Written by Tanya Terry
Some Flint residents have noted the 48503, 48504 and 48505 zip codes are getting hit hard in regards to the spread of the coronavirus and hospitals are turning people away. The residents want to know why.
Those people who have mild symptoms of COVID-19 do not need to be hospitalized, according to Suzanne Cupal, MPH and community health division director of the Genesee County Health Department. She said these people can recover at home and said that is the reason for the Stay at Home order and people are being asked to stay at home.
Those living in homes with individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 are being asked to use separate bathrooms. But, naturally, this is not a possibility in some households and some people in our community have already died.
“The challenge with testing in the community has been the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), along with swabs and medium in which to send the viral test to the lab,” Cupal said. “That issue is starting to get better. There is more access to personal protective equipment. There is more access to the viral medium that is required in order to send samples to the lab, and there are more private labs that are coming on line.”
As of 3 p.m. April 10, there were 22,783 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Michigan and 1,281 deaths statewide.
Cupal said this was not reflective of cases that are likely in the community because of the lack of testing availability.
“At this moment in time, our three hospital systems have PPE and they have the capacity to accept more people. So, they do have ventilators available,” Cupal said.
She said the numbers change every day, but the hospitals had what they needed at the time.
“There is an electronic system the hospitals enter in information into every day with an update on how many beds they have available, how many ventilators they have available and how much PPE they have available.”
This information also changes very rapidly. The community is still urged to follow precautions.
“For seniors and vulnerable populations, the best time to shop is first thing in the morning when the store first opens because it’s been thoroughly cleaned.”
Resources continue to exist for families and individuals though the way they are being distributed may have changed.
Salem Lutheran Church, in partnership with Shiloh, have operated a bottled water delivery program for the most vulnerable, primarily homebound and disabled populations, since 2018. About a month ago, when it became more difficult for many to buy commodities in the store, including bottled water, Salem was not able through any distributor to purchase pallets of bottled water any longer as a result of corporate policy changing as part of a rationing of water. The county had the same issue, and Salem ended the program.
However, Nestle’ Corporation has increased the amount of bottled water they are donating to Flint for the vulnerable populations. This was an effort on behalf of the mayor of Flint to address that need. He is using city of Flint funding, out of a fund he has available as mayor that was used for travel left over by a previous administration. Residents are being asked to self identify who is most vulnerable during this global pandemic that has affected global and national markets. For details, visit cityofflint.com.
The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan has distributed 1.9 million pounds of food in the last three weeks; about a half million more than what they usually do. The food bank serves 22 counties and that is across the service area. For the next few weeks, there will be a shortage of shelf stable food, which is typically stored at the shelter.
“We’re still going to be distributing a lot of food,” said Kara Ross, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. “It’s just going to be more in the fresh category, frozen, refrigerated, milk, dairy-things we’re able to procure and get into the region. We’re pulling produce from as far as Texas, Florida and Georgia to have it here for our community.”
Ross said some of the food bank’s faith based partners are run by the very vulnerable population that should be sheltering in place. If they don’t have volunteers, some of them have closed or changed how they structure their distribution. So, the food bank is working with other partners in the community to host large scale mobile distributions. Details on where food is now being distributed can be found at fbem.org.
Most insurance companies are currently providing coverage for telepsychological services. One challenge to this is many people do not have access to the internet, particularly in the hospital, according to Thomas Wrobel, PhD, department of psychology at the University of Michigan-Flint. He also said the psychologists were not going into the prisons because of the high risk of the population.
“The national organization and state organization of psychologists and local psychological community has been adapting to providing services both for inpatients and for outpatients,” Wrobel said.
The crisis line for Genesee Health System is 1-810-257-3740. Genesee Health System also offers mental health services to those in need.
The Genesee County Health Department’s Burton clinic is open by appointment for family planning, immunizations, sexually transmitted disease testing and WIC. For immunizations, call 237-4569. For family planning, call 237-4538. For sexual health, call 257-3139. For WIC, call 810-237-4537 or 810-237-4536.
“Thanks to everyone for everything you do in keeping our community safe,” Cupal said. “Know that everyone’s contributions are so valued and appreciated.”
