Officials and doctors come together to offer all kinds of help
Por Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services
With one in every 200 LA County residents infected with COVID 19, county officials are mobilizing to provide a number of services and resources to directly address needs related to the pandemic. In the second of a series of briefings for the ethnic media, on December 3, county representatives unveiled their programs, urging everyone to take precautions to take care of their health and prevent the spread of the disease. infection to other people.
Getting tested is vital, said Dr. Erika Flores-Uribe, an emergency medicine specialist with the LA County Department of Health Services, and the county has increased testing centers: there were 30 at the start of the pandemic, and there are now 180 testing centers. The services at these centers are available to everyone, regardless of whether they have health insurance or not, and it does not matter if they have money to pay for the test and regardless of their immigration or citizenship status. To find the closest testing center and make an appointment, call 211.
“Nobody is immune to this virus. Anyone could get this virus and spread it to others, ”said Dr. Tasha Dixon, senior physician at the DHS (Department of Public Health, or DHS) Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center. “Please come. We are here to help you, we will not give any information to the authorities. We are here to take care of your health ”.
If someone is at risk of transmitting COVID in their home due to possible exposure to the virus, the county has medical shelters available (places where it can be isolated for quarantine). These can be requested by calling (833) 540-0473.
“Sometimes there is a tragic moment in history, and that brings us all together,” said Hilda L. Solís, Pro Tem Chair (Provisional) of the County Board of Supervisors, in whose district more than 107,000 live. the county’s more than 400,000 COVID patients. “It is unacceptable. We have to find a way to lower the COVID (contagion) curve by encouraging our communities to take advantage of all these health services. “
The Pacific Islander Latino, African American, Native American and Asian communities account for the majority of COVID-19 patients, he said, but “the most affected demographic at the moment is 18-49 year olds.”
“That is why we are having to go to great lengths right now, to restrict our participation in outdoor activities and to make sure we adhere to social (physical) distancing, wearing protective masks and making sure we get tested (for COVID) and to seek any assistance that the county and other healthcare providers can offer to our community. At this moment, time is of the essence ”.
“We need a lot of support, including financial support,” he said, but “we are a community, a family, so we have to work together.”
His office announced a new agreement between the county and 51 community benefit organizations that can help people find food assistance, health care, cash, homeless services and other services. These 51 organizations include among them California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, Armenian Relief Society of Western USA, Chinatown Service Center, Gender Justice L.A., Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, Pukuu Cultural Community Services, Khmer Girls in Action, InnerCity Struggle, y CIELO: Indigenous Communities in Leadership.
Antonia Jiménez, Director of the Department of Public Social Services, emphasized the CalFresh program, which offers help to buy food to all people, whether or not they have a home, a car or a job. One in three people in the county receives help from CalFresh, and 70% of applications received by phone are approved the same day. You can make those calls in any of the 10 available languages, he said, and interpreters are available for other languages if needed.
Calls are answered Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM and Saturdays from 8 AM to 4:30 PM. You can also apply on the CalFresh website: getcalfresh.org (for Spanish: getcalfresh.org/?new_locale=es)
Besides CalFresh, there are many food banks and pantries that offer free food. For a list of these locations, see the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank locator (https://www.lafoodbank.org/find-food/pantry-locator/) [en inglés] (more information on page 2 of: https://www.lafoodbank.org/wp-content/uploads/Food-Resource-Guide-2-sided.pdf) and also that of FoodFinder (https://foodfinder.us/) [en inglés].
If someone needs help from the WIC (Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Assistance Program), they can get it regardless of their immigration status. On December 2, the appeals court issued a decision prohibiting the use of “WIC” from being considered a “public charge” factor for immigration applications.
“There is promising news about vaccines against COVID-19,” said Dr. Flores-Uribe. “But there is still no vaccine.”
“Please continue to take your medications and take care of yourself, and find creative ways to exercise, such as dancing at home instead of going to the gym.”
Dr. Dixon is concerned that people are not taking the pandemic seriously. She stressed how easy it is to get a flu shot or to get tested for COVID, and that they can be obtained free of charge, both in pharmacies and medical providers.
“This is the mission of the work we do,” said Dr. Flores-Uribe, echoing Dixon’s advice not to rule out a cough and think it’s a simple allergy, for example, but to go get a medical checkup.
“We are all in this together. If we do our part, if we keep going and put in more effort on our part, we will go back to the new normal, and we will be fine in the end, ”Dixon said.
Translated from English by Oscar Arteta.
–
