SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The usual spooky festivities for Halloween may feel extra scary due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Sacramento County Public Health has important guidance to help ensure safer trick-or-treating for everyone to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Follow the guidance below to have a fun and safe Halloween!

Face Coverings 
Firstly, you will need to wear a face-covering – so why not make it fun! Have your child select their own face covering, and then decorate it together to match their costume. 

Social Distancing 
When you are out trick-or-treating, travel only with your household members (don’t forget – wear your face covering), be sure to maintain 6 feet of social distance from others, and make interactions brief with others outside your household. 

Hygiene 
Keep from transferring the virus with your hands. When you touch objects or your face, the virus may be lurking, so wash your hands often and have hand sanitizer handy.  Be sure to clean/disinfect high-touch surfaces. Also, have everyone wait to dig into the candy until hands are clean before unwrapping the candy, and then again before eating the candy. Do not share costume props or food. And, of course, if you feel sick or could be contagious, you must stay home and away from others. 

Be Ready For Trick-Or-Treaters
This year, you need to make it an outdoor festivity. In an outdoor area, such as a porch or driveway:

Set up a table to stand behind and hand out candy using candy-grabber or tongs; Make treat bags and hang them from streamers outside for kids to grab; or Place a bowl of candy and bottle of hand sanitizer at the end of the driveway/walkway; and always wear a face-covering around others, don’t touch your face, and practice good hand hygiene when handling candy. 

Celebrate A Covid-19 Halloween Creatively 
These ideas will help you and others be extra safe while still celebrating Halloween:

Host a virtual Halloween “watch” party with online video/chat and have best costume or craft project contests; Have a Halloween movie night with household members either at home or drive-in; Do reverse trick-or-treat by dropping off small gift bags on your neighbor’s porch; Put on a trunk-or-treat on your street (Halloween decorated car trunks) with socially distanced parked cars in driveways; Coordinate a contact-free neighborhood scavenger hunt; 

Organize a neighborhood car parade or socially distanced costume parade for best decorations/costume and give treat bags or toss candy (preferably with candy grabbers).

Read about all the usual Halloween precautions you will need to have in place 

Let’s Go Over The “No-No’s” 
Don’t have trick-or-treaters walk up to your door to give candy and don’t use your hands to deliver treats. If you are not feeling well or are exhibiting symptoms, do not go out in the public​. To clarify, gatherings with individuals outside of your household are not allowed. The reason for this is because the virus is widespread in Sacramento County and you or those at the gathering may not know if someone is COVID-19 positive and contagious. Due to our high-risk level, Sacramento County has been placed in a restrictive Tier by the State. It is for your safety and of others that gatherings are prohibited. In early summer, the County had bent the COVID-19 case “curve,” but gatherings caused a spike in new COVID-19 cases and the ripple effect is still with us. We know social distancing works and if we adhere to the protocol, our COVID-19 cases will continue to go down.  If you do disregard the Order – at the very least, do it smarter – keep gatherings small, outdoors, wear face coverings and with only those in your “regular bubble.”

An Important Message about Covid-19 Testing
Have you spent time with people outside of your household and you weren’t able to physically distance? You may have been exposed unknowingly to the COVID virus – you should get tested. The public is encouraged to get tested regularly. Sacramento County has 11 locations to get tested for COVID-19 for anyone living in the County (2 years old+). Testing is free, appointment times are easy to get, and results are provided in 1-3 days. Also, having the public get regular testing in our County gives the State more precise data so that the Case Rate isn’t adjusted higher when Tier levels are determined.

Get official details of the Sacramento County COVID-19 Halloween Guidance at SacCounty.net/COVID-19, and Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – Nearly six teen drivers are involved in a fatal car crash every day in the United States.  Inexperience combined with driver distraction increases the risk for error, making motor vehicle crashes the leading cause of death for young drivers in the nation.  To reduce teen distracted driving, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has partnered with Impact Teen Drivers (ITD) to teach positive habits and behaviors to our most vulnerable drivers through education and enforcement.

