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139th

Community Health

Advisory
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Weekly Message from the Executive Director

Tony Anderson



By the Numbers



This week we reported 37 consumers with positive COVID tests, 18 providers with positive COVID tests. Two of them were hospitalizations and one died. Among the consumers with severe conditions one refused vaccinations, and two were vaccinated with one booster. As we reported last week, many people have the flu, COVID, and or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), in fact we're seeing the most positive flu tests in over 25 years, so please do what you can to stay safe out there during this holiday season.

California Advocates Harry and Connie Lapin Featured in the Story of Autism, "In A Different Key"


This week the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) aired a documentary, "In a Different Key" that followed the life of Donald Triplett who was the first person diagnosed with Autism. While Donald lived in a small Mississippi town surrounded by a community who was very supportive of him. He was fortunate to be from a highly respected affluent family.


The filmmakers follow the lives of several families and self-advocates with Autism in their triumphs and struggles in navigating their communities. The film also highlights two trail blazer parents, Harvey and Connie Lapin, who fought hard over the years for a viable community system that could meet the needs of their family, people with autism and all developmental disabilities and their families. Both Harvey and Connie can be seen today fighting to make the self-determination program a successful option for supporting people with disabilities in the most person-centered way. Thank you to you both for all you've done for our community.

In A Different Key | PBS

A mother tracks down the first person ever diagnosed with autism, now an elderly man living in rural Mississippi, to learn if his life story holds promise for her own autistic son. Her journey exposes a startling record of cruelty and kindness alike, framed by forces like race, money and privilege – but leads to hope that more communities are learning to have the backs of people on the spectrum....


“Really, it’s an untold story of an unrecognized civil rights movement,” Zucker says in a statement of the film. “But it’s also a love story, where the arc of justice is really bending in the right direction – just not fast enough for mothers like me.”


Zucker and Donvan co-wrote the book In a Different Key: The Story of Autism, which was published in 2016 and became a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. Zucker and Donvan first established a relationship with Triplett when they co-wrote the 2010 The Atlantic magazine story, “Autism’s First Child,” which was included in The Best American Magazine Writing 2011 compendium. (Oct 14, 2022 article by Katie Kilkenny for The Hollywood Reporter)
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Clinical Update

Dr. Claire Lazaro

Clinical Director

Available COVID-19 Test Kits


The Federal government has required medical insurance providers to cover rapid at-home COVID-19 test kits.[1] This means you can get rapid at-home COVID-19 test kits (which is the same as the over-the-counter COVID-19 test, or antigen COVID-19 test) if you have Medicare, Medi-cal or private insurance.1 Medicare can cover up to 8 over-the counter COVID-19 tests each month![2] Call your local pharmacy and ask how you can get your test through your insurance.[3] Below is a list of participating pharmacies listed on the Medicare website.3


o   1-888-705-6576

Looking for a pharmacy not listed above?

  • Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). to find access to free tests. TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.
  • Check with your pharmacy or healthcare provider to see if they are participating and will bill Medicare on your behalf.




[1] Time. November 22, 2022. https://time.com/6235791/free-covid-19-tests-monthly-insurance-reimbursement/

[2] Medicare. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-diagnostic-tests

[3] Medicare Participating Pharmacies offering COVID-19 Over-the-counter (OTC) tests. https://www.medicare.gov/covid-19-tests-participating-pharmacies

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Case Management Update - Children

Tara Sisemore-Hester

Director of Consumer Services - Children

Cindy Jimenez’s Early Childhood team delivered Christmas gifts to a few families this week! 

HOT OFF THE PRESS: Darby’s Legacy

Posted by Ross Adams on November 28, 2022 at 8:00am

The Department of Developmental Services has recently approved the digital publication of Darby’s Legacy: Best Practices When Serving Families with Infants and Toddlers Who Are Medically Fragile. This document, endorsed by the California Interagency Coordinating Council on Early Intervention, is now available here on the Neighborhood, and elsewhere, to assist Early Start personnel who provide supports and services to families with young children who are medically fragile and likely in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Darby’s Legacy can be downloaded for later retrieval, emailing to a colleague or family, or for printing to share with others. Producing Darby’s Legacy, which honors the memory of Darby Jean and her family, was a labor of love for all involved.



