Health

(VACAVILLE, Calif.) — Emily Johnson had planned on giving birth to her second child in a hospital, with an epidural.

Instead, Johnson, 31, of Vacaville, California, gave birth to her son, Thomas Alan, on Nov. 4, on her front lawn, with no pain medication.

Johnson told “Good Morning America” she and her husband, Michael Johnson, announced their son’s birth on Facebook by posting, “Thomas is here and there is Ring footage.”

“He’s a pretty quiet and chill little dude,” Emily Johnson said of her son, noting the contrast with his “chaotic arrival.” “He just stares and watches the world go by or sleeps.”

Thomas’s unconventional birth story began around 6:30 p.m., a week before Emily’s Johnson’s due date, when she started feeling contractions that were around 10 minutes apart.

Remembering the 18-hour labor she’d had with her 3-year-old son, Emily Johnson said she and her husband thought they had plenty of time and kept monitoring the contractions.

When the contractions began to quicken just after 9 p.m., the Johnsons said they called Emily’s mom to come watch Blake, and called the hospital to tell them they were on their way.

“While Mike was getting the car packed up, the contractions went from three minutes to two minutes to one minute very rapidly,” said Emily Johnson. “And then when I was standing at the car door, I just couldn’t get in the car.”

Though the hospital was just five minutes away, Emily Johnson said she knew she wasn’t going to make it.

She moved herself to the front lawn of her home, and her husband and her mother, Kristy Sparks, who had arrived to care for Blake, began to deliver the baby while on the phone with a 911 dispatcher.

“The dispatcher really helped with the process,” said Emily Johnson. “She really guided Mike and my mom through as they were trying to keep me as calm as possible because I was having a baby on the lawn.”

At 10:42 p.m., just two minutes after paramedics arrived, Thomas Alan was born — a healthy 7 pounds, 11 ounces.

“I was right there by her side with one hand on the speakerphone and one hand with a flashlight,” said Michael Johnson. “Her mom was there to catch the baby”

Michael Johnson was able to cut the umbilical cord on the front lawn, and then paramedics transported baby and mom to the hospital.

It was there that the Johnsons said they realized their Ring camera captured Thomas’ birth.

“When Michael got to the hospital, he started looking at the footage and showing it to the nurses,” said Emily Johnson, adding that they were able to figure out how Thomas’s birth took less than 30 minutes.

Though Thomas’s birth didn’t unfold exactly as planned, it did happen on a special day: He was born on the same day as his late paternal great-grandfather, Alan, from whom he gets his middle name. And he was born two days before the 82nd birthday of his maternal great-grandfather, Thomas, from whom he gets his first name.

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(ANN ARBOR, Mich.) — Public health officials are investigating an influenza outbreak at a Michigan university that has resulted in more than 500 cases, as several schools have also seen surges in flu activity.

The University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus in Washtenaw County has reported over 525 cases among students since Oct. 6 — about three-quarters of them among people unvaccinated against the flu, school officials said this week.

The university said it is tracking a “large and sudden increase” in cases, with nearly all reported in the past two weeks.

“While we often start to see some flu activity now, the size of this outbreak is unusual,” Juan Luis Marquez, medical director at the Washtenaw County Health Department, said in a statement.

A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is helping the university and local and state health departments investigate the outbreak, including how the flu is spreading.

Amid the surge, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is calling on people to get the flu vaccine, as vaccine administrations are down by about 26% compared to this time last year and COVID-19 cases are also on the rise.

“This outbreak comes at a time when COVID-19 infections are again surging in Michigan, with case rates, positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths all increasing,” the department said in a release Wednesday. “State and local public health officials are concerned with the potential for increased strain on health systems if COVID-19 and influenza cases surge at the same time this winter.”

Other campuses are also battling flu outbreaks. Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, has logged 150 flu cases among students since Nov. 1, most of which were last week, Joe Cardona, the vice president of university relations, told ABC News. In response, the school has been holding flu vaccination clinics for students and staff this week.

