Other items in today’s column include:
*Political bytes
SAN DIEGO — Twelve of the 24 patients in Seacrest Village Retirement Community’s Katzin Memory Care Unit have tested positive for COVID-19, Pam Ferris, President and CEO of the Encinitas-based facility run under Jewish community auspices, reported on Tuesday, January 12. Of these, she said, nine already have had treatments involving intravenous infusion of the medication known as Bamlanivimab, and three others are scheduled to begin the single-time treatment, which lasts approximately two hours.
Bamlanivimab has been granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration for adult patients exhibiting “mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms” and who “are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization,” according to a fact sheet. Seacrest Village has nurses on staff, under supervision of a doctor, who are trained in administering the infusions.
The Katzin Memory Care facility is the smallest of four separate sections of Seacrest Village, the others being the Skilled Nursing facility with a current population of 46 patients, the Assisted Living facility with 38 residents, and the Independent Living facility with 101 residents, for a current total of 209 occupants. Overall, Seacrest Village has a capacity for approximately 245 residents, who are served by a staff of approximately 250, according to Ferris.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last March, 37 staff members and 23 residents have tested positive, with most of them having since recovered, Ferris said. To date, the facility has not suffered any COVID-19-related deaths.
Ferris said most of the staff and nursing home residents have received the first round of Pfizer vaccine, and are scheduled to receive the second round on January 20th. Next in line will be the Assisted Living residents However, she said, CVS Pharmacy, which administers the program, says it thus far has not been authorized by the government to vaccinate the residents in the Independent Living facility, notwithstanding that the average age of all Seacrest Village residents is 89.
She said some family members of those residents wonder whether they should drive them to public vaccination sites, but Ferris advises against this, saying the wait in long lines at the public sites can be very difficult for the elderly. She said if necessary Seacrest will separately contract with providers to get vaccinations for the Independent Living residents.
Whereas residents in the other facilities have been relatively easy to quarantine, when necessary, those in the Memory Care Unit present more of a problem, Ferris said. One reason is structural: their rooms open up onto a common living room area. The other is a function of memory loss: some residents don’t understand or remember that they should remain isolated and wear masks.
Prior to the current outbreak, which began approximately January 4th, the memory care residents ate in their own common dining room, along with their caregivers. Since the outbreak, Ferris said, patients are being quarantined and meals are being served to them in their rooms. Whenever someone tries to wander into the common room, staff is there to redirect them, she said.
Ferris said the staff at Seacrest Village, including the front-line nurses, the cleaning and maintenance crews, the kitchen workers, and all the others, are heroes. “We feel like we are at war, it’s like a war, trying to keep people safe, and trying to help them understand the need for a vaccine to be safe. The residents, as much as they complain [about quarantine measures and the closing of certain common facilities such as the fitness center and dining halls] are grateful. I have a group that I meet with and we speak about silver linings. Without exception, every single one of those residents have said ‘I would rather be here than in my own home. I feel safe here.’ They don’t have to go out and shop. We do errands for them. We arrange Zoom calls for them, bringing on extra staff so they can call their families, which has been a successful program, especially for our nursing home residents.”
Very frustrating for staff members, she said, is the amount of people in the outside world who don’t believe that COVID-19 is a real problem. Ferris said the phenomenon is similar to people who deny that the Holocaust happened. “Let them see the people we’ve seen with scars and tattoos on their arms — there is no denying it, and yet people do. It’s the same with COVID: we see these rallies going on and no one is wearing masks. It’s ridiculous. People are dying from the virus, or getting sick.”
Asked what the Jewish community can do to help Seacrest Village, Ferris said that financial donations through Seacrest Village’s website can help to defray such added costs as the continuous COVID testing that is done for residents and staff on site, and the cost of providing meals for the staff, which had not been done before.
More than that, Ferris said, the community could recognize the unstinting efforts of the Seacrest Village workers and send to them via this email words of encouragement, support, and praise, as these are morale boosters in a time that is both physically and mentally exhausting.
*
Political bytes
*The Anti-Defamation League reports its survey shows that two-thirds of Americans “believe Donald Trump (67 percent) and members of white supremacist, far-right or militia groups (64 percent) are at least somewhat responsible for the violence at the Capitol.” Even-higher percentages fear there will be violence in the future from the militia movement (77 percent) and white supremacists (75 percent). Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL’s chief executive officer commented, “Most Americans now see the direct connection between the dangerous rhetoric from President Trump, others on the far right, and extremist groups to the horrifying violence at our nation’s Capitol. At ADL, we have been monitoring the concerning rise of extremism and the way national leaders, including President Trump, have enabled and empowered this hate to spread, especially online. The events of this week were the latest example of why it’s essential that policymakers and social media companies take concrete action to prevent future violence.”
*Run Women Run, an organization dedicated to increasing women’s participation is public office, will honor newly-seated San Diego County Supervisors Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer at a 6 p.m. Zoom reception on Tuesday, January 19. Registration for the $25-per-person event via this website.
*Former San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman in an essay published in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune commented on the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol: “(T)he fact that a violent mob tried to subvert the democratic process should remind us of an important lesson: words matter. Many Americans feel numb to the president’s rhetoric, yet this incident shows that thoughtless and dangerous rhetoric can trigger tragic violence. Nobody has a megaphone as loud as a president, but this is also a reminder that our words to each other matter, too. Because when amplified they can do great good — or great harm.”
*Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonita) was the only member of the San Diego delegation–the rest being Democrats–to have voted to object to the certification on Jan. 6 of the electoral college report of the presidential votes for Joe Biden. Even after the violent attack on the Capitol, Issa continued to press the conspiracy theory that the election had been won by Biden through fraud. “I voted my constitutional conscience,” he told The San Diego Union-Tribune. Now, with Democrats seeking to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol, Issa says the Democrats are simply kicking Trump when he’s down and overplaying their hand.
*
Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com