David Michel

The Stay Safe, Stay Home campaign is now under way! Please, take heed: if you don't have to leave the house, don't leave the house.

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, in partnership with the Connecticut Broadcasters Association (CBA), today announced the launch of the “Stay Safe, Stay Home” public service announcement campaign, telling Connecticut residents they have to stay home in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The ads will be placed with CBA members stations across radio and television, and they will also be translated into Spanish.

The campaign will feature multiple ads throughout the month of April and will air multiple times daily on participating member stations. All of the ads will also be shared on Governor Lamont’s social media channels. The first spot, “Opposite Month,” was placed with stations today and is currently airing.

“We need to make sure we’re getting the word out to our residents as much as possible, and through all means,” Governor Lamont said. “Our broadcast partners serve the public every day by providing them with accurate and timely information, and these PSAs will provide that clear message to the public. Residents must stay home in order to stop the spread, and to keep our neighbors and loved ones safe.”

“This is what our CBA members do best – communicate with the public,” Michael Ryan, President of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association, said. “Our members are proud to serve viewers and listeners every day by providing the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, and we are proud to partner with the Lamont administration on this critically important campaign.”

The CBA is a nonprofit association of the FCC-licensed television and radio stations in Connecticut, including all of the major network television affiliates, multiple-station radio groups, and locally owned-and-operated radio stations, both commercial and non-commercial. These stations donate their air time to support statewide messages of public importance, including the governor’s message about COVID-19.

STAY SAFE, STAY HOME. www.ct.gov/coronavirus

Transcript of the “Opposite Month” PSA:

April is the "opposite month." The opposite of everything I've ever told my kids.

Don't go to school... don't go visit your grandparents... don't go outside and play hoops with your friends... don't go to a worship service.

This virus is turning everything upside down, but if we take the "Stay at Home" rule seriously, we'll be right side up soon enough.

Connecticut's going to beat this virus. By sticking together and sticking to the rules.

COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS COVID-19 UPDATE

About Connecticut’s Health Centers: Connecticut’s health centers serve nearly 400,000 residents, and last year we had over 2.1 million visits. Health centers offer primary care, behavioral health, and dental services, and help to reduce usage of hospital emergency departments. We are also where the state’s most vulnerable populations turn to for healthcare. Seventeen percent (17%) of our patient population is uninsured, and 48% is at or below the Federal Poverty Level.
We recognize that health centers are on the front lines in helping communities respond to this pandemic and reducing the burden on hospitals, so we have been working to ensure that our health centers are able to make the necessary adjustments to respond to this crisis.

What health centers are doing right now:

• Connecticut’s health centers have many staff teams working from home, and some are conducting over 50% of their services via telemedicine. Most health centers are not able to offer in-person dental services, except for dental emergencies, but are providing primary care and behavioral health services via telephone and other means. They have altered staffing models and health center patient flows to minimize spread of the virus and potential exposure.
• The Department of Public Health has generously released some of the state’s PPE to health centers. This week, our staff unloaded 18 pallets of supplies and distributed these to health centers across the state. This will be a tremendous help in helping us respond to need in your communities.
• Health centers are offering many services through telemedicine. They have been working to continue triaging patients and helping them manage their healthcare through this crisis. You can go here to find a health center close to you.
• Last year, our health centers served over 15,000 patients who identified as homeless. We have been working to maintain health center services and partnerships with the state’s homeless communities and providers throughout this crisis to increase access to care .
• CHCACT and our health centers have been working closely with

Resources:

• CHCACT has dedicated part of our website to COVID-19 response. We’ve developed this resource page for patients and the community.
• Here is a link to a document with various helplines and resources for patients. This has information about where to sign up for health insurance, hotlines for mental health services, and other resources for communities during this time.
• Here is a link that Generations Family Health Center developed for COVID-19 testing sites in Connecticut. Information is provided in both English and Spanish.
• Here is SAMHSA’s guidance on taking care of your mental and behavioral health while social distancing.

How you can help health centers:

• We ask that all patients who think they have symptoms of COVID-19 to call their health center before coming in for a visit
• We strongly encourage existing and new patients to schedule telehealth appointments by contacting their health centers.
• For large donations of PPE, please contact Meghan Peck at CHCACT (mpeck@chcact.org) to coordinate a time for drop-off at our Cheshire office.

Governor's Order For Safe Stores

The Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) has issued simple guidance in both English and Spanish for stores and grocery stores regarding safety measures contained in Governor Lamont's Executive Order 7S.

Governor Lamont’s Executive Order No. 7S Safe stores mandatory statewide rules: Effective upon the opening of each retail establishment for the first time on April 3, 2020, requires every retail establishment to take additional protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 between and among customers, employees, and other persons such as delivery drivers and maintenance people.