Ten percent of all drivers ages 15 to 19 who were involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash, and 100 percent of those crashes were preventable.  Based on miles driven, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety discovered that teens are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers.  To combat this alarming trend, the message of the ITD program is simple:  keep both hands on the wheel, eyes on the road, and mind focused on driving.

“Teen drivers are the most at risk of driving distracted.  They are more likely than any other demographic to be involved in traffic crashes where distracted driving is a factor,” said CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley.  “Sadly, many of these crashes will result in injuries and deaths.  We hope to help eliminate these preventable deadly crashes.”

The CHP and ITD will conduct virtual classes at schools and community events throughout California during the pandemic to help change the behavior of teen drivers.  The yearlong Teen Distracted Drivers Education and Enforcement X grant provides for an education component as well as enforcement operations to be conducted statewide through September 30, 2021. 

“In California we lose the equivalent of eight, large school buses filled with teens each year to car crashes.  Impact Teen Drivers, CHP, and the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) partner to offer free in-person and online training for parents and teens—together, we can stop the #1 killer of teens,” said Dr. Kelly Browning, Executive Director of ITD.

For free safe driving resources in English or Spanish, please visit www.ImpactTeenDrivers.org.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from OTS through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security.

 

CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - Veteran toy-doctor Nancy Fellers (87) has bequeathed her mission aiding children and police officers to a successor. Fellow Carmichaelite Donna Owens is now rallying gently-used soft toys to continue the decades-old campaign.

For Sacramento Sheriff’s officers, the ladies and their legions of fluffy teddies and puppies are important humanitarian allies. In crisis situations, cops are often challenged to win trust from traumatized kids. “Offering something cuddly softens our outreach,” explains Sheriff’s Toy Project Officer Robert Magee. “We can be at a domestic crime scene or at a fire, where a family might have lost everything. We see sad little faces light up when we bring out a toy. They’re soothed by having something soft to cuddle.”

With that in mind Nancy (whose daughter and son-in-law were law officers), began a Comfort Critter crusade 22 years ago. “Deputies used to pay for toys from their own pockets,” says the former school teacher and travel agent.  “I don’t see why they should. Teddies can be part of necessary police equipment.” Soft toys came her way via thrift shops and from Kiwanis Club member donations. Nancy laundered discarded duckies. She restuffed down-at-heel dinosaurs.  Then she bagged each individually and took the menage to the Sheriff’s Toy Project in Rancho Cordova. “The deputies were always glad to see me,” says Nancy. “I was delivering something that helped them with their work.”

When Nancy and her husband Bill relocated to Carmichael’s Atria El Camino Gardens last year, she sought a successor for the project. “It was getting harder for me to go out and find toys,” she explains. “Then COVID brought restrictions for senior homes. I didn’t want my project to end; I was delighted to find a fellow Kiwanian who wanted to carry it on.”

A grandma and great-grandma herself, Donna Owens took little persuading. “What Nancy had started was a perfect fit for me,” says the Retired Cal Transit engineer/technician. “Making children happy and helping the police seemed like a great goal.” Donna scours thrift stores and puts stuffed animals through a meticulous wash-and-drying process. “Before I bag them, I tie on a fresh bow and trim the fuzz from around their eyes,” she says.  “A pair of clear, shining eyes seems so friendly to a child. I see these once-loved toys on store shelves and I want to take them all home – they can offer so much more love, and assist the police in their work. I feel good that with very little effort and expense, I can do something so worthwhile.”

The Comfort Critters Project welcomes donations of gently-used soft toys. Contact Donna Owens at (530) 788 2085.

