Black Nouveau

ight music) (somber music) Welcome to "Black Nouveau Stories of our Pandemic." I'm Joanne Williams. In the next half hour Alexandria Mason will take us to a free health clinic that's giving low income residents assistance with the Coronavirus. James Causey talks to a health care worker who's on the front lines dealing with the pandemic. And I'll talk with Lora Hyler, a children's book author who's written a book called, "Our Bodies Stay Home, Our Imaginations Run Free." You know, it's been over three months since the Coronavirus started a new normal for us all. While we don't really wanna maintain social distancing in the summertime we have to because that's the best way to stop the spread of this virus. Alexandria Mason talked with Milwaukee's health commissioner, Jeanette Kowalick about the situation in Milwaukee and how we can all cope and stay healthy and stay safe. So we discovered our first case on Friday the 13th in the month of March. And it's been a whirl wind since that point in time. As of today there's almost 12,000 cases in the county. The city of Milwaukee absorbs most of those cases so about nine or 10,000 of those. And as far as people that have passed away due to COVID-19 infection, at the county level there's 355 and in the city absorbs most of those as well. So, the concern though, moving forward is initially the city of Milwaukee detected our first case in the Sherman Park community which is predominantly African American. We also saw that many of those cases at that point in time were middle aged African American men or black men and that was about 70% of the cases in the beginning. That number ended up changing or that percentage ended up changing along the way sometime in mid April into May we started seeing a spike of cases in the Latin-X population and some of those cases were associated with employers, so people being essential, people having to go to work. And all of that. So the percentage of cases kind of flipped at that point from mainly being African American or black to being Latin-X, up to like 40% of cases even a couple of weeks ago. And now we're seeing that kind of level off where African American or black, or Latin-X or Hispanic are the majority of the cases, they're running about neck and neck. The concern though, too, is most of these cases are related to the effects of various forms of racism. And at first we didn't realize that was kind of causing some of these upticks. Normally when you look at various outbreaks of any disease you tend to associate it with a single event. Maybe people went to a party or to a restaurant or a church, or wherever, and they got exposed. We're still waiting for the feedback on that level of detail for our community. The CDC is conducting that analysis. But once we started to share our data publicly on race and ethnicity and COVID, other communities started to do the same and then we started seeing this trend where you're seeing the majority of cases and deaths are people of color. Black and Latin-X. And some communities, a majority, are Latin-X and others a majority are black. So we're seeing this kind of teeter between the two groups, and again, kind of tying this back to various forms of racism that have impacted access to care, access to quality of life, where do people live, what types of jobs people have, transportation, access to healthy foods, on, and on, and on. So, basically economic and social determinants of health are playing out in how COVID-19 is impacting all of us across the country. Across the country we're seeing numbers spike in the Coronavirus, specifically in areas such as Florida, Texas, California. Can you speak a little bit to why we're seeing this surge in numbers all of a sudden? There was some pressure on some of those other areas to reopen prematurely because of the economic impacts. That's one thing, but on the other thing there's this movement of kind of taking away the sting of COVID-19, that it's not real, it's a myth, it's a hoax. Only those people get it, we don't get it. So, just a lot of misinformation which has really eroded a lot of the efforts we've made as a country to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect people from being impacted by it. So, you're seeing in Texas, and Arizona, and Florida and many other areas where there's been a pull back of any type of protection. Whether it be a modified order or an order to where it's like, okay well, we're done with this. So we're gonna go back to normal. And then, as you can imagine with summer time and warmer weather, especially people being cooped up for months, since March, that there's this propensity to wanna get out and kinda get back to normal. But there's no normal. Normal's done. We have to start preparing for a new way of life with COVID. Are there any additional measures that people can be taking as the city begins to open up to still stay safe? Right, so definitely keeping your distance. The whole premise of a lot of this is to just stick with the people that you live with. You know obviously, if at the same house you're breathing the same air, you're most likely exposed to who has a disease, or COVID it's gonna be very difficult for you not to get it unless you have a big house and you can isolate very well. But most people have smaller quarters and they're going to be more exposed to one another. So that's why there's this whole focus on sticking with your household. Whether it be loved ones or roommates or whoever. That you're not necessarily going out and mingling and spending time with other people and going to other people's houses and what not because that can increase your risk of exposure. The other point too is wearing a mask. So, there's a debate now for the city's mask ordinance, if we're gonna go that direction. And the thing is if everyone wore a mask, those that can, we know some people can't wear a mask because they have medical conditions or disabilities, or some other compromised situation where they can't. That will still provide a lot of protection for the