Up & Coming Weekly

April 28, 2020

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 16 UCW APRIL 29-MAY 5, 2020 Resources and Assistance Cumberland County has launched a community resources and assistance page in response to the Covid-19 pandemic: https://bit.ly/2XbhGhr Response Page Visit co.cumberland.nc.us/covid19 for information related to Cumberland County's response to the coronavirus pandemic, including operational changes for county departments and the latest news releases. Text Alert System Text CCDPHCOVID19 to 888777 to receive information on COVID-19 in Cumberland County. North Carolina COVID-19 Information Dial 2-1-1 or 888-892-1162 to speak to a specialist 24/7/365. Text COVIDNC to 898-211 to sign up for updates. Golden LEAF Grant for Nursing Professional Development Program e Greater Cumberland County Sector Partnership has been awarded $300,000 for an Improving the Regional Nursing Pipeline professional development program that will directly impact economic development efforts within the community by increasing student retention in nursing programs that can lead to a career averaging more than $60,000 annually. e sector partnership, convened by the Cumberland County Workforce Development Board, launched in June 2018 to work with healthcare employers to help solve critical issues in the region with aiding the overall community. It is comprised of dozens of healthcare employers, education partners, and non-profit agencies. Workforce Development will manage the grant. rough the pipeline program, nursing faculty and educators from 14 school districts, community colleges and universities will be trained to implement a model that helps students succeed despite barriers they face. A goal of the project is to achieve a 5% or greater increase in nursing student retention rates annually at all participating post- secondary institutions and improve graduation rates. e Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to receive a portion of North Carolina's funding received from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers. T he Cumberland County Department of Public Health's Epidemiology Team is on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cumberland County. Its job is to investigate how people get sick, their symptoms and exposure to other people and places. Epidemiology is the medical investigation of infectious disease outbreaks. e county's Epi Team investigates cases of illnesses like salmonella or tuberculosis, and recently it has been extremely busy with COVID-19. e Epi Team is working with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Womack Army Medical Center, Cape Fear Valley Health and other community providers to track positive cases of COVID-19. e team can perform test collections and carefully package and ship each sample to the state lab. Contact tracing is the time-intensive process of contacting each positive patient and conducting a detailed interview to determine whom each person has been in contact with and the risk for exposure. is most often leads to additional phone calls to notify any close contacts. e team educates the public about isolation, quarantine and monitoring of symptoms, while also helping patients connect with community resources that might be needed during quarantine and relaying information to Health Department leadership to disseminate to the public. "ey are incredibly important because their investigations can help determine 'hot spots,' identify high-risk positive cases as well as monitor cases. is can help mitigate the COVID-19 spread," Public Health Director Dr. Jennifer Green said. "ey may be behind the scenes, but they are a crucial part of this response." Epi Team on COVID-19 Pandemic Front Lines Left to right, Epidemiology Nurse Specialists Lyndsay Richardson, Heather Salisbury, Sharon Stanley, Epidemiology Nursing Supervisor Asya Akins and Family Nurse Practitioner Torica Fuller. e 2020 Census is happening now and for the first time households have the option of responding online, by mail or by phone. e census is a once a decade count that determines how many representatives North Carolina will have in Congress and where state, county, town and other local districts are drawn. e census is the largest and most reliable picture of our communities and is vital to planning for future services like schools, streets and utilities, hospitals and clinics, shopping and more. Your responses will help allocate more than $675 billion in federal aid. Census data gives community leaders vital information to make decisions about building community centers, opening businesses, and planning for the future. Your responses to the 2020 Census are safe, secure, and protected by federal law. Your answers can only be used to produce statistics. This is your chance to shape your future. Respond now at 2020census.gov. News for Cumberland County Residents co.cumberland.nc.us Cumberland Matters Good Gravy Good Gravy I can't think of a better time to order in! Support your local business today! Good Gravy

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