I am hoping that if you like this tentative recommendation for a City of Austin-sponsored fully-bilingual Spanish-English-language COVID-19 hotline service serving Austin residents, you will please contact your duly-elected Austin City Council member (District 4 City Council Member Greg Casar, e-mail address "district4@austintexas.gov", if you live in his district) or Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who represents all of us on the City Council:
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: John McMillan
To: District 4 ; Austin Mayor Steve Adler ; District 1 ; district2@austintexas.gov ; district3@austintexas.gov ; Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen (2016) ; Don Zimmerman District 6 Northwest Austin ; District 7 ; District 8 ; district9@austintexas.gov ; TX Temple Beth Israel Austin ; Kirk Watson ; Darla Dixon ; Texas Rangers Division of DPS ; Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt ; Margaret Moore ; Senator Kirk Watson Constituent Services Rep. Walcott (2016) ; lisa.hernandez@dhhs.state.tx.us ; ombudsman@dhhs.state.tx.us ; Oig Hhs Webmaster ; Ombudsman Texas Dept. of State Health Services ; AMA Council On Science and Public Health ; Civil Rights Office Texas Health Human Services Commission ; Texas Department of Health and Human Services Ombudsman ; Hernandez Sally [TCSO] ; CountyAttorneyDavidEscamilla ; City of Austin Interim City Attorney Anne Morgan ; Governor's Office of Texas Open Records Administrator ; Austin American-Statesman Managing Editor John Bridges ; Austin Chronicle Editors ; central_texas@cruz.senate.gov ; United States Senate ; Joebiden Info ; Thomas ; charles.wood@texasattorneygeneral.gov ; Charles Schwertner ; Bill Weld ; Commissioner Jeffrey Travillion 2019 ; Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea ; Margaret Gomez ; Austin Chronicle ; news@dailytexanonline.com ; dhiott@kut.org ; KXAN TV News Investigations ; KEYE CBS News Austin 2017 ; Unknown National ; NYT News Tips ; Harvard Club of Austin 2017 ; Austin Republican Women 2016 ; Travis County Republican Party (2016) ; TRA General Counsel Kenneth Besserman ; Traviscountydemocrats Info ; State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (Austin area) ; Rep. Vikki Goodwin 2019CentralTX ; Rep. Sheryl Cole (2019 CentralTX) ; Rep. Erin Zwiener 2019CentralTX ; Rep. James Talarico 2019 Central TX ; carol.alvarado@senate.texas.gov ; Rep. John Bucy 2019CentralTX ; Patrick B. Howard ; U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Devlpt (TX regional office) ; Austin 311 ; Letters To the Editor ; COVID-19@Sanantonio.gov ; DMN Austin Bureau Reporter Robert Garrett ; Houston Chronicle Letters to the Editor ; Fort Worth Star-Telegram Newstips ; news@texasmonthly.com ; Jacqueline L. Angel ; StateRep.DonnaHoward ; Donna Campbell ; Dawn Buckingham ; State Senator Eddie Lucio D-Brownsville ; Dennis Bonnen ; Patsy Spaw ; Todd Hunter ; Kyle Biedermann ; Dwayne Bohac ; Garnet F. Coleman
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2020, 03:54:06 PM CDT
Subject: 3-31-20 urgent need for a COVID-19 Hotline here in Austin
Dear Highly Influential Government Officials here in Austin,
I'm very hopeful that the City of Austin will be willing to consider following the City of San Antonio's lead on this.
A very tentative rough-notes report for each of you based on some brief phone calls I made today during my leisuretime:
I learned recently that the City Government of San Antonio----unlike our state-capital city of Austin----exclusively finances and offers a 6-day-per-week fully-bilingual-at-all-times (Spanish-and-English) Coronavirus-Information Hotline. There is no delay time involved if a a Spanish-speaking person calling that City of San Antonio hotline wishes to speak with a hotline staff member fluent in Spanish.
The phone number for San Antonio's hotline service exclusively focused on coronavirus-related information is: (210) 207-5779.
The City of San Antonio's COVID-19 hotline is designed to serve San Antonio residents. The coronavirus-related government-imposed restrictions and guidelines in San Antonio differ from those in Austin, a female staff member for that San Antonio hotline politely explained to me on the phone today.
