Highway 1 Overpass Be Repaired? SC County Bank Expands SBA Team

CALIFORNIA NEWS

SC County Bank Expands SBA Team

Santa Cruz County Bank has expanded its Small Business Administration Lending Department, hiring three experiencedbusinessdevelopmentofficers, two processors and a loan underwriter.

SBA is the federal agency overseeing the Payroll Protection Program of forgivable loans to small business owners for pandemic relief.

New on the SBA team members are:

Andrew Chambers, Vice President, SBA Business Development Officer, located in Windsor, covering the San Francisco Bay Area and north to the Oregon border. He brings 18 years of banking experience at Umpqua Bank and Poppy Bank, with a focus on SBA and USDA Andrew Chambers financing. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Oregon State University, with a history minor.

Emily Baxter, Vice President, SBA Business Development Officer, located in Fresno, covering the Central Sierra foothills to the Central Coast. She has nine years of SBA experience, working at Umpqua Bank and Poppy Bank, and was consistently named top SBA 7(a) and USDA B&I income Emily Baxter producer. She graduated magna cum laude from CSU Fresno.

Kevin Rappleye, Vice President, SBA Business Development Officer, located in Elk Grove, covering the greater Sacramento area and north to the Oregon border. He has 30 years of experience in the banking most recently as vice president, business development officer with First Community Bank, growing the SBA Division and focusing on SBA 7a loans. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from CSU Sacramento.

Also new: Ricardo Monedero, Assistant Vice President, SBA Kevin Rappleye Loan Underwriter, former AVP senior SBA risk manager/underwriter in the Sacramento area; Dayna Herron, Senior SBA Loan Processor, previously served as loan processor II and AVP, SBA loan closing officer in Las Vegas and Temecula; and Laurie Frank, Senior SBA Loan Processor, formerly senior loan processor and loan documentation specialist with Wells Fargo.

Santa Cruz County Bank’s Senior Vice President and SBA Department Manager SCCB Announces Promotion

Santa Cruz County Bank has promoted Kaylee Silverberg from credit analyst to relationship manager, based at 2020 N. Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. She started as a customer service representative at Lighthouse Bank, joining Santa Cruz County Bank as credit analyst in July 2019 before the two banks merged. Kaylee Silverberg A graduate of Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business, she is also a graduate of the California Community Banking Network Credit Analyst school. n

Susan Chandler said, “Our commitment to supporting small businesses is unwavering, especially in these challenging times.” n

Private Events To Be Allowed as of April 15

On April 2, with vaccination rates increasing and the state’s COVID-19 test positivity rate near a record low, the California Department of Public Health issued new guidance allowing gatherings, private events or meetings such as receptions or conferences, and indoor seated live events and performances, starting April 15.

Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, said the changes reflect “the progress we are making both in vaccinations and in controlling the spread of COVID-19.”

What’s allowed depends on which tier each county is in. Santa Cruz County entered the Orange Tier on March 31, and after three weeks if case counts remain low and vaccinations increase, could be eligible to move on April 27 to the Yellow Tier, which has fewer restrictions.

Here are the details: • Gatherings: In the Red Tier, outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people are allowed. The gathering size increases to 50 people in the Orange Tier and 100 people in the Yellow Tier. In the

Purple Tier, only outdoor gatherings are allowed, and they are limited to three households. Indoor gatherings are strongly discouraged in all tiers but are allowed with modifications

and capacity limits in the Red, Orange and Yellow tiers. • Private events or meetings such as receptions or conferences: In all tiers, measures to reduce risk are required, such as pre-purchased tickets or a defined guest list and assigned seating. º In the Purple Tier, these activities are only allowed outdoors and capacity is limited to 25 people. If all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination, capacity increases to up to 100 people. º In the Red Tier, outdoor gatherings are limited to 50 people, and capacity increases to 200 if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination. Indoor activities are allowed if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination; capacity is limited to 100 people. º In the Orange Tier, outdoor gatherings are limited to 100 people, and capacity increases to 300 if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination. Indoor activities are allowed if all guests are tested or show full proof of vaccination; capacity is limited to 150 people. º In the Yellow Tier, outdoor gatherings are limited to 200 people, and capacity increases to 400 if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination. Indoor activities are allowed if all guests are tested or show full proof of vaccination; capacity is limited to 200 people. • Indoor live events or performances:

In the Purple Tier these activities are not allowed. In the Red, Orange and

Yellow tiers these activities are allowed with capacity limits and measures such as physical distancing, advance ticket purchases, designated areas for eating and drinking, and attendance limited to in-state visitors. º Venues with a capacity of up to 1,500 people: In the Red Tier, capacity is limited to 10% or 100 people, and capacity increases to 25% if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination. In the Orange Tier, capacity is limited to 15% or 200 people, and capacity increases to 35% if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination. In the Yellow Tier, capacity is limited to 25% or 300 people, and capacity increases to 50% if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination. º Venues with a capacity of 1,501 and above: In the Red Tier, testing or proof of vaccination is required, and capacity is limited to 20%. In the Orange Tier, capacity is limited to 10% or 2,000 people, and capacity increases to 35% if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination. In the Yellow Tier, capacity is limited to 10% or 2,000 people, and capacity increases to 50% if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination.

