Healthcare – Page 2 – The Other Side Dallas

October 13, 2021October 13, 2021

American Airlines Reminded Governor Abbott Who Is In Charge

On Tuesday, American Airlines reminded Governor Abbott who is in charge of flights saying they would comply with President Biden’s executuve order requiring flight crew personnel to be vaccinated for COVID19 by a December 8 deadline.

They were joined by Southwest Airlines.

The two Texas-based carriers said the federal order supersedes a reverse mandate by Republican Governor Greg Abbott barring vaccine mandates by any entity, including private employers.

American said while it was reviewing Abbott’s executive order, “this does not change anything” for the company.

Southwest says it “would be expected to comply with the President’s Order to remain compliant as a federal contractor.”

Both carriers have asked U.S.-based employees to submit proof of vaccination by November 24 to be compliant by the December deadline.

Biden issued his executive order during the height of the pandemic last month as his administration struggled to control disease spread.

The executive order covers all federal contractors.

While supporters of vaccine mandates see them as necessary to pull the country out of the nearly two-year-old pandemic, critics including Texas Senator Ted Cruz are calling them unconstitutional and authoritarian.

In his executive order, Abbott said the Biden administration was “bullying” many private entities into imposing vaccine mandates, causing workforce disruptions.

Southwest cancelled over two thousand flights over the weekend in what some are describing as “freedom flu.” It is not clear if employees are participating in blue days, but a pilot union representative blamed the cancellations on a brittle scheduling system stuck in the past.

The Southwest pilots union is seeking to stop Southwest vaccine mandates saying they should not be imposed under collective bargaining rules.

American Airlines Reminded Governor Abbott, But Does He Listen?

Earlier this summer, Greg Abbott tested positive for COVID19 hours after attending an in person fundraising event in McKinney maskless.

He was treated with expensive monoclonal antibodies and has since recovered, but it isn’t clear he learned the lesson of preventative healthcare that vaccinations and masks offer.

October 8, 2021October 8, 2021

Limo Liberal Al Franken Does Dallas Mask Free

Limo Liberal Al Franken does Dallas mask free at the Majestic Theatre despite demanding proof of negative COVID19 test or vaccination card.

The Majestic which is celebrating one hundred years open did not comment about why they were not enforcing the mask mandate other than to lay blame on former Senator Franken who resigned his United States Senate seat over sexual harassment allegations.

City officials claimed they could not enforce county mandates and were not subject to them per Jason Evans of Dallas Fire Rescue.

Limo Liberal Al Franken Does Dallas Mask Free

Several participants noted that at least forty percent of the crowd was mask free and there were several people coughing enough that they “belonged” in an ICU for breathing trouble.

Prior to the show, several emails when out from Franken’s promotion team stating masks would be needed for entry along with vaccination cards or proof of negative test, but no checks occurred at the door.

It is unclear if Franken will offer refunds to those unable to attend the show due to the lack of follow through on maintaining a clean environment.

September 19, 2021September 19, 2021

Parents Pushing COVID19 Protests At Dealey Montessori

A group of parents are pushing COVID19 protests at Dealey Montessori Academy just weeks after its sister school in South Dallas had an explosion in cases at Harry Stone Montessori Academy.

Dallas Independent School District had told the state that they plan to enforce a mask mandate despite Governor Abbott’s executive order this summer.

One Dealey parent said they were not sure if this was “a parent committing child abuse by intentionally sending a child to school maskless” or if it was “domestic terroism intentionally spreading germs in a communal environment.”

The parent who did not want to be named went on, “The parents are clearly more interested in making a political statement than they are in being in an environment of mutual contributions, respect, and learning.”

COVID19 Protests

Four students in the upper elementary program have chosen to attend school without masks and have been accomodated in another classroom together. On Friday, September 17, the four decided to attempt to enter other classrooms disrupting the school’s day.

It is unclear if they were subject to any discipline, but Dallas ISD magnets frequently have stringent requirements and regularly disrupting class can be a reason to remove the child from a magnet program.

We will update this topic when more information becomes available or DISD representatives return inquires.

September 14, 2021September 16, 2021

Cafeteria Changes Coming

Cafeteria changes are coming to Dallas Independent School District lunch rooms due to supply chain problems with plastic flatware. The change comes one day after the district announced a $50 vaccination incentive for students age twelve or older.

