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Homer Rotary Health Fair
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Welcome to the Rotary Club of Homer-Kachemak Bay - Celebrating Over 37 Years Serving Homer and the World
Homer-Kachemak Bay

Four Way Test: True, Fair, Goodwill & Beneficial to All

We meet In Person
Thursdays at 12:00 PM
Best Western Bidarka Inn
575 Sterling Hwy
PO Box 377
Homer, AK 99603
United States of America
Currently meetings are being held both "in person" and by Zoom.
District Site
Venue Map
South Peninsula Hospital -- Covid Vaccine Information -- December 15, 2021
 
 
 
 
 

To help prevent the spread of Covid-19 to others, PLEASE wear cloth face coverings or procedure masks, get vaccinated if you can, stay away from others when sick, and get tested if you have been exposed or have symptoms.

7-day case counts on Southern Kenai Peninsula

Community12/0812/0912/1012/1112/1212/1312/14
Anchor Point33    2
Fritz Creek       
Homer3283316
Other South 1     
 

Data from Alaska Department of Health and Social Services: Table 2b Geographic Distribution of Cases by Report Date. Except for weekends and holidays, data is typically updated by noon.

Covid-19 Vaccines

Vaccines for Adolescents and Children 5-11 years old

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with unanimous support from the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP),  recommends that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine, made available by FDA Emergency Use Authorization. (Read more about Emergency Use Authorizations here.)

Appointments are available for children ages 5-11 years old on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Vaccine and Test Clinic at 4201 Bartlett Street. These appointments are for the first of a pediatric two dose series of Pfizer-BioNtech. A parent or guardian must be present at the appointment and sign the consent forms. The child should not come if they are experiencing any sudden or unexplained COVID-like symptoms, or if they have recently been exposed to someone with COVID-19. An appointment for the second dose of this two dose series will be made during the time of the first visit. Scroll down to make an appointment

Booster eligibility expanded!

Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are available under FDA emergency use authorization and CDC recommended for:

  • Anyone who is six months or more after their initial series of the Pfizer or Moderna series
  • Anyone who is at least two months after their Janssen vaccine

Eligible individuals may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose. Some may have a preference for the vaccine type they originally received, while others may prefer to get a different booster.

Where can I get my vaccine booster?

  • Set an appointment with your primary care provider
  • Set an appointment at the SPH Test and Vaccine Site (see below)

COVID Clinic at 4201 Bartlett Street

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines – available 7 days a week

Janssen vaccines – available Sundays and Tuesdays

Pediatric/adolescent Pfizer vaccine – available Wednesdays and Saturdays

Walk-ins welcome from 9am-5pm daily, or click below to make an appointment

   Appointments for 12 years and older    

   Appointments for 5-11 years old   
(scroll down to Children’s Vaccine)

Third dose for immunocompromised individuals can be done by provider referral (sent a day in advance of your vaccine visit) or by completing the attestation of conditions.

Vaccines are now offered during your appointments at Homer Medical Center and the SPH Family Care Clinic. Inquire at time of your appointment. Click here for a complete list of vaccine providers on the southern kenai peninsula.

Pfizer vaccine is now authorized for individuals 5 years of age and older.

Moderna and Janssen vaccines are authorized only for individuals 18 years of age and older.

Learn more about vaccine safety in minors in letter to parents from Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer, State of Alaska

Letter From Rotary International President Concerning Covid Vaccination
From: "RI President Shekhar Mehta & TRF Chair John Germ" <RI.comms@msgfocus.rotary.org>
Subject: Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation’s Position Statement on COVID-19 Vaccination
Date: December 16, 2021 at 04:31:35 AKST
 
Reply-To: "RI President Shekhar Mehta & TRF Chair John Germ" <RI.comms@rotary.org>
 