rest of the community. We recently saw that Dane County started kind of walking back some of the things that they had opened up. Do you all anticipate having to kind of walk back things opening for the city of Milwaukee? I hope not, but we are watching, obviously what's happening in other areas and we know that for us to even have gotten to this phase four, that we used data to make that decision. So we have five indicators, cases, tests, PPE, which is the access to masks, care, which is hospital beds, ICUs and all of that. And then contact tracing. So, out of those five indicators, we look at where we're at every seven days and to see if we're making progress, we're holding steady, or we're regressing. So, as of last week when we reviewed our data it showed that we were holding steady, which was good. And lastly, Commissioner, do you have any words of encouragement for those of us that are just tired and feeling very unhopeful? Well, you know honestly I think that what's happened since March has enabled a lot of us to slow down and pay attention to what's happening. Which is why the George Floyd, all of the protests. Like, all of that energy and where we're at now where people still are protesting. People are still demonstrating. Despite being exhausted, like, all of the time in this world and dealing with COVID response. Like, that gives me hope because it's like, these two crises. You know, the impact of racism in general but then layered on COVID, how it's forcing all of this to be renewed and us to change as a society. (funky music) Lora Hyler's new book, "Our Bodies Stay Home, Our Imaginations Run Free" came out just last month. I talked with her about how we can help children cope. Welcome to "Black Nouveau." Thank you. You've written a book called, "Our Bodies Stay Home, Our Imaginations Run Free." Right. This is a book for kids, right? Exactly, ages six to 10 plus. The cover illustration has everybody wearing masks. That was kind of jarring when I first saw it but it makes sense. Why'd you do that? Well, definitely because we're in this time of what's been spoken of as a 100 year, every 100 year pandemic. And we are really adjusting to it as a society. So, obviously in writing a children's book about Coronavirus, I wanted to be able to advise kids on how to stay safe. So we give them all of the advice about wearing their masks when they're out in public. Definitely washing their hands for 20 seconds. And six feet distancing. Being careful not to be around people outside of their immediate family. And so it made sense that as soon as they picked up this book and looked at the cover that they would see that, wow, this is different. We're in a different time. So that's what the book is all about. It's also, this, let's see June. And we just started being safe at home and going through all of our requirements to keep the curve down in March. And your book is finished already. Is that record time for writing a book? Oh, absolutely. You know, I still have to pinch myself. So the inspiration for the book came from a contest that was being held by the Emory Global Health Institute which is based in Atlanta. And they literally gave authors and would be authors two weeks, two weeks to write their books and I mulled it over for a couple of days. So I literally wrote mine in a little under 10 days. Oh! So I've produced a 50 page book for children, as I said, six to 10 plus. And I think I enjoyed the challenge of it all. And they were really challenging us to come up with a book that would be something that children all over the world would be able to embrace. And so, it's a fiction book. It's a book of fiction and it is filled with, like I said, the safety advisories. But it also is filled with a lot of laughter and humor because that's a great way to approach kids and get the messaging across. And I didn't want them to be fearful reading a book that was going to scare them. I wanted them to learn but also have fun at the same time. So, how'd you do in the contest? Did you win? I did not win the contest but I was very realistic from the very beginning. And what I decided was win or no-win, I was going to work with my publisher and get this book published. And so I did sign a new contract with my publisher. I, previous to that, and still have a three book traditional publishing deal to create my middle grade series. And I typically write about multicultural superheroes, CRISPR Cas9 gene editing technology, and spy gadgets. And so this was a diversion to suddenly pick up Coronavirus. But I really felt compelled to pursue this book and I'm very happy that I did. It was quite the challenge. And nothing comes together without a team. So I'm happy to say that I was able to get my illustrator of my middle grade series who's located in Barbados to join me on this journey. So he took on the challenge as well. And of course, Barbados as well as everyone around the world is going through this as well. And you know, it's been a beautiful collaboration and of course my publisher rose to the challenge. And we are full steam ahead on this book. Is this specifically a book for children of color? This is a book for everyone. I live in a very diverse neighborhood in Glendale, Wisconsin. And I have met a lot of kids in my neighborhood because they showed up at my bookstore events and school events. And so I've been talking to them throughout this whole pandemic and really my heart goes out to them because they're missing play dates in school. Not just their classmates but their teachers and family members. And so in talking to them, you know, I was really thinking wow, you know, I need to think about how I can make a contribution here to help allay some of those fears. And you know, this is universal. This applies to children everywhere. And so I'm really excited about that because we really do plan to go global with this book which my middle grade series has approached about 13, 14 countries at this point. So, it's very realistic that it'll go global and I'm hoping that it will help children deal with this pandemic everywhere. Well, let's hope it does. Lora Hyler, thank you very much for talking to us. Sure. Give us the title of the book again. So the book is, "Our Bodies Stay Home, Our Imaginations Run Free." It's available for pre order right now through my publisher's website which is HenschelHausBooks.com. And we will be selling in bookstores everywhere on the shelves and via special orders beginning June 15th. