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The Latest COVID-19 News, Delivered to You!
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Welcome to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council’s COVID-19 Flash Blast. This brief synopsis of key issues specific to the HCH community, policy developments, resources, and reading lists on the topic of COVID-19 will be delivered every two weeks. You are receiving this email because you subscribe to HCH communications. If you do not wish to receive this bi-weekly alert, you may unsubscribe below. (Note: These e-blasts will be archived here.)
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Quote of the Week: "Let's not lose our hearts in this." – Jenny Metzler, Executive Director, Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, during a broader NHCHC Policy Committee discussion that emphasized the importance of having respectful, meaningful, personal conversations with staff who are still vaccine-hesitant. Many times these are valued members of our team who have been with us for a long time.
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Webinar: Crisis Response, Durable Lessons: Hotel Moves and Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
November 22, 1-2 p.m. ET
This virtual seminar marks the kickoff event for the Health x Housing Lab in the Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 9,500 New Yorkers were moved from congregate shelters or the streets into commercial hotel rooms. How did these moves impact their health? We will hear from four panelists who bring expertise from the perspectives of research, practice-based evaluation, and lived experience. The event will be moderated by David Brand, Senior Reporter at City Limits. Register here.
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CURRENT/EMERGING ISSUES & STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
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With new developments every day in the nation's effort to control the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a number of emerging issues for HCHs that we are following:
Current/Emerging Issues
- Ongoing lab delays with processing test results can lead to staff shortages and delay access to other services for patients/clients.
- Relying on pharmacy clinics to provide boosters for staff and clients because clinical capacity remains stretched.
- Continuing outreach to encampments may not yield a significant increase in vaccination rates due to low interest -- likely exacerbated by significant vulnerabilities and other health care needs.
- Increasing number of breakthrough cases is exhausting the limited number of isolation and quarantine resources.
- Growing demand for in-person care is outpacing the rate of staff returning to clinics.
- Competing priorities of returning to in-person board and committee meetings and implementing vaccine mandates means many meetings may remain virtual for the foreseeable future.
- Implementing the vaccine mandate is best for the safety of our health center community, but may mean saying goodbye to some long-term, valued staff.
- Delaying projects such as vaccine rate data analysis due to staffing shortages and unfilled positions.
- Using HIPAA as a reason not to share vaccination data between partner agencies.
- Confronting the challenge of shelter residents not getting vaccinated due to fear of being ostracized by other unvaccinated shelter residents.
Strategies for Success
- Offering outdoor flu and COVID vaccine clinics can create a celebratory and community feel.
- Utilize volunteers and students to manually check vaccine status to obtain a more accurate calculation of vaccination rate (absent more systematic data matching).
- Take the time to have meaningful, respectful, and personal conversations with staff who are still deciding what to do as the vaccine mandate goes into effect.
- Establish referral and care coordination processes for youth vaccinations when it is not feasible to offer them on-site due to logistics or low demand.
- View data analysis as an investment in the future -- it can inform planning, risk stratification, and prioritization for all future care.
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There will be many policy changes related to COVID-19 in the next several months as the Biden-Harris Administration moves forward with its agenda. Below are the most recent developments:
- Health Equity Task Force: The White House released the final report from the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. Task Force member Bobby Watts, CEO of the NHCHC, helped ensure a consistent focus on solutions that would benefit people experiencing homelessness. With this, the Administration announced $785 million in American Rescue Plan funding to support vaccine confidence-building efforts across communities of color, rural areas, and low-income populations.
- FEMA extends reimbursement: President Biden announced that the federal government will continue to provide 100% reimbursement of COVID-19 emergency response costs to states, tribes, and territories through April 2, 2022.
- Vaccines for kids: The Pfizer/Bio-N-Tech vaccine has been authorized for use in children aged 5-11.
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Federal guidance, local tools, and new research are being published every day. Below are the newest items we've selected that will be helpful to the HCH community.
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Federal guidance, local tools, and new research are being published every day. Below are the newest items we've selected that will be helpful to the HCH community.
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Publications from the HCH Community:
Other Media:
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Have a resource or issue you want to add to a future COVID-19 Flash Blast? Let us know! Email Katie League.
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Katie League, LCSW-C
COVID-19 Project Manager
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
kleague@nhchc.org
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National Health Care for the Homeless Council
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National Institute for Medical Respite Care
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| Grounded in human rights and social justice, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council's mission is to build an equitable, high-quality health care system through training, research, and advocacy in the movement to end homelessness.
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