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COMMERCIAL
WHERE THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY MEETS
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VICKI PROFFIT
The Rendezvous above the clouds
Photo by Jeanne Davant
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VOLUME 31, NUMBER 19 | Aug. 7 - Aug. 13, 2020 | 2.00 $
Work in clients’ homes requires extra precautions By Jeanne Davant
T Woodland Park’s newest Downtown Development Authority project, The Rendezvous at Woodland Station, aims to mine tourist gold.
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COVID-19 and education:
Experts examine students’ return to school By Zach Hillstrom
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panel of local public health and education experts convened Aug. 4 at UCCS’ Ent Center for the Arts to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting education and how public schools and institutes of higher learning plan to safely reopen for the fall semester. Panelists at this El Paso County Educational Community COVID Recovery Town Hall included Dr. Michael Roshon, chief of medical staff at Penrose-St. Francis Health Services; Dr. Robin Johnson, medical director for El Paso County Public Health; Michael Thomas, superintendent of Colorado Springs School District 11; and several others. One message to emerge from the wide-ranging discussion is that, from metro to rural communities, from kindergartens to college campuses, a return to
in-person learning will require schools to be flexible. Panelists said several times that there will be no single approach that works for every district or school. Valerie Martin Conley, dean of the UCCS College of Education, moderated a question-and-answer session, and Johnson and Roshon fielded the first questions. Asked whether a COVID-19 vaccine might be available in 2020, Johnson replied that there are more than 165 vaccines being developed, 27 of which are already in a human-testing phase. Roshon said that while the world awaits a vaccine, preventing the spread of the virus largely depends on the actions of individuals, particularly hand washing, wearing a mask and social distancing. “The fastest vaccine development that we’ve ever seen in human history was the mumps vaccine, and See Plan page 18 6
YOUNG PRO
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DJ Karson Gonzales is only 40 years old and has been entertaining crowds for 25 years.
Hazlehurst on artsy politicians......3 Making house calls.........................5 People on the Move.......................10 COVID-19 rules change (left).......11 The List...........................................15
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EDITORIAL: BRING BACK THE CCC
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GONZALES
he COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the way many companies do business from in-person to virtual meetings. But some services require a hands-on approach. Home health care workers, consultants such as doulas and personal trainers are among the providers who routinely met with their clients in their homes before the pandemic. Some are continuing to do so, while taking extra precautions to protect themselves and their clients, while others are limiting in-home contact and working with clients virtually when they can. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that home care agencies adjust the way they deliver services to reduce the need for in-person care and provide necessary in-person services in the safest way possible to minimize disease transmission. In addition, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment recently updated guidelines for “field services and real estate,” to include recommendations such as wearing gloves and changing them between customers, maintaining 6-foot distancing, frequently washing hands and disinfecting high-touch areas. But other than that, authorities have issued little specific guidance for businesses that must deliver services in clients’ homes. Local service providers have been establishing their own safety protocols and taking extra steps to keep their employees and their clients safe.
HIGH TOUCH, LOW RISK Physical therapist Per-Magnus Persson was seeing as many as five clients a day before the pandemic took hold. Persson works for Team Select Home Care, a Phoenix, Arizona-based company with offices in eight states including Colorado. He provides physical therapy through the company’s mobile division for patients recovering from injury or illness, or recently released from a hospital or rehabilitation center. Most of his patients are older Medicare recipients, ages 65-97, whom he treats after they have recovered from pneumonia, back surgery, a broken bone or knee replacement. See Home page 5