This resource is related to one or more competencies in the ICC-Recommended Early Start Personnel Manual (ESPM). To find out more, visit this resource in the Neighborhood here.




Case Management Update - Adults

Christine Couch

Director of Consumer Services - Adults

SPOTLIGHT ON Michael Brewer, Mr. Holiday! Check out this Christmas Village crafted by Mr. Holiday from Jackson. This is the 25th year for this festive miniature village, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_cPUTDptLk

JACKSON, Calif. — For 25 years now, Michael Brewer has created a Christmas Village – and it’s currently on display for all to see at the Ledger Dispatch Newspaper offices in the Amador County community of Jackson.

He and his mother started with just ten miniature buildings back in 1997. They set it up every year in their living room.

 

When Brewer’s mom died in 2010, Brewer kept the tradition going in his Jackson home.

 

 "It's just memories of her and what she did for me,” Brewer said.

He opened his display to the public in 2019. Back then—he was inviting people into his home to see it. That's when Ledger Dispatch Newspaper Publisher Jack Mitchell came to do a story on Brewer's Christmas Village.

“He called me on a story and said, ‘Hey, I've got this village in my house, trying to get people to come see it,’" Mitchell recalled. "He had, I don't know, 30, 40 buildings set up and a really nice display. And then he started talking about all of these people in the village and all these backstories…I just knew it was something that was really special.”

 

It was then Mitchell invited Brewer to move the display to the newspaper offices in Jackson the following year. Mitchell also dubbed Brewer “Mr. Holiday,” and the name stuck.

 

Brewer puts his friends in the village, too, assigning them a new building every year.

 

"When I first met him, he had - what - 80 people in the village? With stories for each one," Mitchell said.

 

The so-called “Mr. Holiday’s Amador County Famous Christmas Village” is now on display at the newspaper offices. Thanks to publicity from the paper and the many friends Brewer makes as a courtesy clerk at the Safeway in town - where he has worked for 22 years, Brewer’s Christmas Village collection has now grown to more than 260 buildings! It takes up an entire room at the Ledger Dispatch Newspaper, plus an extra table just to hold all the new additions this year.

 

"Because of Michael and who he is and who Mr. Holiday is, the donations that came in, and this growth of this village and the number of people that know about his mother and how this started in the history of it," Mitchell said.

Brewer is dedicating this 25th anniversary of the Christmas Village to his parents, Vina and Bob Jaap.

 

"She was a foster parent for 40 years," Brewer explained, recalling his mother and father, Vina and Bob Jaap. "When I was two years old, they took legal guardianship of me, and that's how I became part of this family."

His mom died in 2010 and his dad died a year later.

 

"It was hard," Brewer recalled. "And that's when the community has really come to support me throughout all my years here. I've been up here 13 years."

 

After all, it takes a village.

 

"I always said he's my special needs brother I never knew I always needed. He keeps the holiday in his heart," Mitchell said. "And, of course, it takes someone like Michael - Mr. Holiday - to wake you up and say, 'Hey, you know, what, it's time to do something together.'"

 

You can see “Mr. Holiday’s Amador County Famous Christmas Village” for yourself. It will remain up through the first week of January. It’s open when Jackson’s Ledger Dispatch Newspaper offices are open: weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 106 Water Street in Jackson. Brewer says people can also make an after-hours appointment and he’ll personally give them a tour. Anyone interested can reach out to him at the Facebook page HERE.  

Take care of yourself this holiday season. That includes taking care of your mental and behavioral heal. For help and support, visit SAMSHA – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

American Institutes for Research (AIR)

 

Be Part of an Important Study!

