Archives for March 2021

On March 13, 2020 we closed the North Sound ACH office, not knowing when our team would again meet in person. We’ve optimized the heck out of remote technologies trying to stay connected, knowing it add some aspects to our connectivity, and diminishes others (think of all the non-verbal ways we communicate, from fidgeting, shrugging, or just sensing someone’s mood change in a room.) The team has done remarkable things, yet we still miss being in common space with each other.

I can’t help but think of the powerful song in the play “Rent” called Seasons of Love.

“Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure? Measure a year?”

The pandemic soared beyond what we could imagine, and systemic and structural racism was illuminated in places where it wasn’t seen or discussed before. In that same vein, we found ourselves trying to find ways for the ACH as a regional entity, to leverage change in terms of the pandemic response. Most of those conversations happen between the team and the 60+ regional partners who do such important work in the community; recently this has expanded to the North Sound ACH Board of Directors. Please take a few minutes to . The board has been discussing equitable vaccine distribution, and felt it was imperative to weigh in on the the successes and mistakes around access to COVID testing and rollout of the vaccines.

And, as we mark the past year, there is still more we keep in mind … like the death of Breonna Taylor, which was also one year ago. And we see how much we’ve accomplished in a year: identifying a virus, finding a means to test for it, developing vaccines, having so many people already vaccinated. We have both opportunity and challenge, advancement and struggle. They both can – and do – exist at the same time.

We appreciate all you do. Please know you are in our thoughts and hearts.

From Kim Williams, Board Chair (on behalf of the North Sound ACH Board of Directors)

North Sound Accountable Community of Health (North Sound ACH) strives to be a champion for equity and well-being in the region, and across the state of Washington. Our purpose, adopted by the Board, is to create a just and inclusive culture and the necessary conditions required for all community members to thrive. 

We have now lived with COVID in our communities for more than a year, and continue to see signs of exacerbated systemic and structural racism exposed every day. A year later, we still don’t have consistent access to COVID testing in communities disparately impacted by COVID, and now we face unprecedented challenges to equitable access to COVID vaccines.

Around the country – and here in our own region – we have seen conscious and unconscious mistakes and missteps, as providers struggle to manage unpredictable vaccine supply, refrigeration challenges, and vial expirations. Decisions are being made under extreme pressure to assure no vaccine is wasted, while depending on traditional methods of scheduling patients for first and second doses. In our region and beyond, we have seen those with access, money, and privilege have better paths to the vaccine than community members most impacted by the disease, especially communities of color.

The Board of North Sound ACH believes our systems and organizations must do better. Board members committed to a learning journey, encouraging each other to lean in and take risks, even if it means that sometimes the steps will be the wrong ones. Our intention, in the midst of this health crisis and pandemic, resonates with Maya Angelou’s wisdom when she says: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” We recognize that individuals, especially those in communities heavily impacted by COVID, are doing the best they can under unimaginable pressures; institutions must lean in and improve strategies to reach and protect those same communities.

The Board of North Sound ACH is calling upon all North Sound partners, including those represented on our Board of Directors, to embed Targeted Universalism into their vaccine planning. All partner organizations have received information about targeted universalism, which puts the onus on us to identify the universal goal, then find ways that all community members can achieve it.  If the universal goal is to get all those in eligible tiers scheduled for vaccine appointments, we know that one single strategy will not reach everyone. We need multiple and targeted strategies based on what we know about sub-populations that we serve. However, investment in targeted strategies seems to elude us when we are under enormous pressure.

As examples, we are asking North Sound ACH’s CEO to advocate for, support, and assist in setting up: 

• Sites and appointment slots specifically ready for community members where English is not their first language, with interpreters, friendly and welcoming faces who will communicate a sense of belonging.
  
• Alternative ways to schedule appointments, recognizing that some community members have limited or no access to broadband or a device that can track all the possible websites claiming to find appointments.
  
• Transportation assistance, for those who want a vaccine but can’t physically get there.
  
• Designated slots at every appointment site for essential workers in our communities – including grocery workers, field and farm workers, utility workers and others.
  
• Creating mobile vaccine distribution to go where community members gather, bringing vaccines to them. 

Getting to this universal goal will require we all do our part, including having hard and uncomfortable conversations with partners who misstep in operationalizing their approach.

The Board has charged the North Sound team with leading discussions and supporting decisions that will assure all community members can find their way to the vaccine, to expand its work with local health departments, and to reach out to all ACH partners to expand the staffing capacity of vaccine clinics, mobile clinics, and pop-up sites. We are also asking the same of ourselves as Board members, and the of organizations that we work for.

The Board recognizes that while there have been challenges and insurmountable odds to conquer in this process, there has also been heroic, inspiring, and strong community-building efforts and resources currently innovating the way we ensure access and equity for such a vital need in our region. 

We’re excited to share messages from members of different communities on why they chose to get the vaccine. Feel free to share through your organization and networks, far and wide.

We currently have messages in Spanish, Mixteco, Tagalog, Korean, Punjabi, Vietnamese, and English, including videos of members of our region’s tribal communities.

Thank you to PeaceHealth for sharing resources to create these videos, the Korean Women’s Association, Northwest Indian Health Board, and to everyone who shared their voices!

ASL:

Spanish:

Mixteco:

Punjabi:

Tagalog:

Vietnamese:

Korean:

Tribal members:

More Indigenous voices at the Northwest Native American Center of Excellence.

Additional videos by CHW Coalition for Migrants and Refugees

The statewide Community Health Worker Coalition for Migrants and Refugees (operating regionally in Snohomish and Skagit Co) have additional videos to increase awareness of COVID-19. These videos are in Trique Bajo, Mam, Triqui Alto, Q’anjob’al, Mixteco, Nahualtl, Purepecha, and Kichua.