Updated Apr 5, 2020 at 7:24 AM

WORCESTER - Seeking a more real-time picture of the COVID-19 situation, the city reached out to the UMass Memorial and St. Vincent Hospital health care systems to get a sense of what’s currently going on in the fight against the pandemic.

City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said between UMass Memorial, including its regional campuses, and St. Vincent’s, they are currently taking care of 109 COVID-19 cases, including 29 people in intensive care units. The health care systems have had 14 COVID-19-related deaths, and 64 total hospital employees have tested positive for the virus.

Officially, the city’s count increased Saturday by 43 to a total of 310.

Dr. Michael P. Hirsh, the city’s medical director, said the updated health care system numbers appeared manageable. He estimated the ICU beds are at about 45% to 50% capacity. Where bottlenecks are occurring, he said, are with patients who are taking a while to recover - coming off a ventilator, for example.

Hirsh said that’s why it’s so important that the city is hosting the state’s first field hospital at the DCU Center and is converting the Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center to a COVID-19 recovery facility. He said the hospitals are already taking steps to expand that ICU capacity, and are even converting anesthesia equipment to ventilators in anticipation of a predicted spike in cases by the end of next week.

According to the state Department of Public Health, Worcester County has seen a total of 915 positive cases. Twenty-four new deaths were announced across the state, for a total of 216. The newly reported deaths included three people from Worcester County - a man and a woman in their 90s, and a man in his 80s

Posted Apr 3, 2020 at 6:00 AM

 

WINCHENDON — People driving past the industrial park on Route 140 may wonder why there are cars parked outside of Mylec Hockey, a company famous for dek hockey equipment. There is nothing necessarily essential about dek hockey unless you really love to play — or there are hospitals in need of help during a coronavirus pandemic.

Mylec has recently become an essential business because it is making flooring for tents being set up all over the country to meet the needs of hospitals during the growing COVID-19 crisis. The flooring, called DEKMAT, is manufactured to withstand heavy traffic.

Mylec is working with Progressive Emergency, a company that provides municipalities with tents and equipment to set up outdoor hospitals, triage centers or whatever is needed. Mylec President Rick Laperriere said he has previously worked with the Texas company that is now building medical tents for hospitals.

“When immigrants started rushing to the (U.S.-Mexico) border,” said Laperriere.

Mylec has been working on flooring for the last 10 years. The flooring surface has an added advantage of assembly without tools, and is a good, strong addition to the emergency response tents that receive a lot of traffic.

“They love our flooring because the people aren’t in the elements and not touching ground,” said Laperriere. “If by chance if it got blood on it, they can power wash it and steam clean it and it doesn’t hurt it,” he added. “If they want to move to another area, they just roll the floor up and move on.”

The Winchendon company remains busy during the coronavirus business shutdown, though many other manufacturers have closed their doors.

“We are working on a very large order right now,” Laperriere said in a phone interview on Tuesday, March 31. “We are working overtime so we can get it out ASAP.”

from The Gardner News - April 3, 2020:

 

GARDNER — Greater Gardner communities are gearing up for the surge in coronavirus infections that is predicted in the next few weeks, and Heywood Healthcare has a team focused on meeting the challenge.

In an effort to keep everyone informed, Heywood Healthcare President and CEO Win Brown has been producing a video each morning and evening to keep staff and the public at large informed. Though the growing number of infected cases has been sobering, the videos have helped to make sure all are prepared and taking precautions.

Heywood Healthcare has tested a total of 630 inpatients and outpatients, with total 430 tests ruled negative for COVID-19, not including “rule-out” patients and positive cases.

“You can see those (testing) numbers are improving, and that has to do with a better turnaround time. There are 70 positives in the community, showing a 14 percent positive rate,” said Brown on Friday.

Brown also reported that the state has tested approximately 57,000 patients, with about 9,000 positive results and an estimated 14 percent positive rate. There have been 154 deaths across the state.

Brown praised the work of Gov. Charlie Baker, and he also noted Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, for bringing more than a million needed N95 masks to Massachusetts from China. Brown said he believes Heywood will be seeing some of those same supplies sometime next week.

“We appreciate that as we are always working on keeping our supplies up,” he said.

Brown reported that after a “somewhat intense” incident command meeting Friday morning, the staff is preparing beds for the surge predicted by the numbers that are visibly increasing.

Currently there are 11 patients in-house waiting for test results to be returned. Five patients in-house have tested positive. Three of those are in ICU and ventilated, and two are on the medical surge floor.

“We are starting to feel the tick up about the viral node in our community as we start ramping up over the course of this next couple of weeks,” said Brown.

Brown said there is an effort to help staff keep food on their table at home. There are also those reaching out with counseling to help staff with anxiety, saying there will be no copay and no one will be turned away as they tackle the pandemic. Brown encouraged the staff to utilize the resources they have available.

There is concern over available ventilators.

