Saturday morning Lakewood City Councilpersons Ramey Johnson and Charlie Able invited Dr. Mark Johnson, Jefferson County Director of Public Health to speak and answer questions. He did, for over two hours. The zoom audience was around 50. Thank you Ramey and Charlie.
I have read and listened to everything I can find the past two months regarding the virus and the economy. Dr. Johnson’s presentation was as good as it gets. We communicated by email in addition to the zoom question and answer. He and his staff want to hear from us.
I spoke with Mr. Jim Rada today who is working on the new guidelines for Jefferson County. Here is what I learned and some thoughts – from a letter I shared with several of those who attended the zoom meeting Saturday.
“I just had a long and very productive call with Jim Rada who is working with Dr. Johnson on the guidelines for Jefferson County.
First and foremost, he and 28 of his colleagues – all residents – are working passionately to coordinate with the community to identify best public health practices which will get us moving forward – safely.
They have no illusions about the daunting task and no illusions about the limited nature of their ability to motivate people. It was clear from our conversation that they are all about educating and providing guidance instead of issuing edicts. Their goal is to provide standards for best public health practices in doing what needs to be done.
They welcome input from businesses and residents about how to do what they need to do in the safest way possible. And it is a collaborative effort. For example, one business talked about setting up plastic barriers to wall off tables that are too close. From the public health science – that will have minimal value and the expense could be applied to other more effective mitigation efforts. Working together, we can find the most effective ways to get back to business safely.
They did ask that they not be inundated with emails – for obvious reasons. I would be happy to take emails with ideas and suggestions and put them in a format that they can digest. Jkhjr1@gmail.com
Their target is Friday, May 8. They anticipate adopting the state “Safer at Home” guidelines with some modifications. Of course, whatever they produce on Friday will be subject to continued improvement.
They are working with the chamber of commerce and a “business working group associated with the Jeffco Human Services department”. I am not sure how representative those groups are so if we can get the word out to Lakewood and Jeffco businesses that new guidelines are coming out and that if they have specific concerns or requests, please send them to me and I will work them into a form that will be digestible. I anticipate the business groups and chamber have already taken these steps to solicit input – but it doesn’t hurt to ask again.
Sending emails to me is my suggestion of course – people need to do what they think best. The point is – Jeffco Public Health needs help from business and residents to make this the best product possible. And, of course, it will continue to be a work in progress – again, whatever comes out on Friday is subject to continuous improvement.
There have been conversations within the Public Health/Chamber and business groups about a certification process – probably self-certification by business groups. The Public Health department is unlikely to manage that process because they don’t have the person power to implement or police that kind of program (like a building inspector).
We talked about self regulation through limiting liability and how insurance companies will likely step in to establish standards for safe practices. What is clear is that the Public Health department will set standards for best practices and I expect that the insurance industry will embrace those as their standards as well. If you want coverage, you would have to meet the standards.
It was an excellent conversation. After meeting Dr. Johnson, communicating with him and with Mr. Rada, my natural skepticism has turned to absolute support and and I want to do everything in my power to support and help these folks help us.
They are critical to the physical and economic health of our community. They are just as essential to our health and well being as the nurses, doctors, EMT techs, grocery workers and everyone else working together to survive this disaster. They are our neighbors and our friends – they are not what some may describe as a “faceless uncaring government worker”, if someone like that ever existed. They are us. They need our help.
As I told my grandson, he will read about this in the history books. He will read about what we did as individuals and as a community. He will read about how we did what we did. I will do everything I can to make him proud of us and what we accomplished.
He will see pictures of screaming faces pressed against the glass. He will see pictures of stacks of coffins and piles of shaped body bags in refrigerator trucks. He will see celebrations of courage in the eyes of masked faces and gowned angels. He will see guns defiant at state house doorsteps. He will see the standoff between a pickup truck with signs and a healthcare worker in scrubs.
And I hope he will see a chapter on Jefferson County and the City of Lakewood describing how the community, the residents, the small businesses – and the residents who are trained in public health sciences – all worked together to find the safest way to bring us back to both physical and economic health. Together.
We all have an opportunity to make this happen. Now is our time – all of us.”
John
As a senior citizen home owner in a rural part of Jefferson County I am concerned about having people come to my home to install a new stove that i need-my oven hasn’t worked since Feb. and other repairs that are needed. What safeguards are in place for workers who are coming into the homes of vulnerable populations?
Chris
Excellent concern. I sent it on to Mr. Rada. Thank you. You speak for hundreds of others.
John