One female staff member for the San Antonio hotline stated to me on the phone today that "We (at our San Antonio COVID-19 hotline service) can't take no (coronavirus) calls from Austin (residents)."
Here in Austin, there is no local hotline service focused exclusively on coronavirus-related issues facing residents of this state-capital city. However, I was told on the phone today by an Austin 311 staff member that Austin residents can call either the 211 (or) 311 service 24 hours per day for coronavirus-related information they need.
I have been told by 311 staff members here in Austin that if a Spanish-speaking person calls 311 with coronavirus-related questions, there might be a bit of delay time on that, since the 311 staff member might not speak Spanish and might have to contact a Spanish-speaking person affiliated with the City of Austin to respond to the caller's questions in Spanish.
According to Jessica, a staff member for San Antonio's COVID-19 hotline who spoke with me this afternoon and who hung up her end of the phone line as I stated to her appreciatively that San Antonio is "ahead of Austin" in this category, their COVID-19 hotline in San Antonio accepts phone calls Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and offers additional hours of service on the weekend. Jessica stated to me that their COVID-19 hotline's Saturday hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
However, online I found the hours for Saturday listed at the official City of San Antonio website as 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The official City of San Antonio website also states that their COVID-19 hotline offers service on Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. My hastily-written handwritten notes from today do not state whether Jessica also cited Sunday hours for their hotline, and since she hung up on me as I praised her own City Government I have decided not to call her back for clarification on that point.
Jessica during our phone conversation had requested and obtained contact information from me after I had clearly explained to her early in our conversation that I was seeking to obtain information that might be helpful toward estabishing a similar type of hotline service in Austin for residents of this state-capital city.
Jessica explained to me on the phone this afternoon that their City of San Antonio COVID-19 hotline offers information and referrals to persons seeking a coronavirus test who do not have a primary-care physician, San Antonio residents who do have a primary-care physician (PCP) are referred by that hotline service to their PCP in regard to their request for a coronavirus test.
Their City of San Antonio-financed COVID-19 hotline also offers related information for senior citizens, including assistance with food and meals, Jessica stated.
In addition, that San Antonio hotline service offers information about which businesses are exempt from government-ordered closing requirements in San Antonio and which are closed by government order, Jessica said.
The City of San Antonio hotline also offers travel-related guidelines, Jessica stated to me on the phone today.
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: John McMillan
To: District 4 ; Austin Mayor Steve Adler ; District 1 ; district2@austintexas.gov ; district3@austintexas.gov ; Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen (2016) ; Don Zimmerman District 6 Northwest Austin ; District 7 ; District 8 ; district9@austintexas.gov ; TX Temple Beth Israel Austin ; Kirk Watson ; Darla Dixon ; Texas Rangers Division of DPS ; Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt ; Margaret Moore ; Senator Kirk Watson Constituent Services Rep. Walcott (2016) ; lisa.hernandez@dhhs.state.tx.us ; ombudsman@dhhs.state.tx.us ; Oig Hhs Webmaster ; Ombudsman Texas Dept. of State Health Services ; AMA Council On Science and Public Health ; Civil Rights Office Texas Health Human Services Commission ; Texas Department of Health and Human Services Ombudsman ; Hernandez Sally [TCSO] ; CountyAttorneyDavidEscamilla ; City of Austin Interim City Attorney Anne Morgan ; Governor's Office of Texas Open Records Administrator ; Austin American-Statesman Managing Editor John Bridges ; Austin Chronicle Editors ; central_texas@cruz.senate.gov ; United States Senate ; Joebiden Info ; Thomas ; charles.wood@texasattorneygeneral.gov ; Charles Schwertner ; Bill Weld ; Commissioner Jeffrey Travillion 2019 ; Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea ; Margaret Gomez ; Austin Chronicle ; news@dailytexanonline.com ; dhiott@kut.org ; KXAN TV News Investigations ; KEYE CBS News Austin 2017 ; Unknown National ; NYT News Tips ; Harvard Club of Austin 2017 ; Austin Republican Women 2016 ; Travis County Republican Party (2016) ; TRA General Counsel Kenneth Besserman ; Traviscountydemocrats Info ; State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (Austin area) ; Rep. Vikki Goodwin 2019CentralTX ; Rep. Sheryl Cole (2019 CentralTX) ; Rep. Erin Zwiener 2019CentralTX ; Rep. James Talarico 2019 Central TX ; carol.alvarado@senate.texas.gov ; Rep. John Bucy 2019CentralTX ; Patrick B. Howard ; U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Devlpt (TX regional office) ; Austin 311 ; Letters To the Editor ; COVID-19@Sanantonio.gov ; DMN Austin Bureau Reporter Robert Garrett ; Houston Chronicle Letters to the Editor ; Fort Worth Star-Telegram Newstips ; news@texasmonthly.com ; Jacqueline L. Angel ; StateRep.DonnaHoward ; Donna Campbell ; Dawn Buckingham ; State Senator Eddie Lucio D-Brownsville ; Dennis Bonnen ; Patsy Spaw ; Todd Hunter ; Kyle Biedermann ; Dwayne Bohac ; Garnet F. Coleman
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2020, 03:54:06 PM CDT
Subject: 3-31-20 urgent need for a COVID-19 Hotline here in Austin
Dear Highly Influential Government Officials here in Austin,
I'm very hopeful that the City of Austin will be willing to consider following the City of San Antonio's lead on this.
