Firefighter Vaccine Resistance At City Hall

The Fire Chief said at last night's Business Meeting that his department is fully staffed.  He said he lost some well trained employees but was confident with the replacements.  10/20/2021

Redmond Fire, Facebook

To watch the firefighters, and homeless hotel protesters on City of Redmond video click HERE.  (Advance the tape to 2 hours: 17 minutes.) [Homeless Hotel protests start at 40 minutes.]

NOTE:  Firefighter family members visited last night's city council meeting to share their concern that up to 20 employees could lose their job if they do not seek a vaccine by October 18.  Many firefighters and their families addressed the Mayor and Council  emphasizing that in this pandemic none were ever infected. However, early on before the necessity of PPE was recognized four were sent home to quarantine and one quarantined at a fire station. Later the Fire Chief was let go. -- Bob Yoder, 9/212021

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 -- Steve Kiggins, Q-13, 9/21/2021

REDMOND, Wash. - "Controversy is building in Redmond on whether first responders will be granted a religious exemption from taking the COVID-19 vaccine. 

Family members and firefighters from the **Redmond Fire Department say they jumped through all the hoops to apply for the exemption, but now worry the city might not provide accommodations. 

"For us to even contemplate to fire any of these heroes, shame on us," said firefighter mother Sknge Alsin. "We should keep every job intact."

Alsin’s daughter Kayleight is married to a firefighter. Her husband joined the department after spending 10 years as a Redmond cop. 

The family joined a group of firefighters and other family members who expressed their concerns. 

The City of Redmond says it has 164 full time employees at the department. Firefighters say as many as 20 have applied for a religious exemption asking the city to allow them to continue mirroring the health protocols they have been using since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Last week, firefighters say they believed the city would accept their exemption, but now worry the accommodations may not be allowed.

A city spokesperson said the department is following Gov. Jay Inslee’s state mandate on the vaccine. 

-- Steve Kiggins, Q-13, 9/21/2021, edited

-- Bob Yoder, cc: Mayor / Council, 9/22/2021

Second Through Fifth Grades Transition To In-Person Or Continued Remote Learning

 February 22, 2021

Lake Washington School District jointly with Lake Washington Education Association are excited to release pertinent details for the second through fifth grades elementary learning model transition to in-person or continued remote learning services. 

EvergreenHealth Named One of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Specialty Care

 The health system is among Healthgrades’ nationally ranked top hospitals in four specialty areas

 Kirkland, Wash. – EvergreenHealth announced today that it has been named among America’s 100 Best™ hospitals in several specialty care areas by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems. The health system once again earned recognition for excellence in stroke care, pulmonary care, gastrointestinal care, and general surgery, as part of Healthgrades’ 2021 Report to the Nation. 

LWSD Return To School Update - Fully Remote Teaching

Dr. Jon Holmen, Superintendent

Dear Lake Washington Staff, Families, and Community, Over the last week I have been actively engaged with a number of entities as we evaluate our plans for school in the fall. As you know, we have been actively working through the details of developing remote learning and a hybrid model. We also asked families to indicate their preference for which model their child would learn in to start the year. I know the amount of time and considerations each family has gone through to evaluate which model is best for their child given the amount of information provided and questions that, at times, we were not able to answer. Today, I am announcing that Lake Washington students will be starting the 2020-21 school year learning in a fully remote setting.

Restaurants Are Starting To Close Owing To infected Employees. Permit Violations

So far, no Redmond restaurants have been closed; Kirkland and Bellevue each have one closed.

FAQ for religious and faith-based organizations updated
Minor updates throughout the FAQ with a heavier emphasis on full content updates for Questions #11 (accessing free face coverings) and #12 (about small group gatherings).

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Duke's Chowder House closed by Public Health today, July 8th, due to COVID-19 transmission among employees

• Details of violations listed on the Food Establishment Closures homepage: www.kingcounty.gov/closures
• Related statement on the Public Health Insider blog

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CDC updated the high-risk list. And it's not just older adults.
In spite of Washington State's ongoing efforts to contain it, COVID-19 is spreading more rapidly by the day, especially among people aged 20-40. And while they are less likely to become seriously ill from the virus, they can still spread it to friends, family and neighbors – without even knowing they have it. Many young people are also in the higher risk categories recently updated by the CDC.

