Newspaper Page Text
The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, Decemberl4, 2022 5
LUCAS
BKTHLKHKM MISSION ARY
BAPTIST CIU KC II
Candleliohi
Helping Cultivate a Healthier Savannah - Community Health
Advocates Talk Candidly About COVID and Flu Vaccines
CAT Reinstates Route
4 Barnard
CyjEST SPEAKER;
CISHOP THOMAS I.SILLS
COM N £ R'S TEM PL E OAPT 1ST CIIU RC H
PASTOR PAUL E, SMITH, H- I>IV
Host, senior pastor
BETHLEHEM VISIONARY
BAPTIST CHURCH
and Prevention (CDC), the
Community Health Advo
cate program was intended
to broaden the initiatives
of the Racial and Ethnic
Approaches to Community
Health (REACH) grant by
increasing vaccine aware
ness and acceptance in com
munities at high risk of se
vere illness, hospitalization,
and death due to COVID-19
or flu. In addition to the
$500 stipend that is offered
to those completing the pro
gram, the training provided
helps participants sharpen
leadership skills and in
crease knowledge about
health advocacy. To learn
more, email elsie@health-
ysavannah.org or call (843)
323-9997.
Chatham Area
Transit (CAT) reinstated the
route 4 Barnard following
temporary service modifica
tions on Monday, Dec. 12.
Route 4 services
the Walmart on Montgom
ery Cross Rd., Chatham Pla
za, and the Savannah Sum
mit.
The route will run
Monday - Saturday, from
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with
no service on holidays.
The route was
temporarily suspended in
October due to low rider-
ship, and bus operator short
ages.
CAT CEO, Faye
DiMassimo said, “Adding
the route 4 back into rota
tion is keeping our promise
to our communities across
Chatham County.
We are thrilled to
be able to yet again have the
opportunity to provide reli
able service for those who
need public transportation
the most.”
Since the start of
the temporary service mod
ifications, CAT has hired 13
new operators (9 Paratran-
sit, 4 Fixed-Route).
CAT continues to
aggressively hire to fill open
positions by partnering with
the Georgia Department of
Labor and by holding week
ly job fairs every Friday at
CAT Central.
To see the Route
4 Barnard schedule, visit
https://www.catchacat.org/
current-schedules/
To see open po
sitions, Visit: https://www.
catchacat.org/about-cat/
cat-careers/
By Charice Stroud, Community Health Advocate
More than 1 mil
lion Americans have died
of COVID-19. The Centers
for Disease Control (CDC)
and Departments of Public
Health report that nearly
34,000 of those deaths have
occurred here in Georgia
and nearly 1000 people have
died from COVID in Cha
tham County.
Although COVID
is now considered endem
ic, that simply means its
presence is steady and
somewhat predictable, like
the seasonal flu. Both are
serious illnesses that can
lead to hospitalizations and
death. The CDC estimates
that there have been 9 to 41
million flu illnesses a year
between 2010 and 2020 and
about 5% to 20% of the U.S.
population gets the flu every
year.
That’s why, as we
are on the doorstep of Na
tional Influenza Vaccination
week Dec 6-12, I’d like to
remind you there is still time
to get a flu shot to protect
yourself, your loved ones
and your community.
This is also no
time to become complacent
about COVID, especially
now that the flu season is in
full swing, and the respirato
ry virus known as RSV is on
the rise.
These diseases
are impacting families and
health outcomes in our com
munity in many ways. The
pandemic disrupted the abil
ity for some to leave their
home, eat more nutritious
foods or get timely care for
non-COVID medical con
ditions. Some people died
sooner than they otherwise
would have. Others contin
ue to struggle with serious
health issues, and that seems
to be especially problemat
ic in Savannah’s Black and
Latinx communities.
During the bleak
est days of the COVID
pandemic, many of these
communities lagged behind
the general population in
vaccine acceptance. People
were skeptical of the vac
cine’s safety, didn’t know
how to get it, or were afraid
of the potential cost.
That is why I de
cided to attend a “listening
session’’ in the summer of
2021 that Healthy Savannah
and the YMCA of Coastal
Georgia developed utiliz
ing a supplemental Racial
and Ethnic Approach
es to Community Health
(REACH) grant from the
CDC to provide a safe en
vironment for Black and
Hispanic Savannahians to
voice their thoughts, con
cerns, and questions about
the COVID-19 vaccine.
I had just moved
to Savannah and wanted to
get involved somehow. So,
I went to the meeting and
talked about my COVID
experience and listened
to others. I learned that to
communicate effectively,
you have to listen to have a
conversation. I also learned
that there is a lot of mistrust
in the Black community but
it’s often based on a misun
derstanding of the facts.
Take the Tuske-
gee Study, for example. I
learned that the men in that
study were not injected with
syphilis.
The truth is that the
medication that could have
helped them recover from
the disease they already had
was withheld from them
without their knowledge. If
you understand what exactly
happened to them and apply
it to our current situation
with COVID-19 and other
vaccines, it can shift your
perspective. In their case, a
proven treatment was with
held, and they suffered ter
rible consequences. Now,
if someone rejects a proven
vaccine, they are withhold
ing a potentially life-sav
ing medication from saving
their own life.