Dallas ISD announced school cafeterias will be offering finger foods two days a week – on Tuesdays and Thursdays – because flatware is in such limited supply.

“A number of suppliers told us they have product, but it’s stuck in a port,” said Michael Rosenberger, the executive director of food and child nutrition services for the district.

The modified menu means instead of salad, cafeterias may serve veggie sticks. Instead of spaghetti, students may enjoy items like burgers, baked fries, or pizza, among other things.

Cafeteria Changes Include Menu Direction

Parents can still view Dallas ISD menu options via the MealViewer website which you can find here.

Coronavirus is having a long lasting impact on local economies and supply chains around the world. It is not clear if local schools may change to a North American based provider of the plasticware in the future.

August 31, 2021August 31, 2021

COVID19 Coverup At Harry Stone

It appears a COVID19 coverup at Harry Stone is not new, but ongoing. This follows our reporting earlier this summer about a teacher assaulted by a student and questions about financial misuse of student activity money at the Dallas Independent School District southern Montessori campus.

The Dallas ISD dashboard currently shows two staff cases of COVID19 at Harry Stone, but in written conversations with six school parents there are allegations the number may be as high as twenty-two with seventeen student cases.

In one instance a parent reports the school nurse asked the parent not to submit positive COVID19 case history so that the district dashboard would not reflect the case.

The parent said in a written email, “She told me just to let [the student] do course work online and the student would be fine. I pressed the issue because the student was lethargic and didn’t want the student to work while sick and also didn’t want the student to be counted absent. They didn’t want to have to document a case and I wonder how many parents they did that too.”

Another parent indicates their child was diagnosed COVID19 positive, but does not have any possibility of community transmission. They only go to and from Harry Stone and do not otherwise go out.

Four separate parents have stated in similar stories that personnel at Harry Stone Montessori Academy privately confirming multiple students and staff members testing positive, but that they are not sharing the information with parents. It is not clear if they are sharing the information with Dallas ISD administrators either.

COVID19 Coverup At Harry Stone Continues Bad History

Earlier this summer we reported on a large percentage of teachers leaving Dallas ISD’s South Dallas Montessori campus. That resulted in dozens of calls and emails that show teachers are leaving due to campus assaults by students of staff members.

Two Zoom meetings were held by Trustee Maxie Johnson who stated he thinks parents are racist for bringing up assaults against teachers. We have reached out to Mr. Johnson for comment repeatedly without success.

August 10, 2021August 10, 2021

Governor Abbott’s COVID19 Retreat?

Has Governor Greg Abbott’s COVID19 retreat finally come?

Per a release yesterday it appears so though his spokesperson won’t admit it.

Abbott who last week denied Dallas area hospital’s request for emergency staff is now asking other states for both staff and supplies as COVID19 is hitting Texas hard.

Texas is actively seeking out-of-state health care personnel to help with the latest COVID19 surge. Abbott has also asked hospitals to voluntarily postpone elective medical procedures.

One physician in a Facebook post openly spoke about triaging pediatric trauma victims because of a lack of bedspace and not being able to accept patient transfers because local pediatric facilities are being used by adults.

COVID19 Retreat

While Abbott is asking other states for assistance in fighting coronavirus his leadership at Texas Education Agency is still balking on mask requirements. Austin ISD and Dallas ISD have both announced they are moving forward with mask requiements anyway.

August 4, 2021August 4, 2021

Almost 700 New COVID19 Cases

There are almost 700 new COVID19 cases in a rolling seven day period said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

Hospitalizations in the area are up also. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services – more than twice as many COVID19 hospitalizations are happening now as on July 18 and more than four times as many as on July 3.

Last year, Texas was one of ten “hot zone” states where COVID19 infections were surpassing expectations.

Per Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council President Stephen Love a majority of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 are not vaccinated. He encouraged everyone to get vaccinated.

700 New COVID19 Cases

The 700 new COVID18 cases represent the highest seven day average caseload of new infections since February 2021.

July 29, 2021July 29, 2021

COVID19 Numbers Highest Since February

COVID19 Numbers highest since February 2021 per Dallas County Health and Human Services with almost 1000 new cases report including several deaths. One of those deaths was a fifteen year old girl.

This time last year, Dallas was considered a medical hot zone for its COVID19 case load. Last week, UTSouthwestern pandemic modeling predicted six hundred new daily cases by August 9. Yesterday’s numbers top that by 60%.