Researchers from American Institutes for Research (AIR) are conducting a study to look at ways to improve care by understanding the needs of people receiving HCBS. This study will try to answer questions like:

  •  “How did you hear about HCBS services?”
  •  “What was your experience like applying to receive HCBS?”
  • “What do you think about your caregiver?”

 

AIR would like to interview people receiving services about their experiences with HCBS and will include questions about equity issues related to location and race/ethnicity. The interview would take about an hour and can be done over the phone or by video, whatever is preferred. All answers are completely private and won’t affect any services or care received. As a thank you, AIR is offering a $75 gift card for participating in an interview.

 

If you would like to participate, or know someone who would like to participate, please click here.

 

Questions? Please email HCBSinfo@air.org.

Kwanzaa (/ˈkwɑːn.zə/) is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day.[1] It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.

Above Family Cafe Flyer in PDF Here





Community Services Update

Brian Bennett

Director of Community Services
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 Notice of Public Hearing for VMRC’s intent to propose a request to the Department of Developmental Services in accordance with AB 637 for current and future providers of (785) Psychologist services; VMRC will share a summary and analysis of the costs associated with the proposal at the public, Consumer Services Committee meeting on Wednesday January 4th.

 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83043373120?pwd=WkhBWWxxUS9XWHQ0aDVINmh4OHpRQT09&from=addon





The DEI Corner

with

Mark Crear, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager

Check Out VMRC's Holiday Greeting Video!

North Valley Hills Update

   Dena Hernandez, Regional Manager (209) 473-6930

Due to unsettled weather impacting much of California with multiple rounds of rain, heavy snow, freezing temperatures and gusty winds, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) is working with local government partners to coordinate any necessary response and provide resources to communities such as generators, comfort kits, or other necessities to ensure that residents stay safe.

 

In addition, Cal OES is working with state partners like the California Department of Transportation, the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Social Services, and others to ensure local governments have the resources they need to keep roads open and support vulnerable communities.

Follow the link below to find open Warming Centers, road closures, and tips on how you can prepare, stay safe during these weather event and a social media toolkit. https://wp.me/pd8T7h-7HR

CHOICES Institute

Conference Update- questions (209) 473-6950

November 17, 2022


Save the Date!  

 

CHOICES Institute will be holding its 35th ANNUAL Conference on FRIDAY, April 14, 2023

Theme:

 Roller Coaster of CHOICES 2023

The Ups & Downs of your CHOICES!

 

COST (start saving your $$$ NOW):

The conference will be hybrid:

This means it will be in person in Stockton AND also on Zoom

 

·      In person for all: $30- this includes continental breakfast, lunch & conference t-shirt

·      On Zoom for all: $10- this includes Zoom link and conference t-shirt


  Are YOU interested in being a Speaker at our April 14, 2023 Conference?

Do you have a story (about 20 minutes) to share and talk about the “Ups & Downs of your CHOICES”?

 

 

If so, email dena.hernandez@scdd.ca.gov

with your name, number & story idea/topic to be added to the list of potential speakers by December 16, 2022!

The CHOICES Conference Planning Team will decide on speakers on the list at the December CHOICES Conference Planning meeting.           

Call the CHOICES line 209-473-6950 for any questions.

Above CHOICES Form in PDF Here

Above Template in PDF Here
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Family Resource Network (FRN) Update

Lisa Culley, Executive Director

Start the new year with a new job! Family Resource Network (FRN) is hiring Family Resource Specialists to support families with topics including: education, medical, regional center, social services and other areas. Use your lived experience as a family member of someone with disabilities to provide information, peer-to-peer support, community service navigation, and more. Part-time, flexible positions available, with occasional evenings and weekends. Degree not required, bilingual Spanish is preferred. For questions or to apply, please email cover letter and resume to lisaculley@frcn.org. 

SAC6 Amazon Smile Flyer in PDF Here

Local County, State and National Public Health Resources
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