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Governor Abbott, Houston Astros, TDEM Announce COVID-19 Testing Site At Minute Maid Park

By
Joshua Blackwell
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Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the Houston Astros and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) have teamed up to open a free COVID-19 testing site at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The testing site will be able to process 2,000 tests per day and will begin operations on Saturday, August 8th.

“The State of Texas continues to work diligently to increase access to testing in communities that need it most,” said Governor Abbott. “We are proud to partner with the Houston Astros to provide more testing in the city of Houston.”

“We’re pleased to partner with the state and local health departments to provide another testing option in our city,” said Astros Owner and Chairman Jim Crane. “We are happy to continue to assist our community as we collectively fight this pandemic.”

Testing will run from 8:00 AM through 4:00 PM seven days per week. The site will feature eight drive-thru testing lanes and four walk-up testing lanes. Spanish-speaking staff will be available on-site. No healthcare provider is required for test administration.

To book an appointment and learn more, visit Texas.curativeinc.com.

Governor Abbott Holds Roundtable On Upcoming Flu Season At UT Southwestern Medical Center In Dallas

By
Joshua Blackwell
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Governor Greg Abbott today held a roundtable at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center on Texas’ approach to flu season as the state and the country continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor was joined by medical experts, state legislators, and state agency leaders for the roundtable.

During the roundtable, the leaders focused on the importance of flu vaccines and discussed proactive strategies the state can utilize to mitigate the spread of both COVID-19 and the flu in our communities. The leaders also discussed ways to increase the amount of COVID-19 and flu testing in light of the upcoming flu season, and the need for more personal protective equipment to combat both COVID-19 and the flu. The Governor noted that a simultaneous, parallel approach to both COVID-19 and the flu will be key in the state’s efforts to protecting public health and reducing the number of active cases and hospitalizations.

Following the roundtable, Governor Abbott held a press conference where he discussed the topics from the roundtable, and urged Texans to get a flu vaccine as the season approaches. Governor Abbott also provided an update on the state’s efforts to combat COVID-19. The Governor noted that the COVID-19 numbers are improving in the Dallas-Fort Worth community, citing a downward trend in hospitalizations and positivity rate, but urged Texans to remain vigilant against the virus by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, avoiding group gatherings, and utilizing sanitation strategies that will continue to spur a downtrend in COVID-19 cases.

“As we continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and prepare for the upcoming flu season, Texans must remain vigilant in our collective efforts to maintain infection control,” said Governor Abbott.”The State of Texas is working closely with medical experts, state legislators, and state agency heads to develop proactive strategies that will reduce the spread of the flu in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is vital that every Texan continue to wear a mask, practice social distancing, avoid group gatherings, and frequently sanitize their hands. These best practices will aid in our efforts to reduce the spread of both COVID-19 and the flu.”

Back-to-School Season Essentials for College Students

By
Statepoint
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The back-to-school season may look and feel different this year, but there are some essentials which can aid college students no matter how and where their learning takes place in the fall.

• Caffeine fix: Late to bed, early to rise — most college students rely on coffee to fuel this grueling schedule. Seek out an easy to use, low-maintenance coffee maker that doesn’t require a ton of space. When paired with an insulated to-go cup, quick caffeine fixes can help students not only when they’re burning the midnight oil or getting out of bed, but also when they’re heading out the door.

• Musical tools: Studies suggest that learning to play music has the power to foster the personal growth needed for achieving self-fulfillment later in adulthood, making a Casio keyboard one great addition to any students’ dorm room or bedroom. Portable and compact, they offer a range of features for musicians to learn, practice, record and perform.

• Lighten the load: With so many electronic versions of textbooks available these days, an e-reader can be a useful tool for students looking to lighten their load, as well as organize all their reading material in one place. Not only that, e-versions of books tend to be less expensive than their traditional counterparts, which can over time, represent significant cost-savings.

• Wearable tech: With multiple alarms that can help students keep track of class schedules, a Casio Pro Trek Watch is not only helpful on-campus or when learning remotely, but is also a great outdoor companion. With GPS, location memory, water resistance and triple sensor technology, those looking to get outdoors after sitting in front of a computer for hours on end will find its features useful on the trail or lake.

With some preparation and the right tools, college students can look forward to a successful school year ahead.

Governor Abbott, HHSC Announce Deadline Extension For Medicaid, CHIP Providers To Apply For Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds

By
Joshua Blackwell
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Motorist parked vehicle in dry grass, igniting 9,500-acre wildfire in San Saba County

By
Joshua Blackwell
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Firefighters from across the state are battling the still-growing, human-caused Mays Fire in San Saba and McCulloch Counties. The fire ignited on Aug. 1, approximately 16 miles east of Brady, Texas, as the result of an individual parking and idling their vehicle over tall, dry grass. The fire has currently burned an estimated 9,500 acres and is only 50% contained.