Rotary.org
 
Dear District Governors and Club Presidents,

We see the decision to vaccinate as a civic and humanitarian imperative. Rotary is not a political or religious organization, it is a service organization and this is the lens through which we are advising you of our position.
  1. Global vaccination is the path to ending the pandemic and the emergence of new variants. Rotary endorses and strongly encourages vaccination for all individuals including our members who are currently able to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In areas where COVID-19 is surging, communities are facing extreme challenges, health systems are overwhelmed, and contentious rhetoric is dividing us. It is critical that the virus be contained so that the world may begin to heal. To that end, the purpose of this statement is to reinforce Rotary’s position.
  2. Misinformation has become an “infodemic” that hinders the fight against COVID-19. In line with our Four-Way Test, Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation are committed to providing our members with science-based information.
  3. Rotary International staff at One Rotary Center were required to be vaccinated by 10 October 2021, as a criterion for employment after that date. RI’s employee vaccination rate stands at over 99 percent.
  4. Globally, Rotary is actively engaged in assuring equity in vaccine access to all people. Our efforts have included advocacy with the G-20, and a proof-of-concept program with GAVI/COVAX to leverage our frontline experience with polio eradication to facilitate vaccine delivery in several low- and middle-income countries where Rotarians are active. While we know many clubs are already deeply involved in COVID-19 prevention, we are working on additional strategies to multiply our collective efforts. GAVI/COVAX is a partnership including WHO and UNICEF focused on global access and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.
  5. Those children for whom vaccines are not currently available are at significant risk. Until vaccines are available for all children, the vaccination of adults is the best way to protect children who cannot be vaccinated. Pediatric admissions for COVID-19 are rising precipitously in areas of low vaccination.
  6. Rotary salutes health care workers everywhere as they continue to provide lifesaving services. Local recognition of these heroes by each of our clubs can help to encourage them to continue their important work. Rotary abhors any harassment and attacks on healthcare workers.
  7. Rotary and Rotaract clubs are encouraged to
    • set good examples by being exemplary role models; 
    • redouble their efforts to support COVID-19 treatment, prevention, and vaccination efforts.
  8. Vaccines have proven to be one of the greatest advances of modern medicine. The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines save between 2 to 3 million children’s lives each year, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative estimates the polio vaccine has saved more than 19 million children from paralysis. Vaccines are safe, effective and are responsible for eliminating or controlling many other vaccine-preventable diseases such as smallpox, measles, rubella, and Ebola. And now, there is the opportunity to end the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccines.
  9. The eradication of polio remains a goal of the highest order for Rotary. We can apply the lessons we have learned in fighting polio to the efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regards,

Shekhar Mehta                                                   John Germ
President, Rotary International                                     Chair, The Rotary Foundation

CC: RI Board of Directors & Directors-elect, TRF Board of Trustees and incoming Trustees, District Governors-elect, Club Presidents-elect, Regional Leaders, COVID-19 Task Force, International PolioPlus Committee, Communications Committee
 
Women and Polio

Why it’s important to consider gender at all levels of eradication work

by 

How do issues surrounding gender create barriers to polio eradication? 

Our ultimate objective is to reach every last child with a polio vaccine. The role of the mother and father in reaching those children is very important, and we must understand the dynamics between them in order to achieve our goal. For example, a mother may want to have her child vaccinated, but that would require her to spend a day walking to a health center or market — and she might not be able to do that unless she gets permission from her husband. Or if her child falls ill and experiences paralysis in the arm or leg, the mother might have to seek permission from her husband to take the child to the health center. There could be a delay of several days that would affect our ability to take stool samples and determine whether that child has polio or not.

Do more boys than girls receive vaccines?

On a global level, there is very little discrepancy between reaching boys and girls. You also see a more or less equal distribution of cases of polio between boys and girls. But the global statistics can mask disparities at the local level. We know that we have communities that are not being reached; we need to understand why we’re not reaching them. Gender plays a huge role in both supply of and demand for immunization. Who is providing the immunization — a man or a woman? Who is the decision-maker — mom or dad? And how do the immunizer and the decision-maker work together?

What are the key points in the gender strategy you helped develop for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)?

The polio program has typically engaged women as frontline health workers because in some cultures, mothers are more likely to open the door to a female vaccinator. But women should not just be part of the delivery of the program. They should also be part of its design; they should be supervisors and team leads, and hold positions at the district level to make sure we are meeting the needs of communities. We also need to understand why we have trouble retaining female vaccinators. We want them to keep working with us.

We must look at our data in a way that allows us to understand the program better and to see where there may be gaps. Collecting and analyzing sex-disaggregated data will help us to understand if gender-related barriers are preventing us from reaching zero-dose children — children who have not received any vaccines — and to refine the way we plan campaigns in those countries.

The GPEI’s new strategy places a huge focus on community engagement. We’re looking at the supply and demand sides in communities. How do we create a demand that ensures that parents want to take their children to be immunized? We need to make sure that the offered immunization services are acceptable to parents.

Besides gender, are there strategies that focus on other types of diversity?

We’re also looking at engaging people with disabilities. And gender also covers economic status: A lot of gender disparities are much more pronounced at different economic levels as well as in different ethnic and age groups. For example, the decision-making power of women in developing countries who are not educated is more limited, which will impact their ability to make health care decisions for the family. All of those things interact.

In the last mile of eradication, we need to leave no stone unturned to understand which children we are missing and why. Looking at gender is one more way to make sure that we’re reaching all children. Fathers have just as much of a role to play as mothers. How do we overcome barriers, so that men are engaged in the decision-making process and so that they allow their children to be immunized?

Rotary is so well-positioned to be a lead on gender. It isn’t a women’s issue — it’s everybody’s issue.

This story originally appeared in the December 2021 issue of Rotary magazine.

