An Open Letter to the Honorable Governor Doug Ducey from Arizona Healthcare Providers regarding Schooling during COVID-19
July 12, 2020
Dear Governor Ducey,
We are a group of healthcare providers from across the great state of Arizona. Many of us are also parents of school-age children. We share a common concern: that the tremendous pressure to return to in-person schooling in August is ill-advised and dangerous given the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 in our community.
We agree with the recent American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) position statement that the primary goal of any school-related policy decision should be the return to in-person education. We applaud the AAP on their subsequent statement clarifying that the decision to return to in-person schooling should be made on a district-by-district basis, taking into account the local COVID-19 conditions and the best available science.
It is universally recognized that children are far less likely to suffer serious harm from COVID-19 than are adults, particularly the elderly and those with medical comorbidities, and for this we are thankful.
But while the current literature seems to suggest that children may be less likely to contribute to the spread of COVID-19 than they do for traditional respiratory viruses such as influenza, the available data is very limited and is sometimes conflicting. Moreover, virtually all of this research comes from areas with far less community spread than Arizona. Until this body of evidence is larger and more definitive, it is imperative to proceed with caution in regards to large gatherings of children, particularly in areas with high rates of community spread, limited testing, and poor contact tracing capabilities.
It is undeniable that Arizona is in a phase of substantial community spread of the virus. Regardless of the metrics being compared, we are currently among the worst-hit regions in the country, as well as the world. It took New York months to control a similar outbreak of COVID-19, and that was with the benefit of strict stay-at-home orders. The measures currently implemented in Arizona fall well short of those mandates, and, at best, we should expect to see substantial community spread for at least the next few months.
In the Arizona Department of Education’s “Roadmap for Reopening Schools”, the department recommends 100% online learning for times of substantial spread of the virus (Scenarios Three and Four). We are in agreement with this recommendation.
Similarly, we agree with the recent open letter issued by Arizona school board members from across the state requesting that the governor immediately cancel in-person education for the first quarter of the school year. This will give educators an opportunity to plan and implement a robust virtual curriculum. These measures take time and effort. Any delay in announcing this closure will come at the expense of our children’s education.
Additionally, the school board member letter requests that schools receive the same funding whether or not they are able to physically open for in-person learning. This in response to the governor’s executive order from June 24, which severely restricts school districts’ self-determination by requiring that schools offer every child in-person learning five days per week in order to receive full funding from the state.
We understand the terrible predicament that school districts across the state currently face as a result of this executive order: choosing between the financial solvency of their district and the health of their students, staff and community.
No educator should be forced to make this choice.
To this end, we implore you to do the following:
- Immediately announce the closure of schools across Arizona for the first quarter of the school year.
- Allow school districts to act in the best interest of their students, staff, and community by funding 100% distance learning at the same rate that in-person education is funded.
- Provide concrete, evidence-based metrics for the reopening and possible re-closure of schools.
- Work with other state governors and national leaders to petition the federal government to ensure that states and school districts that are unable to open for in-person learning due to local COVID-19 conditions are still able to access the same CARES Act funding and other federal funding as those school districts that are able to physically open.
- Address the other important issues raised in the open letter from the school board members, including standardized testing and nutrition concerns.
The co-signed providers support these actions:
- Gladys Martin, MD, Internal Medicine / Hospitalist, Phoenix
- Stephen Kessler, MD, Dermatology, Phoenix
- Ruth Franks Snedecor, MD, Internal Medicine / Hospitalist, Phoenix
- Thylma Sta. Maria, MD, Ob/Gyn, Peoria, AZ
- Cortney Eakin, MD, Ob/Gyn, Phoenix, AZ
- Sapna Amin, MD
- Jacqueline Carter, MD
- Geoffrey McKinzie, MD
- Amy Guzek, MD, Pediatrics
- Melissa Schwan, DNP, CPNP, Pediatrics
- Sara Kertz, DO, Pediatrics, Scottsdale, AZ
- Jennifer Anne Moore, MSN FNP-BC, Family Medicine, Phoenix
- Lisa Moore-Brandon, DO, Emergency Medicine
- Julie Baskin Kwatra, MD OB/GYN
- Sheetal Kale, MD OB/GYN.