“Private Events” page 23

COMMUNITY NEWS Youth in Crisis? Call for MERTY

On April 8, the County of Santa Cruz launched the South County Mobile Emergency Response Team for Youth to provide community and fieldbased crisis intervention services to youth age 21 and younger.

To request MERTY services, call 1-800952-2335 Mon.–Fri. between 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

The mobile clinic — MERTY — is staffed by a bilingual clinician and bilingual family support partner to provide culturally responsive and clinically appropriate services, responding quickly to help stabilize youth, support families and connect them to additional services.

One of the staff is family specialist Janet Garcia.

If Spanish-speaking staff are not

The team uses this new van, fully equipped inside to provide a confidential meeting space. Santa Cruz County now has a bilingual team to respond to calls about youth in crisis Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

available, families can access live translation services.

“Urgent crisis services are a priority, now more than ever, as youth struggle with the ongoing pandemic and continue to be isolated from school, peers and social interactions,” said Cassandra Eslami, South County Services & Community Engagement Director. “MERTY reduces the need for transportation or office space by providing field-based urgent response coupled with a confidential meeting space inside the behavioral health mobile office.”

The clinical team can provide services at sites such as schools, after-school programs and faith-based organizations.

When news of the service was posted on the county’s Facebook page, the move was applauded by dozens of viewers.

“Awesome, thanks for reaching out to the youth,” wrote Phyllis Dias, an artist in Watsonville.

Julie Smith wondered if the service would become available on evening sand weekends as a crisis can happen at any hour.

Aptos resident Jessica Janus asked if the service is available beyond Watsonville.

Actually it is.

The California Health Facilities Financing Authority, which funded this program, also provided another grant of $578,973 to add a second MERTY mobile unit in North County, for youth in crisis.

“We are excited to launch MERTY to meet the needs of children, adolescents and family members in our Watsonville community,” Behavioral Health Director Erik Riera said. “With COVID-19 being part of our daily lives for the last year, we understand this has been a struggle for many, particularly children who may be experiencing a behavioral health crisis or for those that there are concerns are not doing well--struggling emotionally. We want you to call, and we want to help. Please consider reaching out to us.” n

Attorney General Alleges Brookdale Senior Living Lied to Medicare

By Jondi Gumz

On March 12, Attorney General Xavier Becerra joined a coalition of district and city attorneys, led by Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer, in filing a lawsuit against Tennessee-based Brookdale Senior Living, Inc., a publicly traded company and the nation’s largest senior living operator, with 10 skilled nursing facilities in California.

This lawsuit alleges that Brookdale ignored laws designed to protect nursing home Xavier Becerra patients’ safety when they are discharged. The lawsuit also alleges that Brookdale gave false information on nursing staffing hours to Medicare for calculating its “star ratings” for nursing homes on NursingHomeCcompare which are used by consumers to evaluate quality for their loved ones.

By lying to Medicare, the lawsuit alleges, Brookdale fraudulently increased its star rating to attract prospective patients and their families, in particular people covered by Medicare, which pays nursing homes more for care than California’s Medi-Cal program.

The attorneys contend these practices violated the Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law. They seek a court order to prevent practices in violation of the state’s Business and Professional Code and civil penalties of $2,500 for each violation.

The case targets Brookdale’s Riverwalk, a 120-bed nursing home in Bakersfield and cites three examples of patient discharges without the required notice to the resident, family or ombudsman resulting in stress and health crises. One man, 80, with Alzheimer’s, congestive heart failure, chronic atrial fibrillation, chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes and reflux was admitted to a hospital within a week of discharge. Another man, 78, with heart and kidney disease, difficulty walking and recovering from pneumonia, was discharged with a catheter attached to his body. The family of another resident asked Brookdale for help to find suitable care, but was given none, according to the lawsuit.

“We categorically deny that Brookdale engaged in intentional or fraudulent conduc,” a Brookdale spokesperson wrote in an email to the Californian, which covers Bakersfield and reported the investigation began in 2016 in response to complaints. “Publicizing unproven allegations is reckless and undermines the public’s confidence in a service necessary to the care of elderly individuals, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brookdale is dedicated to providing quality care to our residents and patients, and we take our mission of enriching the lives of those we serve seriously.”

Investigation

The lawsuit was filed just before The New York Times published an indepth investigation March 14 analyzing millions of nursing home payroll records and finding nursing homes across America manipulating Medicare’s rating system by exaggerating nursing staffing hours and attracting patients who wanted the top five-star rating.

From the “star rating” launch in 2010 to 2018, Medicare relied on nursing homes to report the average number of hours nurses and aides spent with patients. Outside experts said that incentivized nursing homes to fudge the numbers.

“Brookdale” page 27