Spikes in flu cases have also been seen at Florida State University and Florida A&M University, the Associated Press reported earlier this month.

Public health experts have warned that this flu season might be more severe, following last season’s mild flu activity.

Flu cases saw a significant drop during the 2020-2021 season according to the CDC — likely due in part to people wearing masks, practicing frequent hand hygiene and socially distancing to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

“As we head into respiratory virus season, it is important to take every mitigation measure we can to prevent outbreaks of the flu, RSV and COVID-19,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement. “Wearing masks, washing hands, social distancing and getting vaccinated for the flu and COVID-19 will help prevent the spread of illness.”

ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — More than 100,000 people in the U.S. died of a drug overdose during the first year of the pandemic, a nearly 29% increase from the same time period in 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday. The vast majority of those deaths were due to opioids, particularly synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

“An American dying every five minutes — that’s game-changing,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said at a media briefing.

The new data has prompted concern among officials about the worsening overdose epidemic.

In response to the findings, the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services and other government health officials outlined new initiatives aimed at combating the overdose epidemic, including expanding access to naloxone — a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses, allowing federal dollars to be used to purchase fentanyl test strips to detect the presence of fentanyl in any drug batch and increasing funding toward addiction prevention efforts.

The CDC previously warned that the rate of overdose deaths accelerated during the pandemic — driven largely by synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the National Institutes of Health.

It can also be manufactured to look like real prescription pills and be illegally imported and sold throughout the U.S., contributing to this crisis.

“We have already seized 12,000 pounds of fentanyl,” said Anne Milgram, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “This year alone, the DEA has seized enough fentanyl to provide every member of the United States population with a lethal dose.”

The increased number of deaths from overdoses is also concerning for public health experts.

“This alarming data indicates a crisis in the mental health community caused by both the ongoing pandemic and fentanyl’s explosion on the illegal drug scene,” said Dr. Akhil Anand, a psychiatrist with Cleveland Clinic. “This new report should be another continued wake-up call to the overdose deaths happening every day, and people often don’t even know what they are taking. This is a public health crisis, and it is crucial we continue to get people into treatment quickly.”

The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics launched a new interactive dashboard with an overview of the new data, featuring a U.S. map showing the increase in deaths.

Lauren Joseph, a student at Stanford Medical School, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit. Alexis E. Carrington, M.D., is an ABC News Medical Unit associate producer and a rising dermatology resident at The George Washington University.

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(NEW YORK) — The number of people who were hospitalized for eating disorders in the United States doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research shows.

The increase in in-patient treatment for eating disorders came as early as May 2020, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, whose study was published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Rising cases were seen across anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and unspecified eating disorders, according to the study.

The researchers attributed the increased rates of hospitalization to several factors, including the conditions of the pandemic that may have promoted eating disorder behaviors, such as grocery shopping being a more “fraught” experience and the fact that schools and colleges were closed, which may have led to covert eating disorder symptoms being caught by families in close quarters.

A delay in outpatient care may have also led to increased hospitalizations, according to the researchers.

Data has previously shown the pandemic has brought on a mental health crisis in the U.S., of which eating disorders are a major part.

Throughout the pandemic, the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) said it has seen a spike of more than 70% in the number of calls and online chat inquiries to its hotline compared to the same time period in 2019.

“This has been a time of heightened anxiety for everyone,” NEDA’s CEO Claire Mysko told Good Morning America last year. “For people with eating disorders, either those who are actively struggling or those who are pursuing recovery, there’s an added stressor with the pandemic.”

The Emily Program, a national network of eating disorder treatment centers, has seen inquiries both online and by phone “fly off the charts” during the pandemic, Dr. Jillian Lampert, the Emily Program’s chief strategy officer, also told GMA.

The nature of the pandemic, with its uncertainty and isolation, makes it a situation that “checks every box” for putting people at a higher risk for eating disorders, according to Lampert.

