INTRODUCTION

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and our response changed our lives forever. We’ve had many unforgettable experiences and learned many important lessons. As the course of the disease evolves, we continue to leverage those lessons to keep Marin County residents healthy and safe. We feel fortunate to be part of a community that has worked successfully together to fight this disease and win. Thanks to you all. We will maintain our diligence and commitment as long as needed and use all available resources to inform, educate and support our community.

As the Marin Department of Health and Human Services director, I owe a debt of gratitude to the residents of Marin County, the Board of Supervisors, fellow County Department Heads and staff, frontline healthcare professionals, first responders, essential workers, community-based organizations, businesses, and most of all, to the awesome and fabulous professionals in Health and Human Services. In the wake of a worldwide pandemic, they all stood up, did their part, and provided outstanding support and services then and continue to provide outstanding service and support now.

Benita McLarin Director Marin HHS

During a 15-month period, we all worked collaboratively to develop an impressive emergency response to the pandemic by partnering with more than 1,300 county employees as disaster service workers and countless community workers and volunteers. Some were asked to assist in responsibilities related to their regular employment. In contrast, others were assigned tasks unrelated to their positions, like assisting at vaccination centers and helping to house and quarantine infected people in hotels.

The severity, novelty, and unpredictability of the virus created many challenges, but the innovative measures taken by our staff saved untold lives. Their stewardship resulted in fewer hospitalizations and deaths than in similar counties nationwide. The vaccine and the public’s willingness to embrace it were game changers. This led to Marin having one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, a trend that continues today.

This publication is a retrospective review of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our department and community. It intends to capture Marin HHS’ response to the pandemic as told by its leaders, staff, supporters, and the residents we serve.

In the following pages, you’ll meet the people of the Marin HHS divisions as they tell their stories – sometimes funny, sometimes sad – of perseverance, triumph, and personal loss. You’ll also meet some of the community organizations that partnered with Marin HHS. Without their help and assistance, much of this success would not have been possible.

And then there are the residents of this county. With nearly a quarter-million first-dose vaccinations, Marin County led the nation in administering the vaccine. This commitment by the people of Marin helped to keep our citizens safer and our economy open. Lockdowns and mask mandates became all too familiar behaviors that disrupted everyday life as we knew it. Once again, the majority of people living in Marin met the challenge. Their efforts saved lives.

COVID-19 overwhelmed the globe in 2020. The Marin Department of Health and Human Services responded by living up to its mission to Promote and Protect the Health, Well-Being, Safety, and Self-Sufficiency of its residents.

I’m so grateful, humbled, and blessed to have served our community during this historic period alongside some of the world’s most talented, intelligent, dedicated, committed, and outstanding professionals.

Thank you again for all you have done and all you have sacrificed and given.

This book is dedicated to YOU!