The Tennessee Tribune

Health & Wellness
Thursday, July 2 - 8, 2020 • www.TnTribune.com
Atlanta Law Firm Now Accepting COVID-19 Cases
for Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities
ATLANTA, GA — (GLOBE
NEWSWIRE) -- Nursing homes and
long-term care facilities in Georgia and
throughout the U.S. continue to battle
the coronavirus (COVID-19) and protect
their residents and staff from exposure
to this potentially deadly virus. In
response to this ongoing crisis, Scholle
Law, a respected Atlanta personal injury
and accident law firm for over 20
years, recently announced that they are
now taking nursing home injury and
death cases resulting from COVID-19
in Georgia.
“Scholle Law is dedicated to help
serve families who have lost loved ones
in care homes from COVID-19 during
this challenging time,” says Charles
Scholle, founder of Scholle Law.
The novel coronavirus has already
taken a devastating toll on Georgia nursing
homes and long-term care facilities,
especially in rural parts of the state. An
estimated 40% of Georgia’s COVID-19
B5
deaths have been residents in long-term
care facilities, according to data from
the Georgia Department of Community
Health and the Georgia Department of
Public Health.
Failure to adhere to the strict guidelines
laid out by the Georgia Department
of Public Health is considered negligence
and these facilities may be held
liable if a patient contracts COVID-19.
“It’s vital that victims of nursing
home abuse or negligence, or the family
members who lost a loved one in a
nursing home death, act immediately to
seek legal advice,” says Scholle. “Nursing
home companies are moving swiftly
to protect themselves against lawsuits.
Time is not on your side.”
If you or a loved one were the victim
of nursing home abuse or neglect in
Georgia, schedule your free consultation
with Atlanta injury lawyer Charles
Scholle today.
Are 700 COVID-19 Contact Tracers Enough?
By Peter White
NASHVILLE, TN — At a press briefing last week,
Governor Lee talked about efforts his administration is taking
in Chattanooga to test more Hispanics because of a recent
spike in cases there.
He was asked why the state has hired just 700 contract
tracers when public health experts estimate the state needs
about 2,000.
“We just had the highest day of case that we have had
since the pandemic began. There is a genuine understanding
that COVID-19 is a serious public health crisis for our state.
And we take it seriously every single day,” Lee said.
Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey confirmed
the state has 700 contact tracers. Their job is to find out from
each new person who tests positive for COVID-19 how
many people they may have infected and to contact them.
“One of the metrics that we’ve been watching very closely
is how many contacts per case,” Piercey said. When the
pandemic first hit, she said the figure was 2 or 3; now it is
7 or 8.
“The Department of Health only tracks active cases,”
she said. Institutions like prisons and nursing homes have
their own embedded contact tracers. The state has hired
two private agencies to do contact tracing and a third will
be added later.
“We are able to keep up but it is something that’s on
our radar,” Piercey said.
Since there is no cure, states are left with mitigation
efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. As economies
open up, several states have seen their cases spike
and testing along with contract tracing is key to fighting
the disease effectively.
Health experts say the most important thing is to track
contacts within 48 hours after a person tests positive. The
risk of not doing enough tracing or testing is the loss of
containment and the pandemic will re-emerge with a vengeance.
A second wave is hitting Florida, Texas, and South
Carolina. Recently, the highest number of new cases has
been reported in Nevada, Arizona, California, and Tennessee.
New York has 9,600 contact tracers. As of last week,
New York is averaging 695 new daily cases. New York
can trace that many new infections within 48 hours. Arizona
has just 100 contact tracers and an average of 1,740
new cases every day. Arizona would need 8,700 people to
trace all the new cases within 48 hours.
The Washington Post reported last week that state
public health officials estimated in late April they needed
about $4.8 billion to hire and train 100,000 workers for
contact tracing. Some health experts say the number is
closer to 300,000. In any case, the U.S., like it dawdled
with testing, is moving too slowly.
A NPR survey found the number of contact tracers has
tripled in the past six weeks, from 11,142 to 37,110, but the
total is nowhere near the 100,000 needed.
