SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
March 25, 2020
Sullivan’s Salvos 3/31/20
In this edition:
*Please Be Kind, Patient, and Calm
*Shelter in Place
*Did You Know?
*Please Be Kind, Patient, and Calm
I continue to remind people… and I believe it is important to do so… to please be kind, patient, and calm.
I don’t get to see my granddaughter Zuri much anymore, and it hurts. In the words of one of her favorite songs, “We used to be best buddies…” (Frozen fans may know that one.) Anyway, I was doing Facetime with Zuri on Monday night, and she said this:
“Papa, sometimes when I am naughty it is because I am mad.” Out of the mouths of babes, right? My three-year-old granddaughter is catching on to something that many of us adults tend to forget.
There are plenty of reasons to be mad right now. But we can control how we handle that anger. So please don’t be naughty. Please be kind, patient, and calm.
*Shelter in Place
As the Covid-19 situation continues, public cries for a “shelter in place” order (SIP) grow louder and longer. I am going to share a few thoughts on this and related matters.
I have said this many times before, and I will repeat it: I prefer to make decisions based upon the best data available. Since I do not have vast experience in public health, I have been looking to three primary sources for information: The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Johnson County Public Health (JCPH), and local hospitals. These groups are all a bit different. Please allow me to explain.
IDPH: I have found this group frustrating. As I mentioned earlier, I want to make decisions based upon data. JCPH kept asking IDPH for quantifiable metrics; in other words, what data points do we use to make decisions? IDPH had nothing. So JCPH sent a long list of ideas to IDPH. IDPH dumbed it down, and sent it back. I was not heartened by the fact that our local people had to do this.
On top of that, IDPH refused to give JCPH guidance on the metrics. For example – one metric is the percentage hospitalized. OK. So what percentage constitutes a crisis? 20%? 50%? 80%? No one knows.
The final straw? IDPH was trying to argue that whatever number they made up for these thresholds should be kept from the public. To their credit, local health departments seem to have talked them out of that.
IDPH has been a real disappointment to me. I am frustrated by the lack of preparation, the lack of transparency, and the apparent lack of expertise. Iowa must do better.
JCPH: Dave Koch, the Director of the Department, has been the person most front and center on this locally. And he is the person taking the worst beating. I have TREMENDOUS respect for Dave, and it hurts my heart to see all the things the social media trolls are throwing at him. Dave Koch is a damned good person, put in an impossible position. He is honest, fair, smart, and dedicated. He has busted his butt. He has my utmost respect.
Local Hospitals: Given the lack of direction coming from IDPH, we began to lean heavily on our local hospitals. And UIHC, Mercy, and the VA have acquitted themselves well. They have been team players, and their medical folks have stepped up to fill the void.
I had a series of questions for IDPH and our hospital friends. Those questions were:
1. Why would statewide (or local) thresholds for the four metrics not be public?
2. Why are hospitals in adjacent counties giving opposite messages?
3. Does your hospital advocate a shelter in place order? Why or why not?
4. What are the downsides to a shelter in place order?
5. Are these downsides medically, economically, politically, or otherwise motivated?
6. Will you agree to make public any recommendations you make to elected officials?
I did not get much from the IDPH. To their credit, the hospital folks stepped up and patiently answered every question I had. In short, the hospitals are very concerned about their supply chains. They do not want to see any interruptions of any kind. I understand that, and I respect that.
I do think it is possible to do a “shelter in place” order and still protect the hospitals. I wouldn’t have it any other way! And obviously, hospitals are operating in New York, Illinois, and other states where SIP orders are in place. All of those SIP orders contain exceptions for hospitals.
In addition to these health-related sources of information, I have heard from my constituents. I reached out to some; many reached out to me. Some people offered scientific expertise; some offered gut feelings. Whatever the case, you were all heard. You will not all be in agreement with me at the end of the day, but you were all heard.
So, in the absence of good information, I am faced with a difficult decision. Should I wait for more or better data? Or should I call for “shelter in place”? Neither decision is easy. Both choices have huge economic consequences. Both choices have huge social consequences. Both choices have huge consequences for civil liberties. Both choices have huge political consequences. Both choices may impact who lives and who dies.
You heard that correctly. This may well be a life or death decision. If you read this edition of Salvos from the top, you heard me mention my granddaughter Zuri. I have no idea if I will live long enough for this conversation; hell, maybe Covid-19 will claim me. But there may come a day where Zuri asks me about the pandemic of 2020. What do I want to tell her? “Papa lacked the courage to act, so extra people died?”
That characterization may be completely unfair. But if there is one thing I have learned doing this job for 16 years, it is don’t expect things to be fair. I will be damned if I do, and damned if I don’t. There is no win here.
Given all that, I have decided to advocate for a “shelter in place” order. I will bring it up at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Thursday, March 26 at 9:00AM.
I do not know if it will go anywhere. First, I don’t know how the other Supervisors feel. Second, it isn’t clear Iowa Law allows County Boards to take such an action. We are in uncharted territory. I simply promise to advocate for such an order.
Thank you for suffering through my long decision-making process with me. Please do your best to be kind, patient, and calm in the coming days.
*DID YOU KNOW? The name “Covid-19” means corona virus-related disease that started in 2019.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 10:43 PM
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