year’s census form.
Sanchez said NALEO’s imperative is to educate communities about the census and its value to their daily lives through the programs that census dollars fund: “We have to make sure they become conscious that this is an important issue.”
Toward that goal, social media postings and a new communication toolkit for organizations needing additional resources to strengthen their community outreach are available from NALEO. Sanchez said the toolkit has various applications, from in-person training to webinar training, instructions on how to produce posters about the census for placement in highly visible locations like grocery stores, plus counsel on how to best use social media platforms.
Telebriefing participants concurred that while social media has become invaluable in improving public awareness, other bedrock issues impeding census participation may require different skills and resources.
Among newer Asian American immigrants, cultural customs and government distrust may hinder civic and census participation, said Winnie Tang, president of Florida Asian Services. Her organization is engaged with a burgeoning Asian American and Pacific Islander presence, including immigrants from India, the Philippines and China.
Florida’s Asian population increased more than 70% between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, Tang reported, but three counties — Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade —- contain a third of the Florida’s Asian American population. The state’s Asian American population of 400,000 in the 2010 census now is estimated to have grown to 741,000.
Generally speaking, Tang said, poor English language skills often exist among the immigrant elderly, a formidable barrier for many in whether they choose to participate in census education activities and the census itself.
Marilyn Stephens, U.S. Census Bureau assistant regional census manager, acknowledged that the size and diversity of Florida’s foreign-born population complicates attempts to get a complete count.
However, concerns about whether the Census Bureau can share a respondent’s personal information are addressed by Title 13 of the U.S. Code. Any census employee knowingly violating the confidentiality of an individual who has submitted personal information to the Census Bureau faces stringent laws exist that levy fines and possible jail time. Personal information is sealed and can’t be shared with other agencies or made public for 72 years.
But there is an exception to the 72-year moratorium, Stephens pointed out, which is a compelling reason for why everyone should be counted in the census.
“One thing I’d like to say, especially to the immigrant communities, is that you’ll be able to get your personal information if you need it,” Stephens said.
She described a woman trying to qualify for Social Security benefits who couldn’t prove the dates or duration of her life in America. The solution was form BC-600. Through the Census Bureau’s age-search program, it can document that a person was in the U.S. and when the person responded to the census during those years.
“With that document, you can get entitlements, you can get a passport,” Stephens explained. “You can literally put your life back together.”
She reminded attendees that Hurricanes Rita and Katrina victims, displaced from their homes, often lost all ways to identify themselves because their property and belongings had been destroyed. “So for immigrant communities, the census becomes very important. During the Reagan administration, for the amnesty program, people used that [BC-600] to prove that they had been in the United States for a certain length of time.”
Still, distrust of government intentions and practices persist in South Florida’s ethnic communities, said Emmanuela Jean-Etienne, advocacy coordinator for the Urban League in Broward County. Her organization reaches about 11,000 people through door-to-door canvassing and other activities in African American neighborhoods as well as in those whose residents are predominantly of Haitian and Caribbean descent — census tracts among those deemed hard to count because of their low census response rate.
“Most people are distrustful about sharing information,” Jean-Etienne said. “We get common responses — this won’t make a difference in their community; they don’t see what the changes are [from the last census.]” But she submitted that being engaged at the grassroots level is the best way to dissolve distrust. “We found that when we make it local, people are more trusting and have said that they’re more likely to fill out the census because we’re speaking from a place of integrity.”
That sentiment captured the media’s importance in increasing the census count.
“The media is a major, trusted voice,” the Census Bureau’s Stephens said. “In many of our communities, they rely on you for information.”
The Edison Scholars Program recognizes students who want to be makers of tomorrow — the dreamers, inventors, guardians and pioneers — those who dare to be great.
Each year, Edison International awards $40,000 college scholarships to 30 high school seniors to help them follow their dreams in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) and empower them to change the world.
This is a chance for students with big dreams to advance their education and take part in shaping a brighter future.
The Details
Here’s the rundown of requirements:
Must be a high school senior with at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA, plan to pursue studies in the STEM fields at a four-year accredited college or university and show financial need.
Eligible STEM majors include computer and information systems, engineering, engineering technology, management information systems, mathematics, natural resources and conservation and physical sciences.
CHINO, CA— Eleven staff and one inmate at the California Institution for Men (CIM) in Chino tested positive for COVID-19. Tests for two staff and three inmates are pending. Except for the inmate, the eleven CIM staff have been self-quarantined away from their place of employment.
Health professionals from San Bernardino County Public Health are working closely with CIM and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to address the situation, which includes testing and contact tracing.
Under the authority of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), CIM Correctional Lieutenant Tom Lopez stated, “CDCR and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) are dedicated to the safety of everyone who lives in, works in, and visits our state prisons. We are continuously evaluating and implementing proactive measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep our CDCR population and the community-at-large safe.”
CDCR has announced its plan to further protect staff and inmates from the spread of COVID-19 in state prisons, which include CIM. The plan includes the following:
Temporarily suspend the intake of new inmates and cancel in-person visits.
