Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Covid Response topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DAS executive director outlines COVID‑19 response, Long Term Care at Home proposal and staffing challenges
Summary
Executive Director Sherry McSpadden briefed the commission on federal and state funding activity, state reopening guidance, a proposed Medi‑Cal 'Long Term Care at Home' benefit, the city’s COVID Command Center and staffing redeployments, and highlighted Great Plates Delivered and digital‑divide initiatives.
Executive Director Sherry McSpadden opened the July 15 DAS Commission meeting with a wide‑ranging update on how federal, state and city actions are shaping services for older adults and people with disabilities during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
McSpadden said congressional appropriators have resumed work on the fiscal‑year 2021 funding bills while emergency federal funding earlier in the pandemic included “more than $1,000,000,000 to core Older Americans Act programs” in March. She said the state’s Department of Aging has issued guidance urging that many services not reopen until Stage 4 of the state reopening plan, but that local Area Agencies on Aging retain some flexibility to adapt services to local need.
On healthcare coverage, McSpadden described a state proposal under discussion informally as a Medi‑Cal Long Term Care at Home benefit that would expand supports allowing people who need home care and skilled nursing services to remain in community settings, and said San Francisco staff are engaged in early conversations about eligibility and program design.
McSpadden described city operations: the Emergency Operations feeding unit and other staff have transitioned to a unified COVID Command Center based at the Moscone Center, with personnel redeployed from multiple departments and anticipated deployments lasting six months to a year. She said hotels continue to shelter people who cannot safely shelter in place and that the department is fit‑testing roughly 100 field staff for personal protective equipment to resume certain in‑home visits in August.
McSpadden also highlighted Great Plates Delivered, the governor’s program that connects older adults with prepared meals from restaurants, saying the local program had been extended through Aug. 9 and is serving more than 2,000 people. She described partnerships to address the digital divide — efforts to obtain devices (in conjunction with Google) for older adults to help access services and reduce isolation.
During public comment, Jessica Lamons of Senior and Disability Action urged vigilance about care rationing if hospitals fill and highlighted work to organize around hospital triage and residents’ rights. Commissioners thanked McSpadden and staff for cross‑department collaboration and pressed for clarity on budget impacts; McSpadden said federal and state dollars have helped but local budget deficits make planning complex.
