Howdunnit

Across the United States, restaurants have been forced to close their dine-in services due to the coronavirus, but many have switched to online order and to-go options in order to stay open. Now, some of these restaurants are offering grocery orders as well, helping customers access ingredients that may be sold at local supermarkets.

A new initiative at St. John’s Health in Wyoming aimed at bettering people's health while saving the hospital money by combining wellness services with behavioral programs has shown promise but was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of pausing the program in entirety, however, program administrators have instead adapted it for St. John's employees as a means of keeping staff healthy.

When Seattle passed its tax on sugar-sweetened beverages like soda in 2018, the program met a lot of resistance. But now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the city is drawing on this tax revenue to provide $800 emergency grocery vouchers to families in need.

Deploying a state-wide COVID-19 testing strategy requires coordinating both public and private-industry stakeholders. In Utah and New Mexico, the appointment of “testing czars,” or public health leaders in charge of coordinating testing, has led to targeted, successful strategies to ramp up testing. These “testing czars” work to coordinate with commercial and public labs to find supplies and address bottlenecks. Suppliers work to connect via conference call to discuss logistics, allowing for successful scaling in both rural and urban testing strategies.

ER doctors and other hospital staff who need to isolate themselves from their families can use a camper or mobile home to create a safe distance. The Facebook match-making group, RVs for MDs To Fight the Coronavirus, has connected hundreds of camper and RV owners to healthcare workers in need of extra living space. The network has grown to include thousands of members willing to offer the use of their campers free of charge.

To help young adults and seniors manage feelings of isolation, a retirement home was revamped into a housing project that caters to those under 25 and pensioners. Living in this new apartment complex comes with a provision in the agreement though – residents must spend at least 2 hours per week socializing with one another.

California’s governor signed an executive order allocating $50 million to lease hotel rooms for those experiencing homelessness after being released from prison as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. While the hotel business is at a standstill, it provides shelter and the needed self-isolation to one of the most vulnerable populations. So far, 7,000 hotel rooms have been reserved for these individuals.

A community land trust is helping people in the Keys find another home, after Hurricane Irma ravished the area. “Four cottages are expected to wrap construction this fall, with another five finished by early 2019.” The arrangement was made possible after two friends got together and formed the Florida Keys Community Land Trust, secured land from the county, and raised $1 million to build affordable disaster housing.

When coupled with long-term state investment in public institutions, a rapid response to a pandemic is most effective. In India, Kerala state acted quickly relative to its neighbors in communicating risks, tracking cases, testing, and requiring quarantines for tourists. The effectiveness of the measures benefitted from the states'investment in education and public health institutions.

Leaders in Baltimore realized that improvements in food policy would be enhanced by more accurate language and more local activism. The Baltimore Food Policy Initiative brings together city agencies and uses data and shared terminology to improve their work, referring to “food deserts” as “ healthy priority areas.” The group also engaged 14 new “resident food equity advisors” to begin the work of assessing the landscape, in terms of accessibility of healthy food. This data will be used to move thoughtful policies forward.