Over the past several days, significant wildfire activity has increased statewide, particularly in central portions of the state where rainfall has been minimal. Accelerated drying of vegetation has elevated the potential for new wildfire starts.

According to Les Rogers, Texas A&M Forest Service Chief of Fire Operations, state wildland firefighters have been very busy responding to the increase in wildfire activity across the state. With increased activity, out-of-state responders and equipment have been brought in, under state control, to meet essential needs.

“Numerous out-of-state resources are currently in Texas working together with state personnel to contain wildfires that are burning statewide,” said Rogers.

Over the past seven days, state and local resources have responded to 55 fires that have burned 11,607 acres. Many of the recent wildfire starts have been attributed to humans and their activities—such as debris burning—and are preventable.

“It is officially August in Texas, which means every day is mostly hot and dry,” said Karen Stafford Texas A&M Forest Service Prevention Program Coordinator. “Grasses across the state are quickly drying out and are more susceptible to fire ignitions. Even something as simple as parking on tall dry grass can start a wildfire in these conditions.”

Grass wildfires can spread and grow extremely fast. One of the main causes of grass fires is driving and parking over tall, dry grass. Dry grass will ignite at 500 degrees within seconds of contacting a hot surface, and the exhaust and catalytic converter on vehicles can reach temperatures of 1200–1600 degrees or more, igniting the grass underneath.

To prevent wildfires when operating a vehicle, follow these tips:

  • Avoid parking or driving in grass when possible
  • Stay on designated roads and trails
  • Park on asphalt when parking on the side of the road
  • Make sure chains are secure and not dragging

If a wildfire is spotted, immediately contact local authorities. A quick response can help save lives and property.

For frequent wildfire and incident updates, follow the Texas A&M Forest Service incident information Twitter account, https://twitter.com/AllHazardsTFS.

 

A Pineywoods Home Health Awarded CHAP Accreditation

By
Joshua Blackwell
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Community Health Accreditation Partner, Inc., (CHAP) has announced that A Pineywoods Home Health has once again been awarded CHAP Accreditation under the CHAP Home Health Standards of Excellence.

 CHAP is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body for home and community-based health care organizations. Created in 1965, CHAP was the first to recognize the need and value for accreditation in home and community-based care with more than 5,000 organizations currently accredited nationwide. CHAP is a nationally approved accrediting organization who retains authority to survey agencies providing home health to determine if they meet the Medicare Conditions of Participation and CMS Quality Standards. CHAP’s mission is to define, verify, and advance the highest quality of home and community-based care through its standards, accreditation, education, and research.

 “By achieving CHAP Accreditation, A Pineywoods Home Health has shown a commitment to excellence,” said Barbara McCann, CHAP President & CEO. “We are excited to continue our partnership with A Pineywoods Home Health by offering support in its commitment to providing quality care and continuous improvement.”

 CHAP Accreditation demonstrates that A Pineywoods Home Health meets the industry’s highest nationally recognized standards. The rigorous evaluation by CHAP focuses on structure and function, quality of services and products, human and financial resources and long-term viability.

 “We are committed to providing the highest quality care to all of our patients throughout East Texas,” said Katie Naranjo, CEO of A Pineywoods Home Health Care, Inc. “Our accreditation as a CHAP agency demonstrates our commitment to excellence in quality of patient care and business practices as healthcare professionals.”

 Dr. Neal and Mary Ann Naranjo started A Pineywoods Home Health in 1992 as a result of searching for quality care in the East Texas area for his parents. The organization is family owned and operated and employs over one thousand people in the East Texas region between A Pineywoods Home Health and A Pineywoods Home Services.

 A Pineywoods Home Health provides nursing, therapy, and social work services to patients and their families in over 50 East Texas counties. Staff coordinate care with physicians and all personnel to ensure the patient’s needs are met by providing care and education to prevent rehospitalizations as well as facility admissions while patients are recovering from exacerbations of diseases such as COPD, Congestive heart failure, hypertension as well as surgical procedures.

 A Pineywoods provides speciality programs such as diabetic management, heart failure symptom control, post acute therapy for orthopedic diagnoses and surgeries to ensure patients have a path to recovery and disease control. Other disease management protocols include post-hospital or facility transitional care, fall prevention, neurological rehabilitation and pain management interventions and education where a multiple disciplinary approach is used to ensure patients have outcomes necessary to control their symptoms and gain optimal health.