Dawn Casavant, vice president of external affairs, said that between Athol Hospital and Heywood Hospital there are six ventilators. There are also ventilators used for different purposes such as anesthesia and bypass. She said it all depends on a patient’s needs which ventilator will be used.

Casavant said they are hoping to see another six to 10 ventilators from the state.

Casavant talked of the plans to maximize beds for the surge. The hospital is licensed for 134 beds. She said they are planning to move patients to Athol Hospital that are not COVID-19 patients, and making Heywood Hospital the place where COVID-19 patients will be treated, surging into the different units as the numbers grow.

In related news

In Winchendon, the virus numbers are growing. Town Manager Keith Hickey said in a call Friday that six people have been diagnosed within the town and tests have been administered to others who are awaiting the results.

He said all are quarantined to minimize exposure to others.

Hickey reported that the Department of Public Health anticipates that in two to three weeks the state will experience a peak of those testing positive for COVID-19. He said that to reduce the rise in the virus it is critical to adhere to the safe hygiene practices and vigilant social distancing.

“It is possible for people to spread the virus up to 40 hours before they have symptoms. That is why it is so important to practice social distancing,” said Hickey, advising at least six feet between two people.

Hickey said that town offices and the Department of Public Works are working split shifts in order to follow the advised social distancing guidelines. He said the police and fire will continue to respond to emergencies.

The following shows the reason (s) behind the upcoming Templeton annual town meeting, article #3 (article # as of right now)

---

From: Terenzini, Carter <cterenzini@TempletonMA.gov>
Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2019 2:22 PM
To: Adam D. Lamontagne <alamontagne@TempletonMA.gov>; Bennett, Jeff <jbennett@TempletonMA.gov>; Currie, Michael <mcurrie@TempletonMA.gov>; Diane Haleybrooks <DHaleybrooks@TempletonMA.gov>; Richard, Julie <jrichard@TempletonMA.gov>; Griffis, Terry <tgriffis@TempletonMA.gov>; Young, Holly <hyoung@TempletonMA.gov>
Cc: Pontbriand, Kelli <kpontbriand@TempletonMA.gov>; Royer, Luanne <lroyer@TempletonMA.gov>; Richardson, Cheryl <crichardson@TempletonMA.gov>
Subject: ReCap

 

Good Day:

We had three issues with our recap and it appears it will NOT require a resigning.  We will advise you ASAP if it turns out otherwise.

1. We had place a miscellaneous revenue item in one reporting column when DOR asked us to report it differently.  This threw the recap off.  They subsequently advised we had done it correctly; once moved back it was AOK but…

2. They then had questions on our FY ’20 DE-1 (monies to be raised as the result of a debt exclusion).  Let me start by saying that, during the course of construction, one never knows exactly how much one will need nor what the interest rate will be;  With the two windows to work with (Town Meeting and Recap) we are not always spot on the amounts needed during the BAN phase of the financing.  We budgeted, in May of ’19, $90k for interest on BANs we issued in November of ’19 and are due in February of ’20.  At that time we will convert some portion thereof to General Obligation Bonds.  It turned out that the interest is only $51,954 leaving an excess of $32,046.  We also budgeted $75k to make advance paydowns on the BANs thus reducing the GOBs we had to raise and the annual principal and interest payments.  In simplest terms; DOR wants to see only the amounts that are shown as owed on a debt statement that we “need” to pay down in that FY.    They do not want to see us raising the added amount we “want” to pay down. They subsequently approved the inclusion of these monies on the DE-1 But advised us to not do so again in the future.

3. Notwithstanding prior legal advice that Article 2 of the July STM was a proper method of authorizing the BoS to cut the General Fund budget to accommodate the final NRSD budget; they subsequently opined that it was not permissible.  That said, they did earlier today approve the use of that  method provided the Chair and I sign a letter committing to seeking an appropriation of the same amount as we cut the general fund to out all of the accounts.  The end result is nil as we use FY ’19 free cash to satisfy them which simply becomes FY ’20 free cash as it never actually gets spent.

With this behind us, Luanne advises all comments have been submitted and we expect a rate by Monday; a date we had established as our “drop dead”.

Over the coming months we will ask Town Counsel to arrange a meeting with DOR Chief Counsel and our Bond Counsel to discuss these differing legal opinions that we might learn more.

Many Thanks

Carter Terenzini

Town Administrator

Town of Templeton

160 Patriots Road

East Templeton, MA 01438

1.978.894.2755

Why spend further tax dollars meeting with lawyers, just follow the guidance of the Department of Revenue; you cannot do what you did, plain and simple.

To try and move forward in a responsible manner and to update a prior town meeting vote; as well as to allow full funding of necessary items to properly and safely operate a town ambulance, I proposed the following to the other members of the board of selectmen and town administrator.

Since many talk about fully supporting public safety, it was disappointing to see the rest of the board take the easy way, the way of the town administrator and say, this proposed change is not ready for prime time.

The proposal would have limited the ability of the town administrator to use ambulance receipts funds to support general fund budget - the easy way.

