April 16, 2020

Franklin County Multi-Agency Coordination Center

Common Operating Picture

Thursday April 16, 2020

Please note that this document is intended For Official Use Only to further cooperation and coordination across Franklin County towns.

From the FC-MACC Manager:

Thanks again for your continued support of Franklin County by submitting your information.

You may have noticed that we did not issue a sitrep on Tuesday as scheduled. We have found that there is little change in reports over the course of a few days, so we have changed from a semi-weekly schedule to a weekly one. You should now expect to receive a report from us every Thursday. This also means we’ll be contacting you less frequently to report in, which I’m sure you all will appreciate!

ABOUT THE MACC

The primary goal of the MACC is to create a common operating picture across the 26 towns in Franklin County and the healthcare facilities that serve us all, as information sharing is so critical.

PLEASE NOTE: The MACC does not have any personal protective equipment on hand.

If you need further assistance feel free to send us an email at FranklinCountyMACC@frcog.org or call us at (413) 768-7518 or (413) 768-4127. Visit our webpage at https://tinyurl.com/FCMACC.

MACC Coordination Meetings

MACC staff are now meeting weekly with representatives from the Opioid Task Force, the Sheriff’s Office, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, the City of Greenfield, and Baystate Franklin Medical Center to review information reported in the weekly sitrep. Opportunities for collaboration and coordination are discussed and “assigned” to the appropriate entity for follow up.

From this week’s meeting, there were two follow up items. The first was for the hospital and the Community Health Center of Franklin County (CHCFC) to touch base on PPE needs in regards to emergency dental surgery. While it was reported that the CHCFC was in dire need of face masks in order to perform emergency dental surgery, the hospital reported being in frequent contact with the CHCFC and could supply them with masks if necessary. This may be just a matter of rumor control, but if that’s a role the MACC can play, that’s not a bad thing.

The second follow up item was the lack of porta potties and hand-washing stations for the homeless in communities other than Greenfield. The MACC made a connection between the City of Greenfield, which already has a contract with a vendor, and the Opioid Task Force so other towns may install porta potties and hand-washing stations if necessary.

Town Information

Emergency Management | Public Health | Police | Fire

IMPORTANT: Guidance for COVID-19 Address Access for First Responders

CLICK HERE TO READ THE MEMO

Latest City and Town EOC information

Below is a brief synopsis of the data being reported.

?Towns Reporting - Ashfield, Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, Erving, Gill, Greenfield, Heath, Leyden, New Salem, Montague, Northfield, Orange, Shelburne, Sunderland, Warwick, Whately

Towns with an Open EOC - Ashfield, Bernardston, Erving, Greenfield, New Salem, Warwick

Towns that have declared a state of emergency - Ashfield, Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, Erving, Gill, Greenfield, Heath, Leyden, New Salem, Montague, Northfield, Orange, Shelburne, Sunderland, Warwick, Whately

For a more detailed view of the information CLICK HERE.

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office reports that the House of Correction is currently adequately staffed. Three staff have tested positive for COVID-19. There are no reported cases of COVID-19 among inmates. The facility has sufficient PPE for now.

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Service changes include:

• Behavioral health groups within the jail have stopped due to social distancing
• Incarcerated clients are completing individual work on their recovery with workbooks which are reviewed by staff
• Post-release reentry support occurs over the phone
• Staff continue to support clients in navigating resources and finding shelter
• Regional lockup is on hold
• House of Correction is accepting new inmates through courts only

Franklin County MACC - COVID-19 Dashboard

The FC-MACC Dashboard, created by FRCOG, is meant to provide important information at your fingertips. It contains a map of COVID-19 cases in the County and other COVID statistics. It is updated throughout the week so check back for updated information.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE DASHBOARD

In the corner of each square there are buttons to add or remove the layers of data you are interested in and one to see the legend. You can also click directly on the map to get information about any particular community.

COVID-19 Case Reporting?

Data Reporting Changes: As of this week, the MACC will be reporting numbers with greater specificity, but in conformance with MA DPH standards. All communities with five or fewer cases will be reported as having 0-5 cases. Communities with more than five cases will continue to be grouped by color, for the purposes of our “heat map,” but will also have the actual number of positive lab-tested cases added to the data shared. This data will be drawn from the State’s town-level numbers released each Wednesday. Where possible we will also share number of patients recovered, people in quarantine, and numbers deceased, as reported by the local health department.

Emergency Medical Services

Reporting EMS agencies are Colrain Ambulance, Northfield EMS, Turners Falls Fire/EMS, South County EMS.

• They have one employee who is in quarantine due to community exposure.
• Some of the reporting agencies are reporting they may be running short on PPE.

If you are a fire-based EMS agency that needs to request PPE, please contact your local emergency management director and ask them to put a request in through MEMA.

If you are with an EMS agency that is not fire-based, go to the Region 1 HMCC webpage by clicking HERE. Scroll down to the resource request process instructions.