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Doing the right thing: restaurants and COVID-19
In response to rising COVID-19 cases county wide, Public Health – Seattle & King County is expanding efforts to educate and enforce compliance of Governor Inslee's Safe Start COVID-19 reopening requirements in food establishments.

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Case report update

• Daily outbreak summary for web-enabled mobile devices (phones and tablets)

Public Health is reporting the following case numbers since yesterday:

• 3,127 people have been tested for a total of 194,992 in King County
• 113 new cases tested positive for a total of 11,319
• 12 new hospitalizations for a total of 1,643
• 2 new deaths for a total of 598

All other COVID-19 dashboards are posted at www.kingcounty.gov/covid/data

Redmond - King County Now In Phase 2 Of Covid-19 Regulations

NEWS: King County enters Phase 2 of Safe Start recovery plan Following approval by state Secretary of Health John Wiesman, King County has officially entered Phase 2 of the state’s Safe Start recovery plan to allow limited business re-opening. Phase 2 allows for twice the capacity in retail, restaurants, and other businesses previously allowed in King County’s modified Phase 1 and goes into effect immediately. “Moving to Phase 2 is another step toward economic recovery for our region, but it must go hand-in-hand with even more careful adherence to precautions from our public health experts,” said Executive Constantine. “Wearing face coverings, washing hands, and avoiding crowds and unnecessary contact can help make ours a one-way trip back to prosperity, and prevent the need to go back to stay-at-home orders.” While there are no additional categories of businesses included in moving from modified Phase 1 to Phase 2, the operating capacity has doubled for those able to reopen. For example, restaurants can now operate with 50% of indoor capacity, and retail with 30% capacity. Businesses with questions on how to safely reopen under the state’s guidance are encouraged to call Public Health's Business Compliance Line at 206-296-1608.

King County Report On George Floyd Drama And Covid-19

In recent days, community members joined protests locally and across the country in response to the death of George Floyd and so many Black lives that have been taken through senseless, violent and racist acts. This racism and hate comes on top of the stress, burden and illness being inequitably experienced by Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color during the pandemic, the result of centuries of systemic racism.

Public Health recognizes the difficult choices that people were faced with this past weekend. Many in our community grappled with attending protests to stand up against these injustices while also wanting to keep our community safe from further spread of COVID-19.

Statements by public health leaders and answers to key questions are available at our recent blog post, Answering questions about protests and COVID-19.

Two Ultraviolet Sanitizing Machines Donated to EvergreenHealth

Anonymous Donor Gifts EvergreenHealth Foundation Two Ultraviolet Sanitizing Machines to 

Support the Health and Safety of Patients and Staff

Advanced UV-C technology kills infection-causing pathogens to provide another layer of protection

Kirkland, Wash. – An anonymous donor recently provided a generous grant to the EvergreenHealth Foundation for the purchase of two additional Clorox Healthcare^® Optimum-UV™ Enlight Systems in recognition of the hospital’s comprehensive infection control plan and adept response to COVID-19. Following standard cleaning and disinfecting procedures, the mobile Optimum-UV™ Enlight System is used to ensure even hard-to-reach areas are thoroughly treated with short-wavelength ultraviolet light, or UV-C, which eliminates dangerous pathogens in 20 minutes or fewer.

EvergreenHealth Prepares for Second Arm of Clinical Trial After Initial Findings Show Promising Results for Remdesivir as Potential Treatment for COVID-19

Kirkland, Wash. – Following yesterday’s announcement from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), EvergreenHealth is preparing to move forward with the next phase of clinical research studying the anti-viral Remdesivir as a potential treatment for COVID-19. The trial known as the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial, (ACTT), sponsored by the NIAID, part of the National Institutes of Health, is the first clinical trial launched in the United States to evaluate an experimental treatment for COVID-19. 

The second phase of the trial, ACTT II, will eliminate the placebo group, and instead provide all study participants with Remdesivir to further evaluate its effectiveness against the virus. The new protocol will also allow for patients currently enrolled in the study and receiving the placebo, to roll over into the group receiving open-label Remdesivir. This means that the nine patients currently in EvergreenHealth’s care and enrolled in the study will now all be eligible to receive open-label Remdesivir, as opposed to the placebo. 