Gender roles and norms are powerful determinants to health outcomes and the fight to end polio.

LEARN MORE

How It Works: Weather Related School Delays or Closures

snowflakeKPBSD School Weather Related Delays and Closures

Announcing a school closure or two-hour delay start in a timely manner for our students, families, and staff is important to KPBSD administration. Timing of the decision is crucial so we can notify transportation before busses begin their routes, employees head to work, and students and families prepare for a school day, potentially waiting at bus-stops. The decision to close school for the day or institute a two-hour delay start is the responsibility of the Superintendent of Schools.

KPBSD is committed to school safety, and educating every student. An involved process takes place early in the morning before the decision is made to close, or delay the start of school by two-hours. Additionally, if a school make-up day is necessary, several factors contribute to determine the date for one or more make-up days of school.

If school remains open, and you as a parent or guardian do not believe it is safe for your child to travel to school based on conditions in your area, please use your best judgment to decide what is safest for your family. Please notify the school if your child will not attend; absences will be excused.

How things work
Determine and communicate school closure or two hour delay start

 

Is school open? Communication to Publicmicrophone

KPBSD district office communications will post two-hour school delays or closures, and subsequent updates, usually starting by 5:30 AM. If nothing is announced, assume schools are open on a normal schedule.

How-to calculate a two-hour delay start timepause time

  • Add two hours to normal school start time
  • Add two hours to normal bus pick-up time. Thus, students are picked-up two hours later than their normal scheduled bus pick-up time
  • KPBSD employees may arrive two hours later than normal work-day morning schedule
  • Schools will dismiss at the normal time unless announced otherwise

Is school closed or delayed? Decision Making Process

The Director of Planning and Operations and the Assistant Superintendent gathers information, beginning as soon as accurate information is available. Most of the time this begins very early in the morning. If a significant storm is expected, a decision might be made the night ahead of time, but this rarely happens. Consultation and assessment may include:

  • District transportation staff
  • Apple Bus Company
  • Alaska State Department of Transportation (DOT)
  • Alaska State Troopers (AST)
  • Central Emergency Services (CES)
  • Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management (OEM)
  • Homer Electric Association (HEA) and utility providers
  • Weather services
  • Onsite school district employees

The Assistant Superintendent contacts the Superintendent to give an update about specific conditions and offer a recommendation for a two-hour delay start* or school closure. (Delay starts are always two hours.)

The Superintendent of Schools makes a final decision to delay start by two hours, or close schools.

  • School principals are contacted with the decision and supporting information*
  • Principal contacts school staff
  • School may implement automated call system, social media post, or other type of contact message to parents if applicable

*KPBSD may be briefed with information that helps to determine that a two-hour delay start will result in school being in session for the day. At other times, the two-hour delay allows time to assess the evolving conditions, before making the decision to close school for the day. If the roads are impassable due to inclement weather, a two-hour delay will give road crews additional time for sanding and plowing. Updates are posted as soon as decisions are made.

 

Make-up Instruction Dayscalendar

If school is closed for the day, by state law, a make-up day must be scheduled. KPBSD does not build additional days into the annual calendar for potential inclement weather or school closures that may or may not occur.

A make-up day is generally scheduled on a vacation day, or after the official school calendar ends in May. One day is built into the calendar—typically the third Friday in the last quarter—and is often used as the first option for a make-up day.

Factors to consider when a make-up day is scheduled for one or more schools in KPBSD:

  • Coordinated bus transportation
  • Student nutrition services breakfast and lunch programs
  • Staffing

A few school facts in Alaskaschool

State law mandates a school term of 180 days with up to ten of these days used for teacher in-service.

Per state law, all students must attend school for the minimum of 170 student contact days.

KPBSD teaching contract is 188 days (also includes orientation days and 7 mandated holidays.) Teacher in-service days are part of Professional Development and required by contract. Flexible work days are most often utilized at the front end of the school year (August) in preparation for the school year.

Closing school for the day or instituting a two-hour delay start is a complex decision, with several factors involved. Every effort is made to keep school in session.

If school remains open, and you as a parent or guardian do not believe it is safe for your child to travel to school based on conditions in your area, please use your best judgment to determine what is safest for your child and family. Please notify the school if your child will not attend; absences will be excused.

###

Kenai Peninsula Groundwater Survey

                                                

Informed Consent to Participate in Research

Information to Consider Before Taking Part in this Research Study

Title: Groundwater Vulnerability in Coupled Human-Natural Systems. 

Study # 002870

Overview:  You are being asked to take part in a research study. The information in this document should help you to decide if you would like to participate. The sections in this Overview provide the basic information about the study. More detailed information is provided in the remainder of the document.