Healthcare

Primary Care providers report a steady state this week, and high levels of surge preparedness. The Community Health Center of Franklin County (CHCFC) is seeing an increase in daily sick visits; Valley Medical Group (VMG) is not. All reporting primary care practices have adequate staffing at this time. All primary care practitioners are providing patient care by telehealth (video or telephone). Both VMG and CHCFC have developed respiratory care units with dedicated teams, entrances, PPE, etc. to see patients who may have COVID. All medical practices report significant numbers of patients with suspected but not lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection. Optometry and dental services are available for emergencies only, due to the risk of infection and the level of PPE needed to address it.

Healthcare Provider PPE Needs:

• CHCFC has solved some of its PPE needs, but continues to be interested in swapping front-closing gowns for the back-tying ones for when they need to do emergency dental surgery. Contact Jessica Calabrese at Jessica.Calabrese@chcfc.org if you are able to help.

• LifePath continues to report a significant need for PPE for the 482 community members in our county who need the help of personal care attendants for their daily living. Each person has, on average, 3-4 PCAs, who each need PPE to protect themselves, their clients, and their families. Click here for a number of people, by town. Contact Barbara Bodzin at bbodzin@lifepathma.org if you can offer to help those in your community.

• The House of Correction will soon be in need of N-95 masks for its medical division.

• Trailside Health in Shelburne Falls has run out of N-95 masks.

Testing Information

For members of the public:

Baystate Franklin’s drive-through testing is currently available to those patients of either Baystate Medical Practices or Valley Medical Group who have spoken with their primary care providers and have an order for the test. Although there are still not enough testing supplies (swabs, reagents) for widespread testing, all primary care providers are also able to offer at least some testing at this time to those whose illness meets the criteria for a test.

For Baystate Health employees: Testing in Springfield at Baystate Health is available.

For first responders: Testing at the Big E in Agawam is available. Click here to read how to get tested.

Human Services

Prepared by Debra L. McLaughlin, Coordinator, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region

Purpose

To provide a summary of the impact of COVID-19 upon entities providing services to those impacted by opioid and other substance misuse in Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region. (Note: We are aware that the scope of the MACC is restricted to the 26 towns of Franklin County.)

Overview

Officially declared as a pandemic on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization, Coronavirus: COVID-19 and the required actions to stem its community spread, is exacerbating the conditions that contribute to the opioid epidemic. Franklin County and North Quabbin local entities and their leaders are simultaneously managing two public health emergencies.

On March 16, 2020, the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region initiated a range of actions to address COVID-19.

CLICK HERE for the full OTF report.

Announcements | Webinars | Open Source Information | Useful Links

Franklin County RV Haven for Health Care Warriors

The Franklin County RV Haven for Health Care Warriors group matches frontline healthcare workers in the Franklin County region with RVs to stay in during the COVID crisis to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus within the home. The City of Greenfield has made arrangements with the Franklin County Agricultural Society for use of the Franklin County Fairgrounds for these RVs. For more information, contact Greenfield’s Community Resource Line at 413-775-6411.

Community resource line - The Greenfield EOC and MACC have teamed up to provide a resource line for Franklin County residents. In addition to 211, residents may be referred to 413-775-6411 for answers to questions about COVID-19 or to find a list of resources available to support them during this event.

CLICK HERE for a flyer to distribute.

RESPONDING TO FOOD INSECURITY DURING THE COVID CRISIS

An Information Session for Municipal Leaders and Officials

FRIDAY APRIL 17TH at 11AM – WEB AND DIAL INFORMATION IS BELOW

Dear Municipal Leaders and Officials:

Please join MAPC this Friday morning at 11am for an information session on how cities and towns can support families and individuals experiencing food insecurity in these difficult times. We will hear from federal and state officials, such as Congressman Jim McGovern, a national leader on fighting hunger, as well as key advocates and providers from Project Bread and the Greater Boston Food Bank. Many cities and towns have deployed innovative solutions to provide food to school age children or ramp up local food bank provision, and we would ask communities that have pursued solutions or ideas to be prepared to share them in advance or on the call so they can inform the discussion.

Hope you can join the conversation Friday – and please share the invite with any members of your local teams. The information to join the session is below.

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Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/99951960358?pwd=dXBpMEVSY2V0WXdjZFJZcWZuMlUxZz09

Meeting ID: 999 5196 0358

Password: 014150

One tap mobile

+13126266799,,99951960358# US (Chicago)

+16468769923,,99951960358# US (New York)

Dial by your location

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

+1 253 215 8782 US

+1 301 715 8592 US

Meeting ID: 999 5196 0358

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/azBo3r8fr

And for more local food resources: go to http://bit.ly/FCFoodResourcesList.

First responder quarantine facilities - Fire chiefs in Hampshire County have made arrangements with a hotel in Hadley to provide rooms for first responders who are self-quarantining and don't want to bring anything home to their families. Contact Chief Michael Spanknebel for more information at spanknebelm@hadleyma.org or Chief Michael Mason at masonm@hadleyma.gov. If anyone is interested in a Greenfield option for first responder quarantining, contact Chief Robert Strahan at robert.strahan@greenfield-ma.gov.

First responder recovery facilities - The Hampden County Sheriff's Department has made arrangements to open a First Responder Recovery Home in Ludlow for those first responders who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and cannot safely go home to recover. For more information, contact the Sheriff's Department at 413-858-0801 or 413-858-0819.