Otero/Crowley County Health Department Covid Update December 29th
Description: Otero/Crowley County Health Department Covid Update December 29th
THIS IS A RAPIDLY EVOLVING AND FLUID SITUATION. INFORMATION AND ACTION ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME. BE PREPARED TO BE FLEXIBLE AND PATIENT.
The situations, numbers, website links, data, and etc. described below were current as of Tuesday 12/29/2020 at 10:30 am.
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THIS WIDELY
12/29/2020 Crowley/Otero COVID-19 Update #1: 5 Star State Certification Program.
Please take the time to read and understand this entire message.
Internet links: Before I send out each update, I check the links to make sure they are active. However, links do change from time to time, so the links I sent out today may not be the same tomorrow. You may have to search around a bit.
Hello to all, Colorado has recently finalized the details for the 5 Star State Certification Program. According to CDPHE, “The 5 Star State Certification is a program set up at the county level through an administrative committee who is responsible for developing, implementing and overseeing the program. It encourages businesses to implement safety measures beyond what is already required by public health orders and guidelines that will help slow the spread of COVID-19. In doing so, businesses will be able to accelerate their reopening. Depending on where their county falls on the COVID-19 dial, certified businesses are eligible for less restrictive capacity caps. 5 Star certification reassures employees and customers that businesses are adhering to enhanced guidance. The program is completely voluntary and also serves as an expanding directory of establishments recognized for their efforts to keep their communities safe and open. Importantly, public health agencies are being asked to achieve demanding and historic objectives with their high burden of contact tracing and disease control, and the new milestone of vaccine delivery. Special care should be taken to ensure that launching this program does not detract from public health core functions.”
These are the steps that are required to set up and administer this program include the following:
1. Determine how the program will be administered. The committee should include partners like the local Chamber of Commerce, nonprofits, local elected leaders, and industry association members. In addition, members of the community at large should be a part of the administrative committee. While the LPHA must be a committee member, the LPHA should not be primarily responsible for the administration or coordination of the committee.
2. Determine what resources a city or county will be able to devote to this program. The administrative committee will need to identify resources it may need to ensure the successful implementation of the program. Due to the demanding nature of the pandemic, and critical existing public health responsibilities like vaccine distribution and contact tracing, local public health dollars should not be diverted to fund this program.
3. Determine how compliance and enforcement will be ensured.
4. Prepare and submit an administrative committee application to CDPHE for review and approval.
5. Receive CDPHE approval for the administrative committee.
6. The administrative committee prepares and distributes a local certification application to local businesses.
7. Local businesses that want to get certified must complete and submit an application to the administrate committee.
8. The administrative committee receives, reviews, and rates applications and approves certifications to those businesses that meets eligibility requirements.
9. The administrative committee monitors compliance and enforcement, and issues warnings to businesses and revokes certification for noncompliance. CDPHE may remove approval of the administrative committee at any time if they do not conduct effective compliance and enforcement.
10. The administrative committee must report weekly updates to both OCHD and CDPHE about the new certifications granted, the businesses that receive warnings, and the businesses whose certifications are revoked.
The very first step in this process is to form an administrative committee comprised of representatives named above. If you are interested in both forming and serving on this committee, please email me at the following address rritter@oterogov.org by 5:00pm on Tuesday, 1/5/2021. I will then create an administrative committee email distribution group to get things going.
To learn more about this program, please see the attachment and visit this website: 5 Star State Certification Program | Colorado COVID-19 Updates
Richard Ritter, Executive Director
Otero County Health Department
13 West 3rd Street, Room 111
La Junta, Colorado 81050
719-383-3045 (Office)
719-383-3060 (Fax)
https://covid19.colorado.gov/five-star-certification