 A Pineywoods Home Health is a 5 out of 5 star rated agency by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is the highest rating possible for quality of patient care. The agency has been able to care for thousands of East Texas families since its inception and continues to provide the highest quality of care for loved ones.

 Kerri Griffin, A Pineywoods Home Health Administrator, states “A Pineywoods takes a team approach to ensure the needs of the client are met while achieving optimal outcomes. All of our skilled clinicians go above and beyond to deliver the best care available and their efforts shine through in their documentation as well as our client’s progress toward improved health. We are proud to be able to serve East Texas.”

 About CHAP (Community Health Accreditation Partner, Inc)

 For more information about the CHAP accreditation process, please visit the CHAP website at www.chapinc.org. For additional information, email info@chapinc.org or call 202-862-3413.

 About A Pineywoods

 A Pineywoods Home Health is a Medicare Certified, CHAP Accredited home health agency headquartered in Lufkin, Texas providing high quality, patient-centered care in the comfort of their home. The team is made up of highly qualified RNs, LVNs, therapists, home health aides, social workers, and caregivers. They believe in a team-approach to assisting patients in improving their quality of life and learning the skills to manage their primary diagnosis and other co-morbid conditions. A Pineywoods Home Health is a family owned and operated home health agency, serving East Texans for over 25 years.

 For more information on this release, services offered, or employment opportunities, please visit http://apineywoods.com/ or call 936-634-1617.

DANGERS IN THE CAR: TxDOT’s NEW AUGMENTED REALITY GAME URGES DRIVERS TO NEVER DRIVE DISTRACTED

By
Rhonda Oaks
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Despite stay at home orders and less traffic the past few months, Texas has continued to see about the same amount of fatalities on our state’s roadways. In an effort to reach drivers more creatively about the dangers of distracted driving, TxDOT has launched a new web-based augmented reality (AR) game that reinforces the importance of paying attention behind the wheel and reminds drivers to keep their heads up. Around 1 in 5 crashes on Texas roads are caused by distracted driving and all of them are preventable.

This new AR game “Dart Those Distractions” is designed to increase awareness about the dangers of distracted driving in an interactive, engaging way that resonates with all ages. Inspired by a classic carnival game, players will throw darts over a car windshield to hit balloons symbolizing driving distractions like eating, programming music or navigation and self-grooming. This is an important reminder that distracted driving isn’t just about texting or talking from the driver’s seat.

“Every driver and every passenger can be impacted by distracted driving and one death is one too many,” TxDOT Executive Director James Bass said. “We are doing all we can to make sure every Texan knows the dangers of driving distracted. Distracted driving crashes are preventable and we hope this new AR game will help drivers realize there are more dangers than just your cell phone in the car.”

TxDOT will promote the “Heads up, Texas” campaign and new AR game through social media, social influencers and digital advertising. These efforts are to raise awareness of the game and encourage people to share their results and recruit other players to dart those distractions. The AR game can be played on any smartphone or tablet by visiting www.dartthosedistractions.com or players can visit the website on a desktop computer to access the game through a QR code. Players should never play while behind the wheel, don’t add another distraction!

TxDOT’s annual “Heads up, Texas” campaign officially launches August 4 and is a key component of #EndTheStreakTX, a broader social media and word-of-mouth effort that encourages drivers to make safer choices while behind the wheel, like wearing a seat belt, driving the speed limit, never texting and driving and never driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Nov. 7, 2000, was the last deathless day on Texas roadways and #EndTheStreakTX asks all Texans to commit to driving safely to help end the streak of daily deaths.

For media inquiries, contact Rhonda.Oaks@txdot.gov or (936) 633-4395.

Governor Abbott Provides Update On PPE Distribution To Texas Schools

By
Joshua Blackwell
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Governor Greg Abbott today visited the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s (TDEM) Warehouse in San Antonio where he provided an update on the state’s distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Texas school districts for the 2020-2021 academic year. The Governor noted that the state will continue to purchase and distribute PPE to schools at no cost to the school districts.

The Governor also discussed the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) guidance for school openings—noting that local school boards have the ability to determine how and when to open for in-person instruction.

“Health and safety remain our top priority as we approach the upcoming school year,” said Governor Abbott. “To meet that priority, the State of Texas is purchasing and distributing vast amounts of PPE to Texas school districts. As local school boards make determinations on how and when they choose to open schools, the state is working to help ensure that there will be a strong supply of PPE waiting for them to keep students, teachers, and staff safe.”