“We’re seeing people calling now in a more acute, intense stage [of an eating disorder],” Lampert said last year. “So we’re seeing not only are more people calling, but more people are calling in a more crisis situation.”

Eating disorders have remained second only to opioid overdose as the deadliest mental illness throughout the pandemic, with eating disorders responsible for one death every 52 minutes in the U.S., according to data shared by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.

Nearly 30 million Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime, according to the association.

If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or NationalEatingDisorders.org.

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(NEW YORK) — It’s perfectly acceptable for 5- to-11-year-olds preparing to receive a vaccine against COVID-19 also to receive other protective shots they may have missing during the pandemic lockdown.

For some children, that could mean five or six shots in a single visit, but it’s safe to do so, doctors told ABC News.

“You can’t overwhelm the immune system with these vaccines,” said Dr. Margaret Fisher, a pediatric infectious disease specialist in New Jersey and chair of the AAP Global Immunization Advocacy Project.

Autumn is often less hectic at pediatricians’ offices, which is serendipitous for parents looking to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments.

“We’re kind of in a sweet spot,” said Dr. Natasha Burgert, a pediatric specialist in Kansas, with most children flooding doctors offices for back-to-school checkups over the summer.

Routine childhood vaccinations — jabs that help stave off devastating illnesses such as polio, measles, diphtheria and pertussis — are carefully laid out in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, and all states require these vaccines for children attending public school.

While most kids are up to date on routine vaccines, according to Burgert, a significant number missed appointments over the summer. In August, the nonprofit group Health Efficient estimated that community health centers would need to increase the number of childhood vaccinations by 265% to match pre-pandemic levels — and maintain that pace for at least six months.

“If kids need routine shots, either we are giving them at the same time, or we are prioritizing the COVID shot right now,” Burgert added. “This is still a global emergency.”

Pediatricians of children who need to get back on a regular vaccination schedule should consult the CDC schedule for vaccine catch-ups, even if that means some kids will be getting their shots slightly later than would be ideal, said Dr. Alok Patel, a pediatric hospitalist at Stanford Children’s Health.

“I also have parents that prefer to space them out,” said Burgert, especially kids historically more reactive to the flu shot. “Parents are a little bit more hesitant to do both at the same time, just because they don’t want them to feel bad. And I understand that.”

Patel said he hears similar concerns: “A lot of parents say, ‘Hey, this is too many shots for my child to handle.'” But spacing out the vaccines, Patel added, is not without risk.

“The problem with spacing out the vaccines is you leave your child at risk to get the diseases while you’re spacing them out,” said Fisher, the pediatric infectious disease expert. “There’s no advantage. There’s no evidence that giving them at the same time increases the adverse events. And the disadvantage is you leave your child susceptible.”

According to Patel, parents should focus most on “getting their children the right protection, and getting them fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible, but also making sure that they’re getting complete protection against the other major vaccine-preventable illnesses.”

Pediatricians are urging eligible patients to seek out COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible — and to stay up to date on other routine vaccines.

“The last thing we want to do,” Patel told ABC News, “is see a resurgence of these preventable diseases because of lapses in coverage.”

Burgert also noted how children are eager to do their part.

“These kids have been living all of this stress with us,” Burgert said. “They have been living through it, and they want it to be over too. They want it to be over for their friends, and they want it to be over for their parents.”

Lauren Joseph, a student at Stanford Medical School, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit. Dr. Tushar Garg and Dr. Jay Bhatt contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — With winter closing in and coronavirus case rates creeping up once again, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning that the vaccines’ waning immunity combined with the highly transmissible delta variant will make for a “double whammy” that will impact “even the vaccinated people.”