According to Gilead and the NIH, results from the trial’s primary ACTT phase, which included 1,063 participants across 68 trial sites, showed that hospitalized patients with advanced symptoms of COVID-19 who received Remdesivir recovered 31% more quickly than those who received the placebo. Results also suggested a survival benefit, with a mortality rate of 8.0% for the group receiving Remdesivir versus 11.6% for the placebo group.

“We are very pleased by the initial findings of the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial, and incredibly honored to contribute to this significant body of research in the fight against COVID-19,” said Jeff Tomlin, MD, CEO of EvergreenHealth.

Kirkland, Washington-based EvergreenHealth was the first site on the west coast, and the second site globally, to enroll qualifying patients in the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT) in partnership with the NIH’s Division of Microbiology and Infectious Disease (DMID). Normally an eight- to 12-week onboarding process, the hospital was able to launch the trial within only six days in collaboration with DMID partners, who arrived on site on March 7. EvergreenHealth has remained one of the top-enrolling trial sites throughout the first arm of the study, with 34 patients enrolled at present.

“From the very beginning, I’ve been inspired by the way every one of our staff members has jumped into action to come together and launch these research efforts as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Diego Lopez de Castilla, EvergreenHealth infectious disease specialist and lead investigator for the ACTT. “From our nursing to pharmacy teams, it is amazing and humbling to witness this level of teamwork and dedication to exploring new opportunities to potentially advance our ability to provide treatment options for critically ill COVID-19 patients.”

UPDATED: I Won't Get Taxed Out Of The City I Love - This Year

OPINION:  Said the Seattle Times on January 28th,, "a group of Harborview County hospital stakeholders is likely to vote Wednesday to recommend that County Executive Dow Constantine and the County Council place a $1.7 billion bond measure on the November ballot to revamp Harborview."  The stakeholders voted yay.

Once passed, the Harborview Medical Center bond will cost about $90 / year on property assessed at $580,000.  There's a strong provision for expanded Behavioral Health facilities.  

We still await the LWSD Superintendent and Board's decisions on their planned 2022 and 2026 bond measures.  In the meantime, we continue to pay the school district a 6-year levy of $20M/year.

I recently learned King County property taxes will increase 13.7% in 2020.  Also, the King County Parks, Recreation, Trails and open space levy was approved for 2020 at a higher level. It's a 6-year property tax led lift priced at .1832/$1K property value.

Not to forget, Sound Transit 3 (ST3) taxes are approximately $1,000 per year for a family with an annual salary of $90K with vehicles worth $45K and a property valued at $450K.

At a council meeting last night our leaders said there may be a levy to pay for the regional aquatics center.

Will  EvergreenHealth propose a reasonable bond measure for funding seismic upgrades this year?  Will car tab prices remain as is? Will the city propose their safety levy this year?  Will the city raise their 1% property tax to 3% to account for inflation.  Any of these I can live with despite my fixed income, at least for this year. Then, I may be on my way.  

  -- Bob Yoder
     3/5/2020

Mayor Birney To Represent North Caucus Of SCA

Redmond Mayor Angela Birney elected to represent the North Caucus on the Sound Cities Association Board of Directors

Redmond Mayor Angela Birney has been elected to represent the North Caucus on the Board of Directors of the Sound Cities Association (SCA), which represents 38 King County cities and provides a regional voice for more than one million people.

“Mayor Birney is known for her ability to connect people, communities, neighborhoods, and businesses to address local and regional issues,” said Deanna Dawson, SCA Executive Director. “She will be a tremendous voice for Redmond and residents throughout King County in helping to ensure SCA’s success in meeting the challenges facing our region.”

The SCA Board of Directors has thirteen directors, with four from the North Caucus. North Caucus cities include Beaux Arts Village, Bellevue, Bothell, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Issaquah, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Medina, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Redmond, Sammamish, Shoreline, Woodinville, and Yarrow Point. SCA provides regional leadership in areas such as economic and community development, transportation, land use, health, government operations, the environment, education, public safety, social welfare and other public policy issues.

EvergreenHealth Receives "A" Grade For Patient Safety

EvergreenHealth Receives “A” Grade for Patient Safety Kirkland, Wash.