The state has already distributed the following to Texas schools:

  • 59,410,640 masks
  • 567,948 gallons of hand sanitizer
  • 24,017 thermometers
  • 511,294 face shields

As previously announced by the TEA, local school boards have up to a 4-week back to school transition period during which they can offer a solely remote instructional setting if that is deemed needed for the health and safety of students, teachers, staff and parents. After 4 weeks, the school district can extend the transition period up to another 4 weeks with a vote of the school board and receiving a waiver. If any school district believes they need an extension beyond 8 weeks due to COVID-19 related issues, the TEA will review that request on a case-by-case basis.

The Governor also discussed the Supply Chain Strike Force and TDEM’s broader efforts to purchase and distribute PPE supplies to meet the needs of Texas communities. The TDEM Warehouse has distributed the following PPE since the pandemic began:

  • 794,370 coveralls
  • 4,095,892 face shields
  • 32,972,340 gloves
  • 7,409,424 gowns
  • 132,850,406 masks

Governor Abbott Announces White House Title 32 Extension Of Texas National Guard COVID-19 Mission

By
Joshua Blackwell
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Governor Greg Abbott today announced that President Trump has extended federal funding for the Texas National Guard’s mission to help combat COVID-19 in communities across the state. This extension of the Texas National Guard will be fully funded by the federal government through the end of 2020. Governor Abbott issued the following statement:

“The Texas National Guard plays a vital role in our response and recovery efforts, and I thank President Trump for extending this federal funding,” said Governor Abbott. “The Lone Star State remains vigilant in our efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 and we will continue to work alongside our federal partners to keep Texans safe.”

Governor Abbott activated the Texas National Guard in March to aid in the state’s efforts to combat COVID-19. The Texas National Guard has assisted in field testing, decontaminating facilities, providing regional support of storage and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), and more.

Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, Speaker Bonnen, Chairman Taylor, Chairman Huberty Release Statement On School Re-Openings

By
Joshua Blackwell
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Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dennis Bonnen, Senate Education Chairman Larry Taylor, and House Education Chairman Dan Huberty released the following statement on school re-openings this fall:

“The Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) guidance for opening public schools in Texas for the 2020-21 school year remains the same as announced two weeks ago. This guidance followed a letter issued jointly by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker, and Chairs of the Senate and House Education Committees.

“The top priority is protecting the safety and health of students, teachers, staff, and families. To achieve that goal, the TEA provided local school boards the flexibility they need to open schools in ways that ensure public safety while also providing the best education options for students during this challenging school year.

“The TEA guidance applies long-standing state law and Executive Orders to conclude that the authority to make decisions about when and how schools safely open rests with the constitutionally and statutorily established local school boards.

“The authority to decide when the school year will begin lies with local school boards. They can choose dates in August, September, or even later. But, whenever the local school board chooses to open, the board must comply with the requirement to provide the necessary number of days and hours of instruction for students.

“The authority to decide how schools will safely open this year, again, lies with local school boards. It can be with students in schools, it can be through remote learning, or a combination of the two. In making that decision, school boards have the ability to base their decisions on advice and recommendations by local public health authorities but are not bound by those recommendations.

“As the TEA previously announced, school boards have up to a 4-week back to school transition period during which they can offer a solely remote instructional setting if that is deemed needed for the health and safety of students, teachers, staff and parents. After 4 weeks, the school district can extend the transition period up to another 4 weeks with a vote of the school board and receiving a waiver. If any school district believes they need an extension beyond 8 weeks due to COVID-19 related issues, the TEA will review that request on a case-by-case basis.

“If at any time during the school year a COVID-19 case is confirmed on a school campus, the school board has the ability to close the campus for up to 5 days to sanitize the campus. Schools that close under this scenario will continue to be funded for providing remote-only instruction.

“Additionally, during the course of the school year, a local public health authority may determine that a school building must be closed in response to an outbreak. If that occurs, that school will continue to receive funding for providing remote-only instruction during the period of that closure.

“Local school boards also have the flexibility to achieve health and safety goals by offering alternating on-campus/remote instruction for high school students in order to reduce the number of students in campus buildings at one time.

“The TEA and the Attorney General correctly note that local health authorities play an important role in school closure determinations during the course of a school year if it is determined that a contamination has occurred necessitating closure, but local health authorities do not have the power to issue preemptive, blanket closures of schools weeks or months in advance of when a school may open its doors to students. Pre-existing Executive Orders have repeatedly made clear that local government operations, such as public schools, are permitted to be open.

“School boards established by the Texas legislature play a unique and pivotal role in school decisions that must not be superseded by other local authorities unless expressly allowed. It is clear that school boards can and should work collaboratively with, but not be subject to the advance directives of, local public health authorities, to ensure a safe and effective learning environment for Texas students.”

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