By Mimi Hall
It’s been seven weeks since Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel issued her first order to protect the people of Santa Cruz County. That was before we had a single case, and when disease modeling showed that without intervention, our community could experience catastrophic impacts from COVID-19.
It was predicted that by this time, coronavirus should have been devastating our health care system and most vulnerable residents. Instead, we have kept our case count low and built capacity in our local health care system, and Newel recently began allowing activities such as construction and landscaping to proceed under certain conditions. These are the first of many small steps toward reopening our community and our local economy.
We recently took another step that will become critical to the lives and livelihoods of all residents as we move forward. The County’s Health Services Agency has established a new Community Recovery branch, called SAVE Lives Santa Cruz County. This is the framework our community will use to guide us through the rest of this pandemic.
SAVE Lives Santa Cruz County’s first task will be increasing testing and expanding health care capacity in order to meet the benchmarks Gov. Gavin Newsom has established for reopening the economy. To oversee this effort and in partnership with Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, we are working with Margaret Lapiz, a highly regarded former health care executive and well-respected advocate for health equity.
We have committed ourselves to equity so that no members of our community are left behind on the long road to recovery. We will prioritize frontline health care workers and first responders, but also make sure vulnerable residents such as farmworkers, persons experiencing homelessness and residents and staff of skilled nursing facilities are protected.
A coronavirus vaccine is still at least a year away. We at the Health Services Agency are aware of the school years, jobs and businesses being lost, and the family and friends from whom we’ve been separated. To return to something like normal prior to developing immunities, we need to know more about how the virus is impacting our community.
This includes expanding access to rapid diagnostic testing, as well as tracing the contacts of those who test positive. On that front, we are on the verge of increasing our testing capacity by hundreds per day above what is currently being offered by local providers.
The County is working with state public health officials to open one of 80 statewide testing sites in Watsonville. We are coordinating with UCSC on its new testing laboratory. And we have access to additional testing being offered by UCSF. Together, these services will greatly expand ability to monitor the disease and make informed decisions on behalf of our community.
Future phases of SAVE Lives Santa Cruz County’s work include working on modifications to the shelter-in-place order and physical distancing requirements, hiring more staff to conduct disease surveillance, and designing mass vaccinations strategies once those become available.
SAVE Lives Santa Cruz County is not the light at the end of the tunnel, because the road ahead is long. Rather, it is the tunnel itself, and it will guide us as we take this journey together. The Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency thanks residents for their dedication to protecting all members of our community. Your actions are making a difference. Together, we are saving lives in Santa Cruz County.
Mimi Hall is the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency director.
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May 10, 2020 at 07:00PM
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Guest Commentary | SAVE Lives is county's guide in pandemic - Santa Cruz Sentinel
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