EvergreenHealth  announced that it has again received an “A” grade for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, a leading national nonprofit watchdog on hospital quality and safety. The EvergreenHealth is one of only 15 hospitals in Washington to achieve an A rating this fall, according to Leapfrog’s latest Hospital Safety Grades report.

 “Earning recognition from respected health care quality organizations, including The Leapfrog Group, is affirmation of the commitment and results achieved by our staff in providing safe, high quality care and service. We are grateful for the recognition, knowing that safety and quality are continuous journeys,” said Jeff Tomlin, MD, CEO of EvergreenHealth.

EvergreenHealth receives safety award

EvergreenHealth Receives “A” Rating for Hospital Safety

Kirkland, Wash. –The Leapfrog Group, a leading nonprofit watchdog organization on hospital quality and safety, has announced that EvergreenHealth once again received an “A” rating for patient safety. Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades score hospitals across the country on how safe they keep their patients from medical errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

"RE-elect LWSD School Board Director Siri Bliesner"

I believe that an excellent public education is a right for all individuals. A strong democracy requires an active, engaged community, and we achieve that with excellent public education. My extensive experience and the relationships I have built throughout the community combine to give me a strong voice to continue moving forward with the District’s initiatives and advance new, innovative opportunities for all of our students.

Lake Washington School District (LWSD) is an outstanding public school district with talented staff, teachers, and an involved community supporting the opportunities and achievement of our students.

It has been a pleasure to serve on the school board for the last eight years in a variety of roles – Legislative Representative, Vice President, and President. This has provided an opportunity to deepen my understanding of school organization and funding, as well as issues surrounding educational equity.

Laurene Burton, EvergreenHealth Executive Director, Governance & Community Affairs retires after 27 years

Laurene Burton has shared her plans to retire from her position as Executive Director, Governance & Community Affairs. After 27 years working on behalf of our patients and community, she looks forward to traveling, kayaking, spending more time with her family and reading a good book or two. For a while, she says she’ll enjoy “every day being Saturday.” Laurene’s last day with EvergreenHealth is July 5.

Since Laurene joined EvergreenHealth in 1992, she has been widely recognized for her commitment to building relationships in our community. Initially hired to write curriculum for Community Health Education, she quickly acquired additional skills and was selected to become Director of Community Health Education in 1998. In 2005, she joined our administrative team, where she developed an affinity for governance activities and enjoyed working closely with our Board of Commissioners, whose work she deeply admires. Laurene continued her practice of active community-building through oversight of EvergreenHealth’s art program, volunteer program, community service programs and levy-funded programs – and carried out our organization’s commitment to transparency in her role as EvergreenHealth's Public Disclosure Officer.

It was EvergreenHealth’s culture that first appealed to Laurene. “It’s what drew me and what kept me here,” she says. With our origins and history of sustaining strong community ties, Laurene could freely follow her own natural instincts: “When I saw areas where we needed to have a connection, I tried to make one; I looked for needs in the community that EvergreenHealth could fill and pursued partnerships. In my experience, good relationships are crucial to any achievement. I’ve had the privilege of working with so many wonderful people in my role here, and I value every single one of them.

Laurene’s proudest achievements, not surprisingly, involve partnerships and a sense of satisfaction in helping these relationships grow and thrive:

May is "Mental Health Awareness Month"

Prevalence Of Mental Illness

• Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. (46.6 million) experiences mental illness in a given year.1 
• Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S. (11.2 million) experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.2
• Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.3
• 1.1% of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia.4
• 2.6% of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder.5
• 6.9% of adults in the U.S.—16 million—had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.6
• 18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.7
• Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5%—10.2 million adults—had a co-occurring mental illness.8

Social Stats

• An estimated 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters live with serious mental illness and an estimated 46% live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders.9
• Approximately 20% of state prisoners and 21% of local jail prisoners have “a recent history” of a mental health condition.10
• 70% of youth in juvenile justice systems have at least one mental health condition and at least 20% live with a serious mental illness.11
• Only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year.8
• Just over half (50.6%) of children with a mental health condition aged 8-15 received mental health services in the previous year.12
• African Americans and Hispanic Americans each use mental health services at about one-half the rate of Caucasian Americans and Asian Americans at about one-third the rate.13
• Half of all chronic mental illness begins by age 14; three-quarters by age 24. Despite effective treatment, there are long delays—sometimes decades—between the first appearance of symptoms and when people get help.14