“The somewhat unnerving aspect of it is that if you keep the level of dynamics of the virus in the community at a high level — obviously the people who are most most vulnerable are the unvaccinated — but when you have a virus as transmissible as delta, in the context of waning immunity, that dynamic is going to negatively impact even the vaccinated people. So it’s a double whammy,” Fauci said in a pretaped interview aired at the 2021 STAT Summit Tuesday afternoon.

“You’re going to see breakthrough infections, even more so than we see now among the vaccinated,” he added.

His grim prediction meets a chorus of alarm bells already being sounded about COVID’s renewed spread as more people head inside as the holidays approach, heralding a season of family gatherings.

The national reported average for new cases each day has surged to more than 80,000, according to federal data — the highest in nearly a month. Forty states are currently showing high transmission, and total hospitalizations have increased for the first time in nearly 10 weeks.

Combatting any impending viral onslaught this winter hinges on how many more sleeves roll up for more shots, Fauci said. It won’t only be important to persuade the roughly 60 million “recalcitrant” people who have yet to get their first dose, but also “how well we implement a booster program,” he said.

Fauci added that booster doses of the COVID vaccine may become the standard for a “full” vaccination.

It comes as a growing roster of states and local jurisdictions have pushed ahead of federal regulators’ timeline, electing to endorse the expansion of booster shots to all adults at least six months after their second Pfizer or Moderna shot.

Though Pfizer formally asked the Food and Drug Administration to expand their booster’s authorization last week, right now federal agencies only recommend the mRNA booster for people over the age of 65, have an underlying medical condition or are at high risk for exposure, at least six months after their second dose.

All Johnson & Johnson recipients over the age of 18, however, are eligible for a boost at least two months after receiving their first dose.

“I happen to believe as an immunologist and infectious disease person, that a third shot boost for an mRNA is likely — should be part of the actual standard regimen, where a booster isn’t a luxury; a booster isn’t an add on; and a booster is part of what the original regimen should be — so that when we look back on this, we’re going to see that boosters are essential for an optimal vaccine regimen,” Fauci said.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — With COVID-19 infection rates steadily increasing across the country, a growing list of states are now moving ahead of federal authorization, to recommend booster shots for all residents 18 years or older, six months after receiving their second COVID vaccine dose.

Last week, Pfizer formally asked the Food and Drug Administration to allow all Americans over the age of 18 to be eligible for booster shots.

However, in recent weeks, leaders from seven states — Arkansas, California, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and West Virginia — have moved to formally and informally endorse the expansion of booster shots to all adult residents who are at least six months out of their second Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

At this time, booster shots are recommended by federal agencies for anyone over the age of 18 who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, two months after receiving their first dose. Moderna and Pfizer recipients are encouraged to get a booster shot six months after receiving their second dose, if they are over the age of 65, have an underlying medical condition or are at high risk for exposure.

Earlier this fall, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was the first state legislator to call for all residents regardless of their age or status of underlying condition, to receive a booster.

“I think that is absolutely the message that I’ve been trying to get out to people,” Justice reiterated on Monday. “I absolutely believe that if you’re 18 years of age, you can get your booster shot.”

On Monday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson adjusted state policy recommendations to green light boosters for adults, adding that the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations on boosters are “somewhat confusing and limiting.”

Two states — Colorado and New Mexico — which have seen significant increases in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations have gone as far as to sign executive orders, urging all fully vaccinated adults to get boosters once they meet the six- or two-month thresholds, given the high risk for exposure and transmission in those states.

“We want to ensure that Coloradans have every tool they need to protect themselves from this deadly virus and to help reduce the stress on our hospitals and health care workers,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote.

The concerns over high transmission have also pushed other officials to pull the trigger on booster shots for all adults.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Monday that she is “strongly encouraging all New Yorkers who live or work in a high-risk setting to get the booster,” and in New York City, Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi, announced during a press conference on Monday that he is issuing a Commissioner’s Advisory to all health care providers to allow boosters for all adults.

Last week, in California, Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly also announced that he was encouraging residents to “absolutely” sign up to get a booster shot.