Study Staff:  This study is being led by Edgar J. Guerron Orejuela who is a PhD candidate at the University of South Florida in the School of Geosciences. This person is called the Principal Investigator. He is being guided in this research by Dr. Mark Rains, Dr. Kai Rains, and Dr. Shawn Landry. Other approved research staff may act on behalf of the Principal Investigator.

Study Details:  This study is being conducted in the Kenai Peninsula Lowlands. The purpose of the study is to document what residents of the Kenai Peninsula Lowlands value about living in this geographic area, assess their knowledge and understanding of groundwater systems in their region, and record their perceptions of groundwater vulnerability due to anthropogenic impacts in the Kenai Peninsula Lowlands. To obtain this information, research staff will conduct a 13-question survey targeted to all members of each of the following stakeholder groups:  Resources managers, environmental NGOs, landowners, and industry representatives of the Kenai Peninsula lowlands.

Participants:  You are being asked to take part in this study because you identify yourself as a member of at least one of the stakeholder groups mentioned above. We are interested in learning about the perceived value of groundwater for members of these stakeholder groups in the Kenai Peninsula Lowlands.

Voluntary Participation:  Your participation is voluntary. You do not have to participate and may stop your participation at any time. There will be no penalties or loss of benefits or opportunities if you do not participate or decide to stop once you start. Your decision to participate or not to participate will not affect your job status, employment record, employee evaluations, or advancement opportunities.

Benefits, Compensation, and Risk:  We do not know if you will receive any benefit from your participation. There is no cost to participate. You will not be compensated for your participation. This research is considered minimal risk.  Minimal risk means that study risks are the same as the risks you face in daily life. 

Confidentiality:  Even if we publish the findings from this study, we will keep your study information private and confidential. Anyone with the authority to look at your records must keep them confidential.

Why are you being asked to take part?

Given the low-regulatory landscape in the Kenai lowlands, it is imperative that members of the stakeholder groups collaborate to share and exchange their knowledge and priorities, as well as make common information accessible to all stakeholders to facilitate fruitful conversations and allow for better and more-informed local decision-making.   

Study Procedures

If you take part in this study, you will be asked to answer a survey that contains 13 questions. The survey will be conducted online using Qualtrics software and is expected to take the participants between 20-30 minutes to complete the survey. Data collected in this survey is anonymous.

Alternatives / Voluntary Participation / Withdrawal

You do not have to participate in this research study.

You should only take part in this study if you want to volunteer. You should not feel that there is any pressure to take part in the study. You are free to participate in this research or withdraw at any time.  There will be no penalty or loss of benefits you are entitled to receive if you stop taking part in this study. Decision to participate or not to participate will not affect your job status.  

Benefits and Risks

We are unsure if you will receive any benefits by taking part in this research study. This research is considered to be minimal risk.
Compensation

You will receive no payment or other compensation for taking part in this study.

Privacy and Confidentiality

We will do our best to keep your records private and confidential. We cannot guarantee absolute confidentiality. Your personal information may be disclosed if required by law. Certain people may need to see your study records. The only people who will be allowed to see these records are:

·       The research team, including the Principal Investigator, study coordinator, and all other research staff.

·       Certain government and university people who need to know more about the study. For example, individuals who provide oversight on this study may need to look at your records. This is done to make sure that we are doing the study in the right way. They also need to make sure that we are protecting your rights and your safety. 

·       Any agency of the federal, state, or local government that regulates this research. This includes the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP).

·       The USF Institutional Review Board (IRB) and its related staff who have oversight responsibilities for this study, and staff in USF Research Integrity and Compliance

Your information or samples collected as part of the research, even if identifiers are removed, will NOT be used or distributed for future research studies.

It is possible, although unlikely, that unauthorized individuals could gain access to your responses because you are responding online. Confidentiality will be maintained to the degree permitted by the technology used. No guarantees can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet.  However, your participation in this online survey involves risks similar to a person’s everyday use of the Internet. If you complete and submit an anonymous survey and later request your data be withdrawn, this may or may not be possible as the researcher may be unable to extract anonymous data from the database.

Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this study, call Edgar J. Guerron Orejuela at 941-713-2606. If you have questions about your rights, complaints, or issues as a person taking part in this study, call the USF IRB at (813) 974-5638 or contact the IRB by email at RSCH-IRB@usf.edu.

 

We may publish what we learn from this study. If we do, we will not let anyone know your name. We will not publish anything else that would let people know who you are. You can print a copy of this consent form for your records. 

I freely give my consent to take part in this study. I understand that by proceeding with this survey, I am agreeing to take part in research, and I am 18 years of age or older.

https://usf.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5gsNX6qhyo2EiEK

---

Edgar Guerron Orejuela (he/him)

Ph.D. Candidate

University of South Florida, School of Geosciences

Margaret A. Davidson Fellow

 

Speakers
Christi Eisenberg
Jan 27, 2022 12:00 PM
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