Newsletter: Friday, May 22
Thank you for keeping up with our weekly news!
Our highlights this Friday include information on contact tracing, a weekly PA spotlight with Linda, and a reminder about our Memorial Day closure.
Contact Tracing:
An Important Tool to Prevent Future Outbreaks
As communities around Oregon slowly begin to open based on Governor Kate Brown’s framework, protective factors are being put in place that will allow health care officials to respond effectively and efficiently when an individual tests positive for the Coronavirus. The Governor is concentrating on implementing widespread Coronavirus testing and contract tracing to prevent another outbreak.
What is Contact Tracing?
Let’s first think about the word tracing. To trace is to make a copy of something, like a drawing or map, by drawing an outline of an existing picture. When we talk about contact tracing, health officials are trying to create an outlined map of all the people and places a person with Covid-19 has been in contact with.
In order to create this map, health care providers will ask an individual who has contracted Coronavirus many important questions:
Who has the infected person been in contact with?
What has the infected person been doing while infected?
Where has the infected person been?
When did the infected person first have symptoms?
With this important information, health care professionals from Oregon Health Authority (OHA) determine who they need to reach out to in order to notify people that they have been around someone that has tested positive to the Coronavirus. People who have had interactions with someone who is sick are called “contacts” and OHA health care officials will also ask them about the interactions they have had outside of their homes.
“Contact tracers check in with contacts daily for 14 days to see whether the contact starts having COVID-19 symptoms. These check-ins can happen via phone, text, or email. Oregon Health Authority will also ask these same people to self-isolate for 14 days.” Read more about OHA’s plan to identify, investigate and monitor COVID-19 cases here.
Contact tracing can also be thought of as “retracing our steps” in order to protect each other from getting sick. It is an extremely important method to prevent an outbreak.
What if we find ourselves sick and test positive for the Coronavirus?
A person from Oregon Health Authority might call us and ask us questions like the ones listed above. If OHA calls us, we can choose to participate and answer their questions. Participating is our way of helping to decrease the spread of the virus. It might feel strange to share our friends’ names and our daily activities with someone we don’t know, but the information is only going to be used to protect other people from getting sick.
The information we share with OHA is held under HIPAA privacy laws and can only be used to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
In order to be able to provide valuable information, we need to think of simple ways to track whom we’ve been with and where we have gone. Of course, we can’t track everything we do, but we can use a calendar to track when we leave our homes and make a list of people we spend time with. Some things we may want to write on our calendars or on a piece of paper are:
When we go to the grocery store or pharmacy
Where we go shopping and which pharmacy we use
When we meet a friend for a social distancing meetup
Who we spend time with in person
As always, be careful about giving away too much information over the phone or online. An OHA Contact Tracing representative would not ask you for money or for private information such as your social security number or bank account number.
COVID-19 and State Budget
Coronavirus has had an enormous impact on our communities. Many people have lost their jobs and businesses have had to close their doors. Income generates Oregon’s state revenue, and with this loss, less money will be available for state services.
You might have heard talk about state budget cuts and what they mean for the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS). But as of right now, there are not specific plans or set dates to put any budget cuts into action. As we learn specifics we will pass the information along to our community.
“What we can do, as advocates, is to expand understanding of what our services are, and what they mean to our entire community.” Our voice is strongest together. Read OSSA’s post for more details about COVID-19’s impact on the state budget. Another great source for budget and legislative information is the Go! Project through the DD Coalition. You can sign up for their bulletin here.
If you have more questions or concerns about the state budget and its impact on DD services, reach out to us at pcantlon@communitypath.org.
Advocate for Equal Rights to Health Care
Disability Rights Oregon is fighting against health care discrimination based on disability, race and age. Everyone deserves proper medical treatment at doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals. Advocate for equal rights for medical care by signing this petition. It only takes a minute to sign, and it is a great way to make a difference without even leaving your home!
Image Source: Make It Grateful
Memorial Day Crafts
It might feel a little different to celebrate holidays right now, but days like Memorial Day are still federally recognized and important to all of us! Get into the spirit by making patriotic crafts. This list might inspire you to get resourceful and make unique decorations out of objects you already have at home!
PA Spotlight of the Week
Linda, one of Community Pathways’ PAs, wants to share with you how her life is different since the outbreak and how she has been spending her time at home.
Linda has missed hugs and direct interaction with people more than anything. But, she lives far away from the office and she doesn’t miss the long drive into work!
Linda usually does a lot of nature photography, but during her time at home she has been drawing. Drawing helps to keep her mind at ease when she finds herself getting anxious or worried. Linda’s drawings are based on characters from the show the Walking Dead.
Do you have a hobby you like to do at home, or a story you’d like to share?
We want to hear from you! Write to us at pcantlon@communitypath.org.
We will not share your information publicly (unless you want us to)!
Resources
It has been a while since our lifestyles changed due to COVID-19, but it doesn’t get easier with time.
Clackamas County Go Teams have been formed to “go out into the community to help individuals and families who are struggling with anxiety, unemployment, grief and a host of other emotional and social problems that are becoming more and more common during this time that the world is responding to COVID-19.”
Reach out for Go Team services by calling 503-655-8585.
For more mental health resources and crisis lines, click here.
MEMORIAL DAY CLOSURE
Community Pathways will be closed on Monday, May 25th for Memorial Day. We will reopen at 9 AM on Tuesday, May 26th - maintaining our COVID-19 operations.
