Work that saved lives needs to be publicized, grand jury states
SANTA
CRUZ — A Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury report released just before the
weekend praises the work of public health officials during the pandemic when it
came to local contact tracing and testing efforts. But there was one downfall —
access to information online.
The
jury, through its research, found that employees in the Public Health Division
and their facilitation of work with local agencies was the reason why the
county ranks lower in COVID-19 cases, deaths and tests logged per 100,000
people. Through initiatives such as “Save Lives Santa Cruz County,” testing and
tracing were promoted early.
Additionally,
particularly during the second half of the pandemic, Public Health officials
became the conduit to the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security Act and used much of that funding to make sure that resources were
available to all in Santa Cruz County — especially the areas with the lowest
Healthy Places Index numbers.
Some
of the good work was advertised and recognized. But because of missing
information on the Health Services Agency website and the “Save Lives Santa Cruz
County” website, the grand jury felt that more transparency would have
mitigated the spread and upped morale further. More specifically, on the “Save
Lives” page, the jury felt that the crisis the county had gone through was not
reflected.
“We…
believe that county residents would be happy to hear of some of their federal
income taxes returning to the county,” the jury wrote just before its
conclusion. “A significant example that lacks that kind of publicity is the
establishment of the COVID-19 testing laboratory at UCSC where (the) Public
Health Division directed over $1.5 million from the CARES funding.”
The
report goes on to say that the UC Santa Cruz lab is a direct illustration of
the cooperation between the university and public agencies. However, because of
a lack of promotion of this information from any other parties involved besides
the school, the effort itself to make the lab possible did not receive the
attention it deserved.
Beyond
being able to follow the bill, residents would also have benefitted from a more
detailed “Get Tested” page on the Health Services Agency website, it was
mentioned in the jury’s findings.
“The
Health Services Agency of Santa Cruz County’s web page listing COVID-19 testing
sites does not adequately help residents find an appropriate testing site to
fit their needs,” the jury wrote.
There
are five recommendations that the Public Health Division alongside its
communication managers must consider and respond to by Aug. 31. First, the
Health Services Agency should include more information on each testing site so
that people with extenuating circumstances can figure out which site would
serve them best, the grand jury wrote.
Second,
the agency should promote the “Save Lives” initiative more frequently; an
example is to publish operational reviews weekly for the public to see what
continues to happen behind the scenes to usher the county out of the health
crisis. Third, the jury recommended the agency prepare weekly highlights from
the periodic reports already written for the “Save Lives” initiative.
Fourth,
officials should consider providing regularly scheduled and recorded video
reports through the county website. This would mirror how Santa Clara County’s
health officials have, daily and then seasonally, updated residents through
their Facebook page.
Finally,
the county should write a press release about how it supported the UC Santa
Cruz lab opening.
Health
Services Agency Director Mimi Hall said late Monday that she and her team are
still assessing the jury’s report. Hall did not comment on which
recommendations would be acted upon or how they would be implemented.
“We
are pleased to be recognized for our efforts to save as many lives as possible
during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hall said. “This could not have been
accomplished without the help of our community partners and the community’s
willingness to follow recommendations and to think beyond themselves for the
greater good.”
Hall
said the Public Health Division’s limited resources led to it relying on the
strength of partnerships both in and out of the health care realm. It was the
partnerships that minimized harm to the community and kept the COVID-19 death
toll from rising any higher.
“Our
thoughts remain with the families of the 206 community members who lost their
lives to COVID during the last 15 months,” she concluded.
Santa
Cruz Sentinel
By MELISSA HARTMAN
June 7, 2021 at
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