Afterward the lis
tening session, the leaders
asked if any of us would like
to do more. Nineteen of us
accepted the challenge, and
after taking online training,
we went into our neighbor
hoods to talk with and listen
to other people and groups
about the COVID-19 and flu
vaccines.
Ten of us com
pleted the 15-hour volun
teer service requirements to
become the first graduates
of Savannah’s Community
Health Advocate program.
I’m proud to stand with
fellow trailblazers Taahirah
Shakoor, Beatriz Severson,
Norman Luten, Leslie Walk
er, Ramona Dray ton-Jack-
son, Ervenia Bowers, Cassie
Jenkins, Kim Jackson-Alien
and Pat Edwards as the first,
but not the last, to become
a Community Health Advo
cate.
Since then, more
than 50 Community Health
Advocates, or CHAs,
have completed the train
ing course and many of
us continue to work in the
community. We listen and
learn from our neighbors
and friends and are equip
ping them with the facts
that the COVID-19 vaccine
and boosters are proven and
safe. What’s better, they are
free! They don’t cost any
thing, even if you’re unin
sured. We also help people
find a vaccination location
near where they live.
We are addition
ally reminding folks that if
they get an annual flu vac
cine, they can increase their
chances of staying well and
staying out of the hospital.
Flu season is peaking right
now and will extend well
into the new year.
There are still
some who remain hesi
tant about the vaccine or
have postponed routine
health services because of
COVID-19. Commonwealth
Fund data tells us that pre
mature deaths from treatable
conditions like heart disease
and diabetes rose between
2019 and 2020 and were
particularly high in southern
states including Georgia.
So, there is a lot
of work still to be done.
We want to encourage folks
to start seeing their doctor
again, to take advantage
of free produce giveaway
programs like the YMCA’s
Fresh Express program or
encourage their neighbor
hood markets to sign up for
the Corner Store program
that helps them stock fresh
produce for their customers.
Both the Corner Store and
Fresh Express programs are
supported by the REACH
grant.
But we also know
that COVID-19 vaccina
tion rates are continuing to
rise. In Chatham County,
the rate for one dose rose
from 8% in February 2021
to 64% in June 2022, to the
current rate in November
2022 of 65%. According to
the Georgia Department of
Health, 59% of Chatham
County residents are fully
vaccinated, up 1% just in
the past month, and 46% are
vaccinated with an addition
al dose. Vaccination rates
for the Black community are
currently 52.4%, up from
51.8% in June 2022. For
the Hispanic community,
the rate is at 47%, up from
42.2% in June 2022.
According to the
Commonwealth Fund, the
COVID vaccine has pre
vented more than 2 million
deaths across the nation and
has saved more than $899
billion in healthcare costs.
Without the vaccine, their
data suggests there would
have been another 17 million
hospitalizations and 66 mil
lion additional infections. It
also indicates that rates of
preventable COVID-19 hos
pitalization and death were
significantly higher in un
vaccinated Americans than
those of vaccinated Ameri
cans.
We’re sharing
numbers like these with the
people we speak with be
cause knowledge is power
and that’s a big part of stay
ing healthy.
“I believe what the
participants in the CHA pro
gram are doing is ground
breaking,’’ said Dr. Elsie
Smalls, the program’s oper
ations manager. “They are
building the model for future
Community Health Advo
cates to follow. They share
their experiences, ideas and
perspectives; we listen and
together we develop some
basic tools. They then go
out into the community and
make a difference.’’
One of my CHA
classmates, Pat Edwards,
may have expressed what we
do best. A social worker by
trade, Pat utilizes her expe
rience as executive director
of Medbank, Inc, a prescrip
tion assistance organization,
in her outreach. “You have
to meet people where they
are,’’ she said. “When I talk
to people, they know I care.’’
Another fellow CHA, Er
venia Bowers, is working
to remind her neighbors in
West Savannah that get
ting ready for the holidays
should include getting vac
cinated.
“If you plan to be
at large family gatherings,
consider getting boosted and
get your flu vaccine, too,’’
said Bowers. “This will pro
vide comfort to you and to
others.’’
Although you
don’t need any specific ex
pertise to become a CHA,
many of our volunteers do
have medical training. Take
Beatriz Severson, for exam
ple. She is a registered nurse
with a background in be
havioral health who moved
from Miami to Savannah
two years ago and saw an
opportunity to reach out to
Savannah’s Latinx commu
nity.
“I wanted to help
ensure information about
how the vaccine works was
correctly translated into
Spanish,’’ she said. “I want
ed to help people better
connect with providers and
organizations.’’
These days, it’s
not uncommon to see CHAs
setting up their tables and
handing out giveaways and
flyers at school events, flea
markets, church festivals
and health fairs. But you’ll
also find we’re listening to
concerns and talking one
on one with neighbors, stu
dents, parents, caregivers
and friends.
We are always
looking for new folks to
help us continue to grow the
program, too. If you’re con
sidering a career in public
health or just looking to get
involved in your communi
ty, we hope you’ll consider
learning more about our
program. One thing we can
all do is get vaccinated and
encourage our family and
friends to get their vaccines,
too.
A native of De
catur, Ga., Charice Stroud
moved to Savannah from
Indiana in April 2019 to be
closer to friends and fami
ly. She works remotely as a
customer service representa
tive and has been active as
a Community Health Advo
cate since attending the first
training session offered in
the fall of 2021.
Funded by a sup
plemental grant from the
Centers for Disease Control