April 11, 2020 Issue, Page 9 of 16

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Serving Western Oklahoma Weekend Réition Mayor: Social distancing can flatten the curve By Don Munsch, Editor Elk City City Commissioners needed just 11 minutes to conduct their early-month meeting Monday night. A light agenda had something to do with it. Commission- ers approved two zero-turn mowers for the cemetery for $26,297.10 from Lindley Farm Equipment in Cordell. The item purchase amount under the budget, as the mowers had been targeted for $30,000, said City Manager Lee Litterell. The mowers will replace two mowers purchased in 2008. In other city developments, Litterell said Tuesday he is waiting on the COVID-19 results the city had from the mo- bile testing health authorities conducted on April 3. Altus city authorities this week started requiring people in public Julie Western of Comforting Hands Hospice to wear masks or face coverings and to practice social dis- of Elk City poses next to a window she paint- tancing. Also this week, the city of Altus imposed a curfew ed at Baptist Village of Elk City. Above, she between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. except for work, essential er- paints a new window Wednesday morning. rands for essential items and emergency medical care and She used tempera paint on the window. The assistance. paint eventually turns in to a chalky form and If Beckham County showsa spike in positive coronavirus can be easily scraped off later. Staff photo by cases, the city will consider further action on what could oc- Don Munsch. cur here, Litterell said. Elk City Mayor Nick Archer said Tuesday he likes the By Don Munsch, Editor cility. So I was trying to think outside the box that ifI can’t guidelines that are in place now. Julie Western wanted to think outside the box for how she go in the facility, what can I do that’s on the outside of the “[With] the state and federal guidelines in conjunction could help people in nursing homes and assisted care centers facility to still bring joy and hope for this Easter season and with the CDC, it’s been working, so to say we need to fur- during these days of social distancing. for the springtime.” ther action at this time, it’s questionable,” Archer said. “The Western, community liaison for Comforting Hands Hos- She said with everything going with the coronavirus right fact that we have 26 cases right next door in Greer County pice in Elk City, visited several nursing homes in town and now, Comforting Hands is just trying to spread joy wher- with three deaths is alarming. So it’s not just Elk City, it’s Sayre to paint various murals on the windows. She painted ever it can. People at the nursing centers have been happy not just Beckham County; we do have a hot spot right in the windows from outside. and excited to see the artwork being made. our backyard. Is that to say something couldn’t happen in “Weare just trying to hit all of our facilities that we have “Residents are having a great time watching — it’s a part the future? Who knows? I think if everybody follows those patients at that are in our service area,” Western said. of their activities,” said Western, a licensed master social guidelines and does their part with the social distancing, then Western came up with the idea. worker who has been a certified social worker in health care additional guidelines wouldn’t be necessary because the “[ used to paint growing up,” she said. “I went to Elk City for 15 years. “It gives them something to do. Usually, I’m in people would be doing what they should have been doing High School and I was in all of their summer art programs helping with bingo, doing crafts or helping with something from the first place.” and advanced art classes. I always kind of had an artistic on the inside, and this way, they’re still able to kind of par- Residents are expected to take social distancing guidelines background. It’s just something fun and creative to do. Be- ticipate but be socially distant.” seriously, but the city won’t transform into an “Orwellian cause of the whole COVID-19 thing right now, myself and In her vocation, Western has always worked with people police state,” Archer said. our social workers and chaplains aren’t able to go in and see ~and always the older population. “Our community, our livelihood, depends on that,” he a lot of our patients. Just nursing staff is allowed into the fa- See Hospice page 2. said. “We have had to send the PD top a couple of busi- nesses in town to ask them to please close. Nobody wants to do that. Nobody enjoys sending somebody to shut down Hed: Lucas, Lankford, others call on another person’s livelihood. But at the end of the day, those measures are in place; they were not imposed by us. But we have to follow those guidelines, we have to flatten the curve. HHS to help rural health providers See Distancing page 2. Washington, D.C. - Congressman Frank Lucas, represent- In the House members’ letter, the lawmakers urge Azar Canute Public ing Oklahoma’s District 3, joined a letter last week led by to take immediate steps to provide financial relief for rural U.S. Sens. John Barrasso, M.D. (R-Wyo.) and Michael Ben- net (D-Colo.) and U.S. Reps Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) and providers during this global pandemic. Here is the letter, dated March 30: Schools teachers Rural hospitals are the backbone of communities across of the year named Kim Schrier, M.D. (D-Wash.) to the Trump administration Dear Secretary Azar, urging it to provide immediate assistance to rural hospitals and clinics, Lucas’ office said in a press release. our nation. These providers are on the frontlines combat- The lawmakers ask Health and Human Services (HHS) ing the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Lana Merz is the elemen- Secretary Alex Azar to use the funding included in the re- It is imperative these health care professionals receive the tary teacher of the year and cently passed CARES Act to sustain rural health provid- immediate support they need to continue caring for our com- Cristi Williams is the junior ers. The lawmakers said the vast majority of rural hospi- munities. high and high school teacher tals have ceased performing elective procedures and seeing Small and rural hospitals across the nation are facing an of the year for Canute Public non-urgent patients. Rural hospitals know the COVID-19 acute financial crisis. Even before this crisis, nearly one-half Schools. emergency confronting the country must take precedence. of rural hospitals were operating at a financial loss, and hun- Merz Williams Merz has been teaching However, these actions threaten rural hospitals’ financial vi- dreds were on the brink of closure. Now, they are confront- sixth grade for 32 years, all of ability. ing impossible choices during this public health emergency. which have been at Canute Public Schools. Also on the Senate side, Sen. James Lankford of Oklaho- The administration must focus on ensuring the financial vi- “She enjoys teaching her sixth-graders and challenging ma joined Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois in a bipartisan effort ability of these providers. Failure to take fast and aggressive them to be their best,” the school district stated in a news to urge Azar to support their legislation helping rural hos- action will put the health of our communities at further risk. release. “She states that every day is a new learning experi- pitals. The senators said their bill would support financially In response to this crisis, Congress has enacted a series of ence and a gift that should not be wasted.” vulnerable rural hospitals facing risk of closure by updating bipartisan laws to rescue our economy and health care sys- Merz attended high school in Canute, went to Saint Greg- Medicare’s “Critical Access Hospital” (CAH) designation so tem. Most recently, we passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief ory’s College in Shawnee and received her Bachelor of Sci- more rural hospitals can qualify for this financial lifeline and and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). This legislation ence degree in education at Southwestern Oklahoma State continue to serve their communities with quality, affordable includes new funding to provide financial relief for hospi- University in Weatherford. She is the daughter of the late healthcare services. Read their April 6 letter here: https:// tals. The CARES Act provides you with the flexibility to LeRoy and Loraine Kamphaus. She resides in Canute with www.lankford.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Lankford%20 deliver assistance where it is needed most. Right now, some her husband, Kevin. They have two sons, Nathan and Kyle, Durbin%20Letter%20to%20Azar_Rural%20Hospitals.pdf See Rural page 2. See Canute page 2. «AO 0 AU Weather tomorrow 68 / < Vol. 118, No. 28 75 cents, 8 pgs. Mail delivery 580.225.3000 View online elkcityoknews.com