Diversity in Chemistry Professor’s Lab Creates
Opportunity, Explores Clues to Alzheimer’s
By Amy Wolf
Vanderbilt
A Vanderbilt chemistry
professor is living
proof of the power
of experiencing STEM
(science, technology, engineering
and math) education
early. Renã Robinson,
associate professor
of chemistry, has been
immersed in science-related
activities and classes
since she was a child.
Today she is leading a
diverse lab of researchers,
using chemistry to uncover
clues surrounding
Alzheimer’s disease.
“Sometimes you can’t
be what you can’t see. So
for many students it can
be hard for them to aspire
to be scientists if they
don’t have a role model.
I’m working to help
change that,” said Robinson,
who is the Dorothy
J. Wingfield Phillips
Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow.
Phillips was the first
African American female
in Vanderbilt history to
receive an undergraduate
degree, which she earned
in chemistry.
“It is especially poignant
to me that I get to
serve in that chair,” Robinson
said.
Robinson benefited
from camps and afterschool
programs focused
on math and science at
a young age. But she laments
that those opportunities
were not offered to
all of her classmates.
“When I was in elementary
school, I was
bussed from my neighborhood
to a predominately
white school. I noticed
stark differences in
the quality of education.
And even though I was
only a child, I wrote a letter
to my superintendent
about it,” Robinson said.
In high school Robinson’s
job as a consultant at
a department store makeup
counter gave her an
opportunity to find practical
application to chemistry.
During high school
she also was invited to an
intensive summer-long
program in another state.
“It was in an environment
that was specifically
for African American,
Native American and
Hispanic students. We did
accelerated math and science
the whole summer,
and it was so fun,” she
recalled. However, Robinson
was keenly aware
that she benefited from
programs, camps and role
models that others in her
neighborhood did not.
That’s why Robinson
has made it a mission
to expand and replicate
STEM programs. She’s
doing this in partnership
with NOBCChE, the largest
U.S. network of African
American chemists
and chemical engineers,
and the American Chemical
Society.
“Our solution focuses
on expanding successful
existing projects, like
hands-on science training,
holistic mentorship
for students and families,
and teacher trainings,”
she said.
At Vanderbilt, Robinson
focuses on giving
opportunities to students
who might not have had
representative mentors
before coming to college.
“For us, it’s been very
important to ensure that
we have a diverse group
of researchers on our
team, and it has made
a world of difference in
helping to attract and recruit
other students from
diverse backgrounds to
be a part of the work that
we’re doing,” she said.
Robinson and her husband,
who works in technology,
are bringing a
love of STEM to their two
young children.
“I’ve been able to go to
schools and do outreach
with my kids’ classes, and
just the joy that they have
in being able to help lead
the demonstrations—it’s
amazing to see how excited
they are about science,”
Robinson said.
Robinson’s research
uses analytical chemistry
to examine brain proteins
to find clues around
the memory-robbing Alzheimer’s
disease and
why it’s more prevalent
among African American
and Latinx communities.
“Right now African
Americans have two
Terry W Jones, Agent
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to three times the incidence
of Alzheimer’s disease
than non-Hispanic
whites,” she said.
Robinson’s lab is one
of only a few groups using
chemistry to examine
racial disparities in Alzheimer’s
in this way.
“We’re looking at
proteins that come from
people of different racial
backgrounds that have the
disease or that don’t to analyze
similarities and differences
in the proteins,”
she said. “We’re getting
a lot of insight from these
kinds of experiments.”
To truly understand
and fight diseases, Robinson
said, it’s imperative
that more underrepresented
minorities are involved
in research and clinical
trials.
“When you look at
clinical trials for drugs,
especially for those that
have been in development
for Alzheimer’s disease
and other major diseases,
most research has been
done in a majority population,”
she said. “That
needs to change.”
They matter
to me.
I get it. Your home and car are
more than just things. They’re
where you make your memories
and they deserve the right
protection. It’s why I’m here.
LET’S TALK TODAY.
1706814
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company
Bloomington, IL
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