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you. (funky music) DeeAnna Nicole lost her daughter to heart failure four years ago when she was in nursing school. But she didn't let the pain of that loss stop her from fulfilling her purpose. Now as a critical care nurse at Ascension she shares with us what it's like being an essential healthcare worker during a pandemic. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me, James. People of color are the hardest hit by COVID-19. Do you think we're taking it serious enough? You know, I wanted to say yes, but also I have to say no. I feel like until you have actually experienced or know someone that has been affected by COVID directly you can't really take it as serious as you need to. You know, our numbers continue to increase and have been for the past weeks, consistently. And I think it's just important that we have these transparent conversations with each other, letting each other know how our loved ones have been affected, or ourselves personally. You know, what those symptoms are, how to prevent ourselves. When we make this something personal we can learn from it. Has the information been clear enough on how to protect yourself against the virus? You know, with anything that's new there's always that learning curve, right? So we have to learn how to prevent ourself, how it's actually contagious, how the virus is contracted. And I think for the first initial weeks that was something that we were on the struggle bus with. And now I feel like things are improving. We're all aware that we need to wear a mask when in public, how to wash our hands. Making sure it's not a quick rinse. You know, that you are actually setting proper time aside to wash our hands, informing our children to wash their hands. So initially, I think again with anything new we struggled a bit, but I think we're moving in the right direction. What doesn't the public understand about the virus? You know, I think the severity. So, there are cases where you can go into what is called our acute respiratory distress syndrome. And so those, that's the most severe case that the virus can go. But then there's also patients who are able to stay at home and manage their symptoms. So, I think because the virus presents itself in so many different ways, it's difficult for the public and even healthcare professionals to really understand what we're working with. Now, you're around COVID patients a lot. That's what you work with. Can you talk about a little bit about the medical staff and do you have the proper equipment, or the, I think it's called PPEs? And how do you keep yourself protected? Yes, so our organization has been blessed to have all the supplies that we need at this time. So we use two masks. We use an N95 mask and then we use your standard surgical mask. And then you wear a face shield, gloves, along with a gown. And so I'm sure, as you can imagine, you're wearing that in and out of just one patient's room. So each time that you go in you need to gown up and put on all of that equipment. But if you're anything like our unit, you are serving more than one patient, as well. So as you know, supplies do become limited. I know New York City struggled with that. They obviously have much more people than we do. But again my organization, we currently have the supplies that we need. You wrote in a social media post that your worse fear would be bringing something like that home to your family, a virus. What steps do you take when you get home at night from a shift? Sure, after my shift we have kind of a decontamination station where I will, at my side door, get undressed and put everything in a sealed container and it goes directly to our washer. And then I immediately go to the shower. So, you know it's kinda just trying to prevent any opportunity for anything to become cross contaminated and contaminate my family. Now, has that been difficult with you at home with your family? You know, what does your fiance think about this? You know, he... He is one that's just like, we're gonna ride this thing out. And so, you know, he's been very supportive in terms of helping take my laundry downstairs and just dump it right in the wash while I'm hopping in the shower. So it's become a teamwork. I think what's difficult is not being able to visit my grandparents and my mother and father because they are a bit older. I try to stay away as much as I can. So we've been doing a lot of FaceTime. So, what's the scariest thing you've seen so far as a nurse? I would say for me it has been, you know now that we have the restrictions in our facilities that families and loved ones aren't able to visit. It's been difficult for me processing loved ones not being able to be there in the most critical time, you know. We understand the importance of support. And so because this virus has kind of restricted or has restricted us to allow that, you know, now we have patients who are hospitalized for weeks at a time without being able to hear their loved one's voice or see their loved one directly. And even getting their families to understand the severity of the illness, too. Because they're not there to personally witness it. So, what we've done is try to become creative utilizing FaceTime or Skype at the facility. But everyone doesn't have access to those resources. So, for me it's just seeing individuals that don't have the resources, not being able to see their loved ones and people are dying alone. Yeah, well thanks a lot for having this conversation with us. It's something we will continue, thank you. Thanks for having me, James. (funky music) -