With winter holidays just weeks away, and millions of Americans expected to travel and gather with family members, some officials say the expansion of boosters is now more critical than ever.

“We think this is a big step we can take with the holidays coming up. We need as many people boosted as possible. It’s that simple,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said on Monday during a press conference.

Murphy signaled that he would likely formally support boosters for all adults, adding that “if you’re in doubt, get the darn booster.”

To date, more than 30 million people nationwide have received an additional dose of a COVID-19 vaccine since early August, according to federal data.

 

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(NEW YORK) — Several dozen New York City sanitation workers have been accused of submitting falsified vaccination cards to satisfy the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and they’ve been suspended without pay, according to a city official.

The city’s Department of Investigation is looking into the allegations, with spokesperson Diane Struzzi adding: “DOI is aware of allegations involving the issuance of bogus vaccination cards and declines further comment.”

New York City’s Sanitation Department also is investigating the situation in coordination with the DOI, according to Sanitation Department spokesman Joshua Goodman.

“These are very concerning allegations and we take them very seriously,” Goodman said. “Getting vaccinated is important to public health, and we do not tolerate anyone faking something that is a requirement of city employment.”

Over 87% of the department’s roughly 10,000 employees are either fully or partially vaccinated, according to ABC New York station WABC-TV.

“Anyone found to have faked their vaccination will be suspended without pay,” Goodman added.

The employees allegedly submitted real CVS cards listing that they had received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but, upon verifying, officials realized CVS hasn’t administered the J&J vaccine since May.

Employees allegedly lied about taking the J&J dosage because it was easier to fake receiving a single shot. The cards all came from the same CVS in southern Brooklyn but were distributed to multiple sanitation garages.

As of now, the accused sanitation workers are facing up to three works of suspension without pay.

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(NEW YORK) — The rate of babies born premature in the United States has declined for the first time in six years, but experts warn it is not a cause for celebration, as a maternal and infant health crisis still exists.

Preterm birth rates in the U.S. decreased 0.1% from 10.2% in 2019 to 10.1% in 2020, according to a report published Monday by the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of pregnant people and babies.

Even with the decrease, the U.S. — where 1 in 10 babies are born premature — maintained a “C-” grade for its preterm birth rate, according to the report.

And the report also found preterm births increased over the past year for Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native people, who are up to 60% more likely to give birth prematurely as compared to white women.

“I think it’s really important to understand that around the issue of premature birth, we still have significant issues around health and equity, and we still have far too many women who are more likely to give birth prematurely than others,” said Stacey D. Stewart, president and CEO of March of Dimes. “So we don’t see this report card as a reason to really celebrate.”

“It just means that we have a lot more work to do, especially in the communities that are most impacted,” she said.

In addition to increases this year, the the rate of preterm birth for Black people has increased by nearly 8% since 2014, and by 11% for American Indian/Alaskan Native people, according to March of Dimes.

Preterm, or premature birth, is any birth that happens before 37 weeks of pregnancy have been completed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Babies born premature have higher rates of death and disability including breathing problems, cerebral palsy, feeding difficulties, developmental delays and vision and hearing problems, according to the CDC.

What causes a pregnant woman to deliver early is not always known, but risk factors include everything from a history of preterm birth to stress and substance abuse to socio-economic factors like being over the age of 35, having a low income and being Black, according to the CDC.

An emerging area of research has grown in recent years to look at why a pregnant person’s race, especially Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native, plays a role, according to Mirella Mourad, MD, a maternal fetal medicine specialist and co-director of the Preterm Birth Prevention Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

“We are just starting to delve into understanding why women of color are at increased risk, where before it was just a risk factor,” she said. “Now we can with confidence say that discrepancies in socio-economic status or baseline health, education level, do not explain the entire picture.”

Mourad continued, “That’s kind of a good conclusion face to reach, so that we can focus on other factors and things that have recently become a big focus, like areas of racism-related stress and institutional systemic racism.”