Create increased capacity and space to help with inmate movement, physical distancing, and isolation efforts.
Make greater use of the state’s private and public Community Correctional Facilities, as well as maximize open spaces in prisons, such as gymnasiums, to increase capacity and inmate movement options.
CDCR has protocols for testing and quarantine in place that follow recommendations by CDPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDCR and CCHCS have launched an internal patient registry to assist institutions in monitoring patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and track all individuals by risk. This registry also includes release date information for each individual, in the event that individuals are to be considered for early release during the pandemic. This tool is not publicly available as it contains personal health care information protected by medical privacy laws.
For more information regarding CDCR’s preparedness and response efforts for COVID-19, please visit the CDCR COVID-19 Preparedness page at www.cdcr.ca.gov/covid19.
For information about the coronavirus crisis, visit the County’s coronavirus website at sbcovid19.com. New information and resources are updated daily. The public can also contact the COVID-19 hotline from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday at (909) 387-3911, or email the County at coronavirus@dph.sbcounty.gov.
SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that provides additional support for older adults and vulnerable young children.
The order will allow for a 60-day waiver for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program caseworkers to continue their work and be able to care for older adults, as well as individuals with disabilities.
A copy of the Governor’s executive order can be found here and the text of the order can be found here.
Learn more about the state’s ongoing COVID-19 response efforts here. Visit covid19.ca.gov for critical steps Californians can take to stay healthy, and resources available to those impacted by the outbreak.
LOS ANGELES, CA— Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the establishment of the Los Angeles Surge Hospital, a temporary facility in Los Angeles that will expand access to additional beds and expand ICU capacity for patients who contract COVID-19. Dignity Health and Kaiser Permanente will partner with the State of California and the County of Los Angeles to open the facility, which will be located on the campus of the former St. Vincent Medical Center in central Los Angeles.
Last month, under his Declaration of State Emergency and Executive Order, Governor Newsom authorized the leasing of facilities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the recently closed St. Vincent Medical Center. The hospital will create additional inpatient capacity in the community to treat the expected surge of patients with COVID-19 in the coming weeks. The facility will operate as a dedicated referral hospital and will not have an emergency room or accept walk-in patients. The County of Los Angeles’ Department of Health Services will play a critical role in coordinating intake and transfer requests from hospitals across the County.
The Los Angeles Surge Hospital is expected to open April 13. It will open in phases, ramping up to accept more patients as physicians and staff are hired and supplies and equipment are secured, up to a projected capacity of 266 beds when fully operational.
The State of California will fund the hospital and its operations and will be responsible for obtaining all federal and state permits, licenses, and waivers to operate. The State is also responsible for procuring critical equipment and supplies, such as personal protective equipment and ventilators.
Dignity Health and Kaiser Permanente, two of California’s largest not-for-profit healthcare systems, are providing expertise in establishing the Los Angeles Surge Hospital and will oversee management at the facility. Operational support will not diminish either healthcare system’s existing frontline capacity.
Los Angeles County is working with the Governor’s office and contracted health workers to temporarily re-open the recently closed St. Vincent Medical Center to act as a transfer facility for COVID positive patients. (Photo Credit: Los Angeles County)
“LA County has the largest concentration of confirmed COVID-19 cases in California. A time like this demands leadership, partnership, and collaboration—and I applaud my fellow leaders and our community partners who have risen to that challenge with aplomb,” said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “Gov. Newsom’s swift effort to utilize the space at St. Vincent’s, and the collaboration of our private partners to operationalize this along with the Department of Health Services, is a true testament to the strength of our community here in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles Surge Hospital is one component of our county’s comprehensive effort to respond to the need for surge capacity as we come together to serve our community.”
“I applaud Gov. Newsom’s bold and decisive action to temporarily transform the St. Vincent Medical Center into a surge hospital that will help individuals exposed to COVID-19,” said L.A. County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis. “Under my direction, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services will provide transportation, referrals and other support in tandem with Kaiser Permanente and Dignity Health to expedite the opening of this temporary hospital on the St. Vincent campus. Once operational, the facility will serve the region with the primary mission of increasing hospital capacity to care for patients with COVID-19 and helping slow the spread of this pandemic. This facility, located in the heart of my Supervisorial First District, will address our urgent health care needs through this unique public-private partnership among the State of California, LA County, Kaiser Permanente, and Dignity Health. No one stands alone in this critical moment, and I thank each partner for coming together to treat COVID-19 patients and for ensuring our communities remain safe and healthy.”
“The opening of this COVID treatment facility speaks to the power of partnership at a critical moment, united in our shared mission of service to our communities as we confront this pandemic,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS). “We are grateful for the vision and support of the State of California, and the ingenuity and commitment of Kaiser Permanente and Dignity Health to open this medical facility at lighting speed, bolstering the resilience of our County’s healthcare system and our ability to meet the medical needs of those impacted by this terrible virus.”
