Participants: Andrew Baker, Barbara Webber, Joe Martinez, Loren Schoonover, David Briseño, Alice, Nadia Sikes, Gabby Rivera
Alice: Primary Care providers in nursing homes have been able to get the vaccine, so we’ve seen more people start seeking their services. Some facilities are large enough that they can separate vaccinated and unvaccinated people, but there’s still concern that some people will choose not to get the vaccine and put those populations at risk.
David: Working in Portales. Most of the things we’ve encountered have been positive. Working with nursing homes in Portales to get them registered for the vaccine. Some have been able to get registered on their own, but others have had trouble. Staff is getting them set up with emails and passwords so that they can get registered. David has gotten the vaccine, but concerned that a lot of the staff have said no to the vaccine. We’ve been hit hard by COVID in Portales. Some people have come down and recovered ok, but it’s still a hit to morale. Still seeing the mess of political overflow in the Southeast area. Still prone to politicization of the crisis. Still working with the food bank and the center on aging. Not hard to get out the food. Once the word is out, people know where to look. David is looking into a summer food service program sponsored by the city. There’s a possibility to do a dinner program in Portales. Seeking vendors now to provide dinners to children (up to 600 meals/day). Grab and go seems to be the most convenient, hopefully we’ll see success in doing that. Purchasing a mobile dental van - we’ve been doing school-based dental programs for the past ten years. It’s difficult to find an empty room at a school, but now we can provide those services much more easily. Expecting delivery of the van in about 4 months. Primarily using that in Roswell - if it’s successful, they’ll be expanding to Portales and other parts of SE NM.
JM: Who is delivering the dental services?
DB: Casa De Familia. Looking to expand that into other communities. Biggest issue is cash flow, there’s already a behavioral health provider, so it’s also a territorial issue.
NS: Did a policy that requires immunization. Making reasonable accommodations for people who refuse, but have to separate employment with those who don’t comply. There are people giving out the vaccination at both the hospital and the health department. There are over 200,000 New Mexicans who have signed up for vaccination. Providers are getting vaccinated. Walmart stores don’t have lines anymore. Restaurants are operating at 25% capacity. When going around Alamogordo, you wouldn’t think they have a virus. People have lost caution and wariness of a disease that’s going to get more serious. Schools are still doing virtual learning. When thinking about providing meals, curbside pickup and twice/week pickups are effective. Food resource guides are getting out to people with the various available options for food relief. Some people are having the problem now that they need more storage space for food. Right now we’re having to rely on the at-home test kits.
JM: What’s the deal with broadband services?
DB/Alice: Nothing new to report. People still have to come to areas with wifi so that they can access work/school.
NS: People in Otero county working on the broadband initiative. All we’re doing now is keeping our legislators in the loop. The library right now is our main point of wifi for children. That’s uncomfortable though, working on longer-term fixes to that. We have approximately 600 children who are disenfranchised because they lack access to the internet. The school has been providing hot spots, but not sure if they’re still doing that. There will be some work done at this legislative session to expand funding for internet services.