Alexandria

In a small church on Milwaukee's north side people are finding healing. Bread of Healing Clinic was established 20 years ago. When I was a resident at Sinai and frustrated with the fact that we were discharging people to nowhere to go in the community, to receive healthcare because they didn't have insurance. So we were treating them for their hypertension or for their diabetes, or whatever emergency there was in the hospital. And then we would discharge them and then readmit them three months later because they had no place to go. And they were always labeled by the system as noncompliant. And when your reasons for noncompliance are there's no access and you cannot afford to buy your medicines, that's not noncompliant. That's just non-accessible. And so we established the Bread of Healing Clinic to create places for people to be who wanted to take care of their health and had no other access. They helped me financially. That's the biggest thing I do know. Because paying insurance, I wouldn't have been able to make it these two years without this place, financially. Because I didn't even know I had high blood pressure until I came here. So it wasn't really bad, but I know I've been on high blood pressure medicine since I've been here. -

Alexandria

About 70% of patients at Bread of Healing are African American. Many with underlying conditions. Virtually all of our patients have chronic illness. Diabetes, we have about 25 to 30% of folks who have diabetes. We have about 60% who have high blood pressure. We have another 25% who have asthma, COPD. We have about 20% who have high cholesterol levels. So we serve primarily chronic illness. The folks who need to come to the doctor several times a year, beyond medications on a daily basis. And we really do our best to keep them healthy. When I got here I was going. I had been weighing in at about 290 pounds. I'm down to 220, but it's been a struggle, you know, back and forth. But the clinic's been helping me pretty much as far as my eating habits and stuff like that. And the pills that I'm taking. High blood pressure, diabetes. If we give people access they will make use of it. And that's, I think, what we find time, after time, after time. It's the cost of medications that has kept people from getting them. It's the barriers of transportation that has kept people from getting to where they need to get to. It's a lack of insurance that have kept people away. I mean, those are the things that have to change and we have to keep our communities healthier. Oh, I've been a patient here for about 15 years. And I'm the neighborhood minister here at this church, at Cross Church. And Bread of Healing really saved my life in a lot of ways. I'm an iron lung survivor and all of the doctors and all of the nurses always have taken good care of me by me being hands on here. And I just wanna say this about a lot of the people's in the community, because I work with the folks in the community and they always tell me, if this Bread of Healing Clinic wasn't right here they wouldn't be able to get their medicine, they don't have no copayment money. You know, stuff like that. And it would really be, they would really be sicker than they is. And you know what, and it scares me sometimes the way things is going right now. And if something happened to this clinic or something happened where this clinic can't run it would really be a shame. It would really be a total disaster. -

Alexandria

For some, the clinic has been a place of refuge during this pandemic. With this COVID-19 stuff going on and it kinda scares me a lot because you can't really get in that gate to the hospital. So we got hands on people here at this Bread of Healing Clinic and will walk you through stuff, tell you what you need to do, and that's the part that really makes me feel good. -

Alexandria

Although African Americans are three times more likely to contract the virus, the clinic finds hope in knowing their patients are doing okay. I do take comfort in the fact that none of our patients have died of COVID. Several of them have been diagnosed with COVID but have survived it thus far. And I give thanks everyday for that. I don't know if that's because they have access to care for the underlying conditions that put them at risk, but that's why everybody needs access to healthcare. And before we close tonight, a program note. Last month "Black Nouveau" did a webinar, "Beyond the Virus and the Protests." Four black mental health clinicians, Dr. Kweku Ramel Smith, Arnitta Holliman, Simmone Kilgore, and Alfonzo Watkins and I talked honestly and passionately about the stress and strain of racism and the crises we're facing right now. If you're watching the July 9th's first broadcast of this edition of "Black Nouveau" stay with us because we're going to show that program right after this show, here on Channel 10 at eight o'clock. If you're watching this program at another time the webinar is always available at MilwaukeePBS.org. And that's our program for tonight. For "Black Nouveau," I'm Joanne Williams. Thanks for watching. (upbeat music)