SFCHC Takes Precautions To Protect Our Most Vulnerable During COVID-19 Pandemic
To our dear San Francisco Community Health Center community of clients, patients, and supporters,
The pandemic of COVID-19 is incredibly concerning and alarming. It requires all of us to be educated about COVID-19, to know how best to take care of ourselves and each other. Our team at San Francisco Community Health Center wants to do just that – to provide as much information as possible and to make sure that all of you are taking care of yourself and each other.
San Francisco Community Health Center is committed to providing the highest quality care to all of our clients and patients. We also are making sure that our core services remain open and available to all who need and require this. Our medical, behavioral, and dental clinics remain open. We are taking every precaution to ensure onsite safety for those who require in-person visits with their health care provider, case manager, social worker, counselor, or therapist. We are also encouraging our patients, if possible, to access their providers by phone.
Based on guidelines and recommendations from San Francisco Department of Public Health, we have made programmatic changes and modifications. Here is a current summary of changes:
We have suspended our drop-in programs (TACE and Trans Thrive) but we will remain in contact with our clients and provide essential services to our trans and gender non-conforming community members and our clients living with HIV.
For the most part our workshops, support groups, club and bar outreach are suspended until further notice, but we are encouraging individual sessions, either by phone or in person depending on severity and need.
All events scheduled in the near future are being cancelled. For those events further out, we will continue to monitor San Francisco’s recommendations and make decisions accordingly.
Please check our website and social media outlets for ongoing updates. We care about your health and the health of your friends and the community at large. These programmatic changes – and any future changes – are being made in an effort to ensure you are as safe as possible while our City is in this state of emergency.
If we’ve learned anything in our 30+ year history of fighting the HIV epidemic, it is that we know how to step up in times of crisis related to a virus that is scary, with too many unknowns at this time, and invokes a stigma that is irrational and based in fear and misinformation. Our commitment will never waver to ensuring that the health and well-being of the most marginalized, stigmatized, and vulnerable are at the forefront of our work. We will continue to make changes and creatively adapt so that we can continue providing services and getting services to our communities.
San Francisco Community Health Center cares about you and your safety, health, and wellness. Please remember to stay home if you’re feeling sick, cough and sneeze into your sleeve, and wash your hands as often as possible. Here are links to resources from San Francisco Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
I will make sure to continue to send updates. And until then, I’m sending healthy wishes to you all.
With love and respect,
Lance Toma, CEO