Consequences Of Lack Of Treatment

• Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year.15
• Mood disorders, including major depression, dysthymic disorder and bipolar disorder, are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youth and adults aged 18–44.16
• Individuals living with serious mental illness face an increased risk of having chronic medical conditions.17 Adults in the U.S. living with serious mental illness die on average 25 years earlier than others, largely due to treatable medical conditions.18
• Over one-third (37%) of students with a mental health condition age 14­–21 and older who are served by special education drop out—the highest dropout rate of any disability group.19
• Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., and the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 10–34.20
• More than 90% of people who die by suicide show symptoms of a mental health condition.21
• Each day an estimated 18-22 veterans die by suicide.22

Citations

EvergreenHealth Named Among America's 100 Best Hospitals

EvergreenHealth Named Among America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Three Years

Kirkland, Wash. – For the third year in a row, EvergreenHealth has been named as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades for consistent, year-over-year superior clinical performance across a broad spectrum of care. [Comprehensive psychiatric care is not available, BY] The distinction places EvergreenHealth in the top two percent of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide. 

Council President Angela Birney is running for Mayor

I'm experiencing technical difficulties in posting Angela's headshot.  Regrets.  To see her picture "Read More"  

Angela Birney's Experience

Local

Redmond City Council President
Redmond City Councilmember
Redmond Parks and Trails Committee Chair
LWSF Junior High Science Grants and Grant Review
Norman Rockwell PTA
Lake Washington School District Boundary Review

Regional
Hopelink Board Chair
King County Board of Health, Sound Cities (SCA) Caucus Chair
Regional Policy Committee, SCA Member
Cascade Water Alliance Board, Secretary/Treasurer
Eastside Rail Corridor Regional Advisory Committee
Eastside Transportation Partnership
SCA Public Issues Committee Alternate
Redmond Nourishing Networks
Governing for Regional Equity and Inclusion Working Group Member
Education
BAE Biology, MEd Professional Development
Leadership Eastside Class of 2017
Leadership Eastside Executive Insight 2018

Mentoring at Lake Washington School District

Apply to become a LINKS Lunch Buddy!

Redmond, WA, November 5, 2018 – At first, it might not seem like meeting with a local student for lunch once a week can make that much of a difference. “From the get-go, my Lunch Buddy and I would do crafts together,” recalled local resident Laura Spencer, who volunteers as a weekly LINKS mentor at Juanita Elementary School. “We’d sit there quietly and do crafts and we wouldn’t talk much. And then after a couple weeks she started really opening up and sharing and just talking to me. It was just amazing how much she would share with me.”

That kind of patience turns out to be just what some kids need. Structured mentoring programs like the Lake Washington School District’s LINKS Lunch Buddies program have a real and measurable positive effect on the social, emotional, and academic lives of children.

A 2014 national survey conducted by MENTOR, the National Mentoring Partnership, found that young people who have a mentor are more likely to participate in sports or extracurricular activities; hold a leadership position in a club, sports team, or other group; and are more likely to volunteer regularly in their community.

The effects of mentoring show up in academic achievement, too. Not only will young people with mentors set higher goals for themselves, but they’re also more likely to attend college than children without a mentor. The impacts of mentoring are reported most strongly by students who struggle with circumstances that would otherwise render them at risk of dropping out of school. “You could be that one thing that changes the path for them for the rest of their lives,” added Laura Spencer. But the biggest bonus? According to “The Role of Risk,” a 2013 report that examined seven Washington State mentoring programs serving 1,300 children, the strongest and most consistent benefit from mentoring is a reduction in depressive symptoms.

EvergreeenHealth commissioner steps down

EvergreenHealth Board of Commissioners Representative, Jeanette Greenfield, Steps Down Early from Board

I am hopeful the Board will appoint a resident who will move Mental Health care forward.  BY

Kirkland, Wash. – Jeanette Greenfield has announced her plans to resign her position as EvergreenHealth Board of Commissioners, At-Large effective December 18, 2018. Greenfield will be traveling extensively over the next year and unable to fulfill her board obligations.

While Greenfield’s term ends on December 31, 2019, she has opted to end her term this year in order to allow the board to appoint her replacement. The Board will select a representative later this year for the at-large position to fill Greenfield’s post.