In addition to race, March of Dimes’ report card also showed disparities in preterm birth rates based on where people live.

The rates of preterm births increased in 13 states, with Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, West Virginia and Puerto Rico earning an “F,” meaning they had a preterm birth rate of 11.5% or more.

Only the state of Vermont earned an “A” grade with a preterm birth rate of 7.7%.

Overall, the southern states, Appalachia and pockets of western states have higher levels of vulnerability, according to the March of Dimes.

Stewart said the report card looks at social vulnerability, like where a person lives, because they can contribute to maternal health, which also plays a role in preterm birth.

“We know that how any of us live, the social determinants of health, are primary determinants in our health overall,” she said. “So whether or not mothers have access to health care, whether or not they live in safe neighborhoods, have access to good nutrition, have access to health care, if those things are lacking, those issues can certainly increase the risk of a mother’s health declining and sometimes lead to premature birth.”

This year’s report card — released annually in November, National Premature Awareness Month — also looked for the first time at low-risk C-sections, defined by the March of Dimes as one that takes place when a pregnant person is at least 37 weeks pregnant and has not given birth before.

The low-risk C-section rate in 2020 in the U.S. was 25.6%, according to the report, around 10 points above the maximum of what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers the ideal rate for C-section births.

“We included information about low-risk C-sections as as a way of thinking about the overall state of maternal health,” said Stewart, noting that C-sections are associated with increased risk of maternal morbidity and increased rates of NICU admission.

“The fact that the U.S. is considered the most dangerous developed nation in the world in which to give birth is very shocking and surprising to a lot of people,” said Stewart. “One of the reasons we want to make sure that people have this information from the report card is to shine a brighter light on the fact that we have a lot of issues in this country, still even the wealthiest country in the world, with respect to maternal and infant health.”

“It requires a lot more attention and awareness and action to make sure that every mom and every baby is healthy,” she said.

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(NEW YORK) — A nursing home in Connecticut is recovering from a significant coronavirus outbreak, after 89 residents and staff tested positive for the virus, facility leadership reported Monday.

The outbreak at Geer Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in North Canaan, Connecticut, began in late September. Eight residents with “serious underlying health issues” died as a result of the outbreak, nursing home leadership said in a statement.

They said 78 residents and staff have since recovered since testing positive, and there are now only three active cases within the community of individuals living within the nursing home.

“We are encouraged to see only 3 active cases of covid-19 remaining within our nursing home. Of the total 67 residents affected over the course of this outbreak, 56 are fully recovered and off isolation. Sadly, we have lost 8 individuals with serious underlying health issues to Covid,” Kevin O’Connell, the Geer Village Senior Community CEO, wrote.

Facility leaders said 87 of the 89 infected residents and staff were fully vaccinated, so leaders are “obviously concerned we experienced some level of waning immunity.”

The outbreak occurred prior to boosters being made available, O’Connell told ABC News.

“We had it scheduled for Nov. 2, and then that got put aside because of the pandemic,” O’Connell said, stressing that officials from the nursing home reached out to Walgreens “right away,” when they were told that the booster was made available to residents.

However, O’Connell said that scheduling booster shots can be logistically complicated, because it entails coordinating it for all the staff and residents. “It takes a while to get that all set up,” he said.

Booster shots will be made available to all eligible staff and residents when there are no new positive cases for two full weeks.

“We’re following the guidance of the Department of Health,” said O’Connell, “and they do not recommend providing booster to anybody with active infections for 14 days after the outbreak.”

The CDC currently recommends that all individuals, 18 and older, who live in long-term care facilities, receive a COVID-19 booster shot, given the fact that residents are likely to live closely together, and are often older adults with underlying medical conditions, which cause them to be at “increased risk of infection and severe illness from COVID-19.”

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates for residents, staff, families and community stakeholders as the situation changes,” officials from the home said over the weekend.

 

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