The order requires the commissioner of the DECD to issue mandatory statewide rules prescribing such additional protective measures. Such rules will be mandatory throughout the state and supersede and preempt any current or contemplated municipal order.

Occupancy, store layout, and managing customer flow

• Occupancy capped at 50% of store capacity. At entrance, staff will maintain a count of the number of customers entering and exiting stores.
• Clearly mark 6’ spacing in lines on floor at checkout lines and other high-traffic areas and, as much as practicable, provide ways to encourage 6’ spacing in lines outside the store.
• Post conspicuous signage and floor markings to direct customers and limit bottlenecks and/or encourage spacing and flow in high-density areas.
• Have aisles be one-way in stores where practicable to maximize spacing between customers. Identify the one-way aisles with conspicuous signage and/or floor markings.
• Maximize space between customers and employees at checkout lines, including, but not limited to, only using every other checkout line, where and when possible.
• Install Plexiglas shields to separate employees from customers at checkout lines and other areas in the store where practicable.

General

• Communicate with customers through in store signage, and public service announcements and advertisements, there should only be one person per household during shopping trips, whenever possible.
• Discontinue all self-serve foods (e.g., salad bar, olive bar) and product sampling.
• Allow “touchless” credit card transactions. If not possible, sanitize credit card machines (including pen) regularly and consistently.
• Cart and basket handles sanitized between uses (by staff).

Wherever possible, employees will wear gloves and face masks at all times that they are interacting with customers and/or handling products.

Para una lista de Reglas Para Tiendas Seguras En Espanol, siga ESTE ENLACE.

CT Association of Home Care and Hospice: Update on Activities During COVID-19

A quick overview of Home Health Activities:

• APRNs: With the passing of the CARES Act, CMS will now allow APRNs to sign orders and certify them for home health care as long as accepted within the state laws and regulations. This is significant for Connecticut as we are in front of the curve and are using APRNs in many capacities. We are in communication with CT DPH regarding any other action needed on the state’s side to fully implement in Connecticut.
• Telehealth: CMS has given guidance that will allow home health and hospice to use telehealth with their patients. The current challenge and potential downside is they have not been able to work out how we can be compensated for care provided via increasingly critical medium. On a positive note, DSS has just announced Medicaid coverage for certain Home Health and Hospice Telehealth services outlined in a Provider Bulletin 20-28. We will continue to advocate on the federal level for Medicare Telehealth reimbursement. However, the idea that they are now incorporating telehealth in home health and hospice is important.
• Workforce: DPH has finalized guidance in terms of when exposed workers can return to work and it also specifies when Covid-19 patients have the ability to return to work. Locking down these specifics are important to keep the workforce re-supplied.
• Collaboration: Our association has reached out to the Connecticut Funeral Home Association to talk about management and transport of deceased Covid-19 patients to minimize exposure and maximize safety/prevention.
• Public Education: We are also reaching out to DSS and DPH to offer assistance in educating the general public on how to isolate a positive Covid-19 patient within the home. Connecticut residents are being told to have Covid-19 patients stay at home during the term of the virus and communicate with the physician if and when they need to be seen in the hospital. This puts a tremendous stress on non-medically trained family members and creates more risk of spreading the virus. Our association is working hard to make sure these families understand proper procedures to keep the virus isolated and to reduce the spread. We have offered our services and the potential of webinars to explain the specifics of making sure everyone in the house is protected.

CT TOURISM OFFICE PROMOTES LOCAL RESTAURANTS, VIRTUAL CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

The Connecticut Office of Tourism is helping to promote local restaurants and virtual online at-home activities to help us navigate the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

Go to CTVisit.com for a list of restaurants, breweries and vineyards now offering take-out and delivery services. I urge you to utilize this resource as a means to support your local establishments and soften the economic impact on small businesses and their employees. Click HERE for a county-by-county guide to participating eateries.

And for virtual cultural activities you will find access to many of Connecticut's most popular landmarks, museums, and attractions to keep your family engaged while practicing safe, stay at home measures. Click HERE for access to Connecticut history, nature, the arts, entertainment and more.

I hope you find this information useful and assure you that we will get through the pandemic if we all follow the guidance outlined at www.ct.gov/coronavirus.

Unemployment Insurance Information

If you received a “Critical Information Unemployment Insurance (re)filing” letter, please read the tutorial by clicking the button below. If you have already filed an unemployment claim: It is VERY important that you check your email (including your Junk or Spam folders) DAILY for updated messages from the Labor Department. Messages may include next steps, or you may be asked to log back onto your claim to help us speed up processing times.

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