Amend town meeting vote:

ARTICLE ?? Create Ambulance receipts reserved for appropriation: To see if the Town will vote to amend the motion for Article 8 of the November 7, 2011 Special Town Meeting; to create a fire-ambulance receipts reserved for appropriation account where collected ambulance receipts for services are placed beginning with fiscal year 2013.

The motion will be changed from:

To create a fire-ambulance receipts reserved for appropriation account where collected ambulance receipts for services are placed beginning with fiscal year 2013.

To:

To see if the Town will vote to create a Fire Department-Ambulance
Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account where collected ambulance
receipts for services are placed and monies are expended only through a Town Meeting vote for the purpose of funding various ambulance/fire department requests, to include, equipment, gear, medical supplies and capital items beginning in fiscal year 2022.

 

 So that the amended entire motion shall now read as follows:

 

To see if the Town will vote to create a Fire Department-Ambulance
Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account where collected ambulance
receipts for services are placed and monies are expended only through a Town Meeting vote for the purpose of funding various ambulance/fire department requests, to include, equipment, gear, medical supplies and capital items pursuant to the betterment of the fire dept. / ambulance services as deemed by the Templeton fire chief, beginning in fiscal year 2022.

Please check it out from various sources - one possible is state house news or contact your state legislature - either representative or senator, state - one each.

By Steph Solis | ssolis@masslive.com

The House passed a bill Thursday that would grant a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures for residents and business owners who cannot afford to pay because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill, H.1279, bars landlords from charging late fees or sending reports to credit rating agencies if tenants notify them within 30 days of a late payment. The provisions last for up to 30 days after the governor lifts the state of emergency over COVID-19.

“During these unprecedented times, we need to do whatever we can to keep people healthy, safe and in their homes,” House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat, said in a statement. “This legislation shields tenants and homeowners from economic insecurity during and immediately after the period of the state of emergency."

The Senate advanced its own housing bill, S. 2621, and plans to take it up next week. The House and Senate would need to either come together behind one bill or merge their proposals into one version before it can land on the governor’s desk and become law.

The House bill also bars landlords from sending “notice to quit” letters, which notifies tenants of a landlord’s desire to terminate a lease, and prohibits sheriff’s officers from enforcing an eviction execution until 30 days after the state of emergency ends.

There is an exemption for emergency evictions that involve allegations of criminal activity or certain lease violations that could affect public health or public safety, according to the bill. Under those conditions, a landlord would need to send a 10-day “notice to quit” in writing.

Both the House and Senate bills established a moratorium on foreclosure actions for the same time frame, but that doesn’t mean people are free from making mortgage payments.

DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka said more than a week ago that they were working on housing legislation in response to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Massachusetts is one of the states hardest hit by job losses due to the pandemic. The Bay State had 181,062 initial unemployment claims for the week ending on March 28, up from 148,452 a week earlier, according to a report published Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. The previous week’s initial claims alone were more than all the claims the state received for the entire month of February.

More than 60 organizations signed onto a letter urging lawmakers to pass a housing relief bill by April 1, the State House News Service reported.

“Action is needed now to protect these families,” the groups wrote. “The emergency moratorium should be definitive about protecting people from all stages of eviction and foreclosure processes until the end of the crisis, since at this time new cases are still being filed, landlords holding executions are free to use them to throw people out of their homes, and many homeowners remain vulnerable to foreclosure.”

Gov. Charlie Baker said evictions and foreclosures should not move forward as long as the courts are closed, but noted that details were being worked out by lawmakers.

“We know you are worried and we are going to do everything we can to ensure nobody loses their housing because of this crisis,” Baker said last week.

from today's Worcester Telegram - April 2, 2020:

As Worcester County saw another COVID-19 death Wednesday morning — a patient at Heywood Hospital in Gardner — the rural communities of Holland, Oakham, Petersham, Princeton and Royalston are reporting they have no confirmed cases in their towns.

The hardest hit communities are Worcester, with 165 cases, Fitchburg 44 cases, Marlboro 35, Northboro 25, Shrewsbury 29, Westboro 19, Grafton 16, Southboro 11, and Clinton 12.

Other Central Massachusetts communities and the number of cases they have recently reported include: Ashburnham 1, Athol 2, Auburn 6, Barre 1, Berlin 1, Blackstone 8, Bolton 1, Boylston 2, Charlton 8, Douglas 6, Dudley 5, East Brookfield 1, Gardner 4, Holden 7, Hudson 10, Leicester 4, Leominster 17, Lunenburg 5, Milford 9, Millbury 7, Millville 1, Northbridge 4, Oxford 2, Phillipston 1, Southbridge 8, Spencer 5, Sutton 9, Templeton 2, Upton 1, Uxbridge 9, Ware 1, Webster 7, West Boylston 2.

Heywood Hospital’s CEO said Wednesday that 35 patients have tested positive out of 502 tested from the communities it serves in northern Worcester County.