Dignity Health Mercy San Juan Offers Hope of a Healthier Start to Life

CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) – Dignity Health announced the completion of construction of the new ‘Robert S. and Star Pepper Neonatal Intensive Care Unit’ at Mercy San Juan Medical Center. The NICU spans 17,889 square feet and is a huge increase over the previous 1,200-square-foot space originally built it 1989. Mercy San Juan’s original NICU was among the first of its kind in Northern California. Over the past three decades, the practice of neonatology has progressed significantly and the Sacramento region has grown exponentially and therefore so have the community’s needs for the NICU. Since its inception, the hospital has always grown with its community, and the development of the new NICU further demonstrates Dignity Health’s continued commitment to carry out its mission of improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are most vulnerable.

On average, 400 babies annually receive life-saving care at the NICU, with many transferred from other Northern California hospitals that are unable to provide the high-level care they require. The NICU has cared for some of the most critically ill babies who are born as early as 23 weeks and weigh as little as 400 grams. The new Level III NICU will now be able to accommodate 40 infants in 16 private rooms and eight three-bed pods. The private rooms are available for multiple birth family sets, isolation for infants whose circumstances require it, and a private place for families to say a loving goodbye to NICU babies who, despite every effort, will be unable to survive. The new space also offers parents the opportunity to stay at the bedside of their baby at all times.

“For over 30 years, Mercy San Juan Medical Center’s NICU has been a life-saving resource for families throughout the Sacramento region,” said Mercy San Juan Medical Center president, Michael Korpiel. “The new unit will house the remarkable neonatologists and nurses who have made the NICU what it is today and continue to offer this urgently needed, excellent care to our region’s most vulnerable babies.”

Despite caring for many of the sickest and most-fragile infants in the Sacramento region, Mercy San Juan Medical

Center’s NICU had a mortality rate of 1.1 percent in 2015— among the lowest in the nation.

“Thanks to Bob and Star Pepper and numerous other donors and supporters of this project, the department now has the facilities and equipment it needs to continue carrying out its extraordinary life-saving work,” said Kevin Duggan, President and CEO of Mercy Foundation. “It is through this thoughtful generosity of many that the NICU can continue to be a source of comfort, hope and advanced medical care for fragile infants in our community for generations to come.”

With Dignity Health’s commitment of $35 million to make the new NICU a reality, Mercy Foundation led the efforts to raise community support and donations for the additional $3,080,000 needed to expand and update the NICU at Mercy San Juan.

“The work they do there is just incredible. They’ve accomplished miracles in very tight quarters. You merely have to look at some of the little babies that can fit in the palm of your hand and realize that they’re able to save their lives so Star and I are very pleased to have had a role making this new unit possible,” said Bob Pepper.

As most premature babies are in the NICU until they reach what would have been 36 to 40 weeks gestation, they may be in the care of NICU staff for months, with parents who are trying to balance work, caring for family at home, and being at the hospital for their new baby. Central to this initiative was the desire to offer families the opportunity to stay with their infants. Research has shown that these tiny patients have the best chance at survival when they are able to bond with their parents or guardians. The new NICU offers families a comfortable space with enough room in which to nurture their new babies and get to know them. An important element for people like Scott and Cary Boese, who know very well the difficult journey that can come with being parents to babies who need high-level care.

“When we heard news that the new NICU would be built, we were overcome with joy and emotion, because the unit represents more than just additional bed space. It gives our community access to a modern facility, new technology, and room for privacy, so that parents can bond with their fragile children,” said Cary. 

The NICU will be up and running to receive its first patient sometime in late October to early November.

Dignity Health is a multi-state nonprofit network of 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 41 acute care hospitals, and 400-plus care-centers, including community hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. Dignity Health is a part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system committed to advancing health for all people and dedicated to serving the common good. For more information, please visit our website at www.DignityHealth.org.

For more than 65 years, Mercy Foundation has been partnering with the community to advance the mission of the Sisters of Mercy, who have served the Sacramento region since 1857. Together, we help feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, educate the underserved, and care for the sick at local Dignity Health hospitals and clinics.