With the coronavirus pandemic providing a seemingly endless string of depressing news, we offer a reminder that there also are good things happening in our community. Today, we have nothing but cheers; we hear enough jeers throughout the rest of the week.
Cheers: To expanded testing. For life to return to anything resembling normalcy, testing for the disease must be accessible. Being able to identify and isolate those who are infected is a prerequisite before people can gather in close proximity. Throughout Clark County, health providers are reporting expanded testing, often with results available in about 20 minutes.
“It’s none of this four-day turnaround anymore,” Clark County Public Health Officer Dr. Alan Melnick said. “This will really help if we want to move away from physical distancing.” Across the country, testing issues have ranged from delays in getting test kits to labs, to confusion over who could be tested. Some issues remain but the situation is improving, moving us slightly closer to ending stay-at-home orders. For those who believe they should be tested, The Columbian provides a list of local services.
Cheers: To prescription deliveries. The Vancouver Police Department is following the lead of neighboring law enforcement agencies and providing prescription deliveries for needy residents. To qualify, a resident must be 65 or older, or have a condition that puts them at higher risk from COVID-19.
If an order has been placed and paid for and the pharmacy has been notified, an officer will pick up the prescription and deliver it. Vancouver residents can call 360-487-7355 to sign up. Throughout the county, law enforcement agencies have gone out of their way to provide needed services that are outside their usual purview.
Cheers: To close-to-home care. As part of a reconfiguration of Washington’s mental health care system, a 48-bed facility has been proposed for Vancouver’s Bagley Downs neighborhood. It would be the first regional facility in the state as Washington shifts toward regional treatment to reduce reliance on Western State Hospital, a large facility near Tacoma.
The focus on regional facilities makes sense, providing better accessibility for the loved ones of people who have been involuntarily committed. Ideally, facilities also could provide more flexible and effective care than Western State Hospital, which long has been beset by problems. Most important, additional facilities will help ease the pressure on a system that is woefully short on capacity.
Cheers: To maintenance. The city of Vancouver has resumed some maintenance work, such as lawn mowing, street sweeping and stormwater facility maintenance — all with safety protocols in place.
While most of the duties could be deemed nonessential, performing the work now will help prevent more costly repairs in the future if facilities have been neglected.
Cheers: To generosity. Officials at the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington say they have raised more than $4 million in three weeks since launching a COVID Response Fund. As of last week, $1.75 million of that had been disbursed to nonprofit organizations in the area.
“Economic shifts that typically play out over a month or more are happening in a matter of weeks,” Community Foundation President Jennifer Rhoads said. With many people and many businesses in Clark County struggling through the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic, donors large and small throughout the region are helping out.