Judge Jenkins released data about the new virus infections.

Locally, it is reported that Collin County and Tarrant both had hundreds of new infections reported also and that Denton County is down to ten ICU beds – the same issue driving restrictions earlier in the pandemic.

COVID19 Numbers Highest Since February – But Back To Normal?

Earlier in the week, Governor Abbott stated local governments and schools could not require a mask or vaccine mandate and it was a personal choice.

Dallas ISD has already said school will open under normal conditions with almost no option for virtual students.

July 29, 2021July 29, 2021

DISD Welcome Back 2021

DISD Welcome Back 2021 will happen Saturday, August 7, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, located at 1201 E. Eighth Street at their We’re Ready Back to School Enrollment Fair.

Dallas Independent School District says it is ready for in-person instruction and to serve our families in a safe learning environment. Thousands of cases of COVID19 did hit staff and students across DISD last school year, including the Townview Magnet campus.

COVID19 numbers were manageable when school started in October 2020, but quickly shot up. Last year Dallas was considered a COVID19 medical hot zone and despite recent CDC guidance that all school staff and students should mask up regardless of vaccination status, Governor Abbott has denied localities the ability to mandate masks.

DISD Welcome Back 2021 Details

As DISD welcomes back staff and students, it is important to remember several standards that will be in place.

Currently, Dallas ISD will be back to in-person learning, districtwide, with the exception of hybird learners at the Dallas Hybrid Preparatory at Stephen J. Hay.

Additionally, the ISD will keep the nine-week grading periods this school year 2021-2022, the same as last. It is not clear if this will promote better learning or not.

Finally, there are three different school calendars which are campus specific. The base calendar is below.

Dallas ISD Calendar - DISD Welcome Back 2021

There are three different Dallas ISD 2021-2022 school year calendars.

A large majority of school campuses will have the base calendar. Forty-one schools will have an Intersession calendar, and five schools will have a School Day Redesign Calendar.

The alternative calendars are one part of a comprehensive effort the district is taking to help ensure the pandemic doesn’t have a long-lasting negative impact on student learning.

July 22, 2021July 24, 2021

Candida Auris In Dallas

Candida Auris (C. auris) is in Dallas per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today. They have evidence that the untreatable fungus is spreading at two Dallas-area hospitals and a Washington, D.C, nursing home.

Several patients have been diagnozed with the invasive fungal infections. The infection is impervious to all three major classes of medications, according to the CDC.

“This is really the first time we’ve started seeing clustering of resistance” in which patients seemed to be getting the infections from each other, said the CDC’s Dr. Meghan Lyman.

The new infections come as Dallas is still responding to the COVID19 pandemic and the recent diagnosis of monkeypox in Dallas.

The fungus, Candida auris, is a harmful form of yeast. It is dangerous to hospital and nursing home patients with serious medical problems.

It is most deadly when it enters the bloodstream, heart, or brain.

Health officials have sounded alarms for years about superbugs like Candida auris. In particular, they have found commonly used drugs having little to no effect.

In those cases, there was no evidence the infections had spread from patient to patient – scientists concluded the resistance to the drugs formed during treatment.

The new cases did spread, the CDC concluded.

In Washington, D.C., a cluster of 101 C. auris cases at a nursing home dedicated to very sick patients included three that were resistant to all three kinds of antifungal medications. A cluster of 22 in two Dallas-area hospitals included two with that level of resistance. The facilities weren’t identified, but the cases occured between January and April.

Lyman said both are ongoing outbreaks and that additional infections have been identified since April. But those added numbers were not reported.

Investigators reviewed medical records and found no evidence of previous antifungal use among the patients in those clusters. Health officials say that means they spread from person to person.

Candida auris Background

Per the CDC, Candida auris is an emerging fungus that can cause outbreaks of severe infections in healthcare facilities.

In the United States, it has most commonly spread in long-term care facilities caring for people with severe medical conditions.

However, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, outbreaks of C. auris have been reported in COVID-19 units of acute care hospitals. These outbreaks may be related to changes in routine infection control practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, including limited availability of gloves and gowns, or reuse of these items, and changes in cleaning and disinfection practices.

New C. auris cases without links to known cases or healthcare abroad have been identified recently in multiple states, suggesting an increase in undetected transmission. Screening for C. auris colonization, an important part of containment efforts, has been more limited as resources of healthcare facilities and health departments have been diverted to respond to COVID-19.