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County’s hospital bed availability in ‘red zone’
‘Not Going Quietly’ to premiere in SB Film tells the story of SB resident who fights for health care justice By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
When Santa Barbara resident Ady Barkan was diagnosed with ALS in 2016, he made a vow — a vow to spend the remainder of his life fighting for healthcare justice and Medicare for All. That decision set Mr. Barkan on an impassioned mission to advocate for families just like his by calling for dramatic reform of the country’s healthcare system. His tireless advocacy led him to participate in countless conversations with some of the nation’s top lawmakers, champion the “Be a Hero” movement and even testify on Capitol Hill in 2019 in support of Medicare for All. In the years following his diagnosis, Mr. Barkan has since lost his ability to speak, and he now communicates using a computer system that tracks his eye movements and converts text into speech. But even though he can no longer verbally communicate, Mr. Barkan has not been silenced — in fact, his influence and his message are louder than ever before. Mr. Barkan’s advocacy journey is documented in a film that is set to premiere at the Metropolitan Fiesta 5 Theater in Santa Barbara on Sunday at 5 p.m. The film, “Not Going Quietly,” tells the story of Mr. Barkan’s health journey and documents key moments from Please see PREMIER on A4
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Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, the chair of the infectious disease division at Cottage Health, said Cottage Hospital is “very full,” but noted that the majority of patients are there for “non-COVID-related reasons.”
Surge attributable to COVID-19 among other factors
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Santa Barbara County Animal Services will reopen its Goleta shelter Tuesday. Starting that day, people can again bring stray animals to the facility, which is at 5473 Overpass Road. And starting Tuesday, people looking for their pets again will be able to call Animal Services directly at 805-681-5285 or visit www. sbcanimalservices.org to look for a missing pet or to file a report. Adoptions will also resume at the Santa Barbara Animal Shelter. People are asked to call the shelter for an appointment during the pandemic. Animal Control field operations will continue to respond only to priority calls to keep officers safe during the rise in COVID-19 cases, according to a news release. Priority calls include law enforcement assistance, injured or sick stray animals, cruelty and neglect complaints, bite complaints, and dangerous and aggressive dog complaints. The Overpass Road shelter was temporarily closed after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, but Animal Services immediately announced plans to reopen the shelter by early next week. “We would like to thank our community members for the patience and understanding they’ve shown as we navigated this challenging situation,” Community Services Director Jessica Wiebe said in the news release. “Animal Services strives to keep our animals, staff and Please see PREMIER on A4
By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Santa Barbara County’s hospital beds dipped into the “red zone” this week, signalling that area hospitals are currently experiencing a surge in patients. According to the county’s latest hospitalization data, 71.1% of hospital beds were in use on Friday, placing the metric within the “red zone.” The county’s staffed ICU beds were in the “red zone” as of Thursday with 85.5% of ICU beds in use, but that number dropped to 75% on Friday. The county is considered to have entered the “red zone” when less than 35% of hospital beds are available and less than 20% of staffed ICU beds are available. This surge in hospitalizations, however, is not entirely attributable to an increase in COVID-19 cases alone, according to local health officials. Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, the chair of the infectious disease division at Cottage Health, told the NewsPress on Friday that while the hospitals are still admitting COVID-19 patients, the vast Please see HOSPITALS on A6
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Animal Services shelter to reopen Tuesday
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