- Brittany Pace, MD Psychiatry
- Robert D. Jones, MD FP
- M. Molyneux, MD, Family Medicine
- Lizbet Marquez, PA-C, Emergency Medicine
- Theresa Murdock, MD, Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Rachel Fullington, DO, Family Medicine / Hospice
- Amy Wing, PA-C, Academic Medicine
- Tiffany Zook, DNP, CPNP-PC, Pediatrics
- Kristine Sellberg, MD, Cardiology
- Vanessa G. Rhodes, ACNPC-AG, Cardiology
- Laura Fleming, CPNP Pediatrics
- Rachel Aichler MSN RN
- Yarden Tahan, MD
- Deborah Anderson, MS, RN, CPNP-PC, Pediatrics
- Rachel Deatherage, MD, Family Medicine
- Asligul Cakmak Hendershot, MD Internal Medicine / Hospitalist, Phoenix
- Diana DaBell, MD Emergency Medicine
- Dianna Bastian, MD, MPH (Internal Medicine)
- Dámaris Hazell, AGACNP-BC, Internal Medicine
- Daniel Martinez, MD, Internal Medicine
- Mariah Campoy, PA-C Family Medicine
- Stephanie Briney, DO, Family Medicine
- Charlotte Gurule, MD, Family Medicine
- Ryan Falsey MD, PhD, Dermatology, Chandler.
- Amy Brockmeyer, MD Gynecologic Oncology
- Jeremy Feldman, MD FCCP, Pulmonary / Critical Care
- Uzma Jafri, MD Family Medicine/Geriatrics
- Monica Viteri-Giordano D.O., Internal Medicine-Pediatrics
- Carol Thrall, PNP
- Kathleen Strohmeyer, MD Anesthesiology
- Rebecca Koch, BSN, RN, PCCN
- Sarah Cabou, RN, BSN, MBA, MHSM
- Sarah Ward, PT, DPT
- Anthony Nuara MD, PhD, Medical Dermatology and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology.
- Kimberly Bader, MD, Internal Medicine / Hospitalist, Phoenix, AZ
- Daniel Alcantar, MD, Internal Medicine/Chief Resident
- Jerald S. Altman, MD, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
- Anais Sonder, MD Internal Medicine
- Jordan Coulston, MD, Internal Medicine
- Julie Crawford, MD, Internal Medicine & Pediatrics/ Hospitalist, Phoenix
- Jennifer Fergestad, MD, Anesthesiology
- Vanessa Gildenstern, MD, Pediatrics
- Tiffany Lahr, MD, FAAP Pediatrician Phoenix, AZ
- Suganya Karuppana MD, CPE, CPHQ - Family Medicine
- Rafael Noriega, MD, MPH, Anesthesiology
- Tamis Thrasher, CPNP Pediatrics
- Rosemary Geary MD, Dermatology
- Stephen E. Kessler, D.O., Dermatology
- Nili Azhar, MD Internal Medicine
- LeeAnne Denny, MD, Family Medicine
- Uma Chandavarkar, MD, Gynecologic Oncology
- Jody Geuther RN, BSN
- Barbarann Paull PA-C Addiction Medicine
- Kelly Luba, DO, Family Medicine
- Amy Axberg, MD, FACEP Emergency Medicine
- Clifford Gross, MD FAAP Pediatrics
- Vimalkumar Veerappan, MD, Interventional Cardiology
- Anne M. Burns, MD Emergency Medicine
- Luciana Anthony NP, OBGYN
- Victor Sein, DO, FACC Interventional Cardiology
- Allison Peckumn, DO, Endocrinology
- Ian Welsh, MD, Internal Medicine
- Cyndi Ayoub, WHNP-BC
- Denise Craig, NP, OBGYN
- Anita C. Wood, D.O., Family Medicine
- Heather Cassell, MD, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- Natasha Bhuyan, MD, Family Medicine
- Donna Seton, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA (Hospice & Palliative Care)
- Sandra Leyo DuPont, MD, Family Medicine and Dermatology
- Mary Harrel, MD
- Julie Davis-Best, M.D., OB/gyn
- Andrea Darby-Stewart, MD, Family Medicine/Hospitalist/Residency education
- Elizabeth Wilson, DO, Emergency Medicine
- Maivelyn Jusaino Cortez, RN
- Jasgit Sachdev, MD Hematology/Oncology
- Clinton (Ed) Clarke, MD, Family Medicine
- Patricia Habak/Ob-Gyn/Medical Education
- Theresa LoCoco, MD, Pediatrics
- Janet Funk, MD, Internal Medicine
- Rachel Rubin-Toles, MD, Family Medicine
- Rajesh Soni, MD, Family Medicine
- Ali Marzooq, MD, Dermatology
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The above list of signatures was last updated July 25, 2020 at 12:50pm.