A very tentative rough-notes report for each of you based on some brief phone calls I made today during my leisuretime:
I learned recently that the City Government of San Antonio----unlike our state-capital city of Austin----exclusively finances and offers a 6-day-per-week fully-bilingual-at-all-times (Spanish-and-English) Coronavirus-Information Hotline. There is no delay time involved if a a Spanish-speaking person calling that City of San Antonio hotline wishes to speak with a hotline staff member fluent in Spanish.
The phone number for San Antonio's hotline service exclusively focused on coronavirus-related information is: (210) 207-5779.
The City of San Antonio's COVID-19 hotline is designed to serve San Antonio residents. The coronavirus-related government-imposed restrictions and guidelines in San Antonio differ from those in Austin, a female staff member for that San Antonio hotline politely explained to me on the phone today.
One female staff member for the San Antonio hotline stated to me on the phone today that "We (at our San Antonio COVID-19 hotline service) can't take no (coronavirus) calls from Austin (residents)."
Here in Austin, there is no local hotline service focused exclusively on coronavirus-related issues facing residents of this state-capital city. However, I was told on the phone today by an Austin 311 staff member that Austin residents can call either the 211 (or) 311 service 24 hours per day for coronavirus-related information they need.
I have been told by 311 staff members here in Austin that if a Spanish-speaking person calls 311 with coronavirus-related questions, there might be a bit of delay time on that, since the 311 staff member might not speak Spanish and might have to contact a Spanish-speaking person affiliated with the City of Austin to respond to the caller's questions in Spanish.
According to Jessica, a staff member for San Antonio's COVID-19 hotline who spoke with me this afternoon and who hung up her end of the phone line as I stated to her appreciatively that San Antonio is "ahead of Austin" in this category, their COVID-19 hotline in San Antonio accepts phone calls Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and offers additional hours of service on the weekend. Jessica stated to me that their COVID-19 hotline's Saturday hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
However, online I found the hours for Saturday listed at the official City of San Antonio website as 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The official City of San Antonio website also states that their COVID-19 hotline offers service on Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. My hastily-written handwritten notes from today do not state whether Jessica also cited Sunday hours for their hotline, and since she hung up on me as I praised her own City Government I have decided not to call her back for clarification on that point.
Jessica during our phone conversation had requested and obtained contact information from me after I had clearly explained to her early in our conversation that I was seeking to obtain information that might be helpful toward estabishing a similar type of hotline service in Austin for residents of this state-capital city.
Jessica explained to me on the phone this afternoon that their City of San Antonio COVID-19 hotline offers information and referrals to persons seeking a coronavirus test who do not have a primary-care physician, San Antonio residents who do have a primary-care physician (PCP) are referred by that hotline service to their PCP in regard to their request for a coronavirus test.
Their City of San Antonio-financed COVID-19 hotline also offers related information for senior citizens, including assistance with food and meals, Jessica stated.
In addition, that San Antonio hotline service offers information about which businesses are exempt from government-ordered closing requirements in San Antonio and which are closed by government order, Jessica said.
The City of San Antonio hotline also offers travel-related guidelines, Jessica stated to me on the phone today.
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