Daily Business Report-March 27, 2020
Patients who normally go to Scripps Clinic Coronado will now receive care at Scripps Clinic Torrey Pines (pictured) or Scripps Clinic Mission Valley. (Photo: Scripps Health)
Scripps Health temporarily closing
3 clinics in San Diego, Coronado
Scripps Health is temporarily close three of its clinics – Scripps Clinic Coronado, Scripps Clinic Santee and Scripps Clinic Bariatric and General Surgery in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood – and redirecting patients from those sites to other Scripps locations. Those patients also can use Scripps’ fast expanding telemedicine video service as an alternative to an in-person consultation.
Patients who normally go to Scripps Clinic Coronado will now receive care at Scripps Clinic Mission Valley or Scripps Clinic Torrey Pines; those at Scripps Santee will receive care at Scripps Clinic Rancho San Diego; and those at Scripps Clinic Bariatric patients will receive care at Scripps Clinic Del Mar. Affected patients will continue receiving care from their normal providers who also are relocating to the other sites.
Other Scripps outpatient sites are being reviewed for possible changes in operating hours.
“The coronavirus pandemic has triggered many changes in our lives and forced organizations of all types to alter the way they provide services to their customers,” said Chris Van Gorder, Scripps president and CEO. “These latest changes at Scripps give us more flexibility in how we staff all of our clinics and hospitals as this health pandemic continues to unfold, and they give us the ability to move people and resources to where they are needed more.”
Scripps also will be adding more sites where people can deliver donations of medical supplies. It is accepting donations of N95 masks/respirators; surgical/procedural masks; isolation/impervious gowns; non-latex gloves; eye protection; disinfecting wipes; hand sanitizer and hand soap.
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Resource page launched for real
estate professionals, buyers, sellers
The Greater San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR) has launched a resource page, “Real Estate Connections,” to provide professionals and consumers with updates, tools, and resources to help navigate real estate needs and changes, with the impact of COVID-19 on San Diego County. This website will provide ongoing updates for the San Diego community, as the real estate market and home selling and buying process is affected by the pandemic.
Designed to help Realtors and homeowners buy or sell homes, “Real Estate Connections” will provide key local, state and national information impacting the real estate industry. The site also includes recommended resources for monitoring market activity, continuing education and remote education information for real estate professionals, and tools for showcasing and finding homes in San Diego County.
Partnering with The San Diego Union-Tribune, SDAR will deliver topics and news related to real estate, both in San Diego County and on a national level. Readers can access the page by visiting the real estate section of the Union-Tribune or https://www.sdar.com/landing/real-estate-connection.html.
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UC San Diego engineers and doctors team up
to retrofit and build ventilators with 3D Printing
Even as university campuses close acrosp the nation in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, a team of engineers and physicians at the University of California San Diego is rapidly developing simple, ready-to-use ventilators to be deployed if the need arises.
The first step was to seek consensus with anesthetists and respiratory therapists about minimum requirements for a ventilator. The next was to determine whether engineers could reasonably produce them, and how quickly.
Within days, a team of researchers from the Friend and Petersen labs, including graduate students Aditya Vasan, William Connacher, Jeremy Sieker and Reiley Weekes, began building devices using premade parts and 3D printers. Their first goal was to convert an existing manual ventilator model to automatic, able to provide breathing assistance without human intervention.
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Hotel del Coronado suspends operations
The Hotel del Coronado is suspending hotel operations amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Coronado Times reports. According to the Times, the temporary suspension was to go into effect on Thursday.
The hotel told the Times that security will be on-site around the clock to ensure the protection of the historic site.
Harold Rapoza Jr., general manager of Hotel del Coronado & Beach Village at The Del, said in a statement: “This difficult decision is reflective of the current business environment and not a result of illness or confirmed cases at the hotel.”
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County public assistance payments to continue
Renewals, status reports deferred
Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, CalFresh and General Relief benefit payments for current customers will continue uninterrupted through April, May and June and certain paperwork is deferred until further notice, the county reported.
The county began sending texts and calls Wednesday to San Diegans who receive the benefits to let them know about the change and confirm that benefits will continue through June.
If additional information is required on a case, the county will contact them at a later date. Customers can call the Access Customer Service Center at 1-866-262-9881 if they have any questions.
New applicants for these programs can visit the county’s Self Sufficiency or MyBenefits CalWIN web pages for more information.
Typically, services are offered at Family Resource Centers around the county, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the centers are currently closed to the public.
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Homebound Southern Californians
chalking up hope on sidewalks
All over Southern California, people have discovered a way to help one another battle a new sense of isolation with a simple and universal antidote: Chalk.
Reassuring messages in the middle of this coronavirus pandemic abound on sidewalks and driveways: You matter. You will be OK. This too shall pass.
Everywhere and at the same time, the “chalk your walk” movement sprung up organically and charmingly. Some images are no-frill words of inspiration. Others are elaborate, colorful murals.
And they are all ephemeral – vulnerable to raindrops and footsteps.
Children suddenly stuck at home – no school, no play dates – sit outside drawing public art. Adults now cooped up with computers – no office chitchat, no dinners out – scribble uplifting messages to keep everyone hopeful and sane.
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Aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy
