A few reflections, in the spirit of this holiday week

In the spirit of this holiday week, I wanted to share with you a few reflections.

This year presented some extremely challenging and unforeseen circumstances, including the loss of loved ones and neighbors that has reminded us of the fragility of life. We appear to have finally entered into a formal presidential transition process after post-election chaos that has frayed democratic institutions and norms, adding to the national level of stress and anxiety. I hope you have been able to savor the triumph of our new president-elect, the historic victory of our new vice president, and what this achievement means for the communities and patients we serve.

This is the first sign of hope in many months that our government will formulate an effective, coherent policy to combat the pandemic that has upended our lives, the national economy, and claimed the lives of more than 256,000 Americans.

We must also remember that people from communities of color – which constitute 78% of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte patients and colleagues – are at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID, and the pandemic has exacerbated these inequities in access to health care, mental health, jobs, economic mobility, housing, and food. Ending long-standing systemic health and social inequities is central to PPMM’s mission.

That’s part of the reason that, despite sacrifices both small and unimaginably large, I am so grateful to our staff, especially those on the frontlines who have been caring for patients in our health centers since the pandemic forced us to shelter-in-place back in March. Through their hard work and dedication, our patients have come to expect high quality, compassionate health care, which we’ve been able to continue delivering in person and via telehealth. We have also continued to champion patients’ rights, along with our community partners, to promote and protect the health of all those we serve, regardless of income, gender identity, or immigration status.

News of multiple, highly effective vaccines gives me a glimmer of much-needed hope, but we’re not in the clear yet. COVID is still a very real threat to our health, and, in just three weeks, hospitals in many of the counties where we live and work are projected to be beyond capacity to care for patients.

Latest estimates show that over 50% of contagious people don’t experience symptoms of the virus but are just as capable of infecting family and friends as those who do. I share the heartbreak many of us feel at not being able to gather with loved ones as we’ve done in the past, but during the pandemic we must re-imagine how we celebrate.

This holiday season, let’s make a commitment to each other and our communities to make safe choices.

We are truly in this together.

Stacy