Los Angeles County is working with the Governor’s office and contracted health workers to temporarily re-open the recently closed St. Vincent Medical Center to act as a transfer facility for COVID positive patients. (Photo Credit: Los Angeles County)
“As we confront an unprecedented public health crisis, we are honored to be able to continue our legacy of service as part of this unique public-private partnership to expand access to additional beds as the COVID-19 threat continues to evolve,” said Lloyd H. Dean – CEO of CommonSpirit Health, which includes Dignity Health hospitals. “More than ever, this is the time for our communities to come together to care for people affected by this disease. We have worked with each of these partners over time, and this groundbreaking collaboration will help meet the urgent demand for health care services in California.”
“Beating this pandemic requires all of us to work together, nimbly and creatively, and there is no better proof of that than our collective work to stand up this surge hospital in a matter of days,” said Greg Adams, Kaiser Permanente’s chairman and CEO. “This temporary hospital will add much needed resources to help us safely meet the needs of an expected surge of patients affected by this pandemic. We are proud to be able to help launch it, and appreciate California’s leadership and collaboration as we look to leverage every resource available to fight COVID-19.”
Julie Sprengel, President of Dignity Health’s Southwest Division, will serve as acting CEO. David Quam, MD, who served in multiple leadership roles for Kaiser Permanente, will be the Chief Medical Officer. Jason Black, RN, formerly of Dignity Health, will be the Chief Nursing Executive. Additional leaders will be selected in the coming days.
Executive Bios:
Julie Sprengel, MBA, RN, Chief Executive Officer
Julie Sprengel, MBA, RN, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles Surge Hospital. Julie currently oversees Dignity Health’s Southwest Division, which encompasses nine acute care hospitals in Southern California and Nevada: California Hospital Medical Center, Community Hospital of San Bernardino, Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center, Northridge Hospital Medical Center, St. Bernardine Medical Center, and St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, and three St. Rose Dominican facilities in Nevada. With nearly 20 years of progressive health care management, Julie’s experience includes operations, strategic planning, financial analysis, and clinical integration. She holds a nursing degree from LAC+USC School of Nursing, a bachelor’s degree in management, and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
David Quam, MD, Chief Medical Officer
David A. Quam, MD, has accepted the role of chief medical officer for the Los Angeles Surge Hospital. The former medical director and chief of staff of Kaiser Permanente San Bernardino County, Dr. Quam most recently served as an assistant executive medical director overseeing the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Laboratory System and the Regional Genetics and Pathology Departments. In addition, he was instrumental in the planning of the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine and participated in Kaiser Permanente’s program-wide Precision Medicine/Genomics efforts. During his career, he has planned and opened multiple medical office buildings and two large hospitals.
Jason Black, RN, DNP, MBA, Chief Nursing Executive
Dr. Black has been named chief nursing executive for the Los Angeles Surge Hospital. Most recently, Dr. Black served as Chief Operating Officer at Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital, where he was accountable for day-to-day operations of the 334-bed facility. Dr. Black’s breadth of experience spans acute care, sub-acute care, and ambulatory care in community medical centers and public hospitals. Previous experience includes serving as chief nursing officer at the West Anaheim Medical Center and as senior director of clinical operations and performance improvement at San Diego-based Scripps Health. Dr. Black holds a doctor of nursing practice from Case Western Reserve University, a master of business administration and a master’s in nursing leadership from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s in nursing from Loma Linda University.
About Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is the second largest municipal health system in the nation. DHS operates as an integrated health system, operating 26 health centers and four acute care hospitals, in addition to providing health care to youth in the juvenile justice system and inmates in the LA County jails. Across the network of DHS’ directly operated clinical sites and through partnerships with community-based clinics, DHS cares for about 750,000 unique patients each year, employs over 22,000 staff, and has an annual operating budget of $6.2 billion.
Through academic affiliations with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU), DHS hospitals are training sites for physicians completing their Graduate Medical Education in nearly every medical specialty and subspecialty. In addition to its direct clinical services, DHS also runs the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency and the County’s 911 emergency response system, as well as Housing for Health and the Office of Diversion and Re-entry, each with a critical role in connecting vulnerable populations, including those released from correctional and institutional settings, to supportive housing.
About Dignity Health
Dignity Health is a multi-state nonprofit network of 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 41 acute care hospitals, and 400-plus care-centers, including community hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. Dignity Health is a part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system committed to advancing health for all people and dedicated to serving the common good. For more information, please visit our website at www.DignityHealth.org.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care and is recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of its members and the communities its serves. Kaiser Permanente currently serve 12.3 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Its experts and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. https://about.kaiserpermanente.org.
About CommonSpirit Health
CommonSpirit Health is a nonprofit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. It was created in February 2019 through the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. CommonSpirit Health is committed to creating healthier communities, delivering exceptional patient care, and ensuring every person has access to quality health care. With its national office in Chicago and a team of approximately 150,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, CommonSpirit Health operates 137 hospitals and more than 1000 care sites across 21 states. In FY 2019, Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health had combined revenues of nearly $29 billion and provided $4.45 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unreimbursed government programs. Learn more at commonspirit.org.
Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
