Category: Howe News Bulletin

Press release from the Grayson County OEM

The Grayson County Health Department (GCHD) has confirmed three additional positive cases of COVID-19 within Grayson County. The three additional cases consist of patients in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Two of the three new cases are connected to a previously confirmed case. The third case recently traveled. All three patients are currently in home isolation. All three newly confirmed cases are from Denison. The GCHD Public Health Emergency Preparedness team is identifying and contacting individuals who may have been exposed. Any individuals identified as having close contact and having been exposed will be contacted directly by the GCHD.

The Grayson County Health Department will continue, in partnership with our community providers, to monitor and investigate COVID-19 within Grayson County. Grayson County will continue and will encourage individuals, to follow preventative measures as recommended by President Trump, Governor Abbott, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Texas Department of State Health Services.

If you have recently traveled to an area with the ongoing spread of COVID-19 or have had contact with someone who has COVID-19 and has developed fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath within 14 days of your travel, call your healthcare provider. To prevent potential spread, please alert your provider before arriving at the provider’s office or emergency department.

It is important to practice social distancing and follow the Grayson County Health Department’s Isolation/Quarantine Orders. For facilities testing patients, when a positive result is received, they must promptly notify the Grayson County Health Department to ensure proper measures can be taken to limit the spread of the disease. By law, all testing must be reported to (GCHD).

Amanda Ortez
Grayson County Health Department Director

March 25, 2020 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that Texas has received a $16.2 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Community Living (ACL) to help communities provide meals for older adults.

The grant was part of a $250 million dollar outlay authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed into law by President Trump on March 18, 2020. Originally created by the Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965, these programs provide meals to more than 2.4 million older adults nationwide each year, both through home delivery and in places like community centers.

“This grant is especially timely given the disproportionately high toll that COVID-19 has been taking on seniors around the world,” said Governor Abbott. “As social distancing measures increasingly and appropriately limit people’s social mobility, it is imperative that alternate means for feeding our state’s elderly like Meals on Wheels receive additional resources to handle the growing need.”

Texas will receive its proportional grant, $16,205,796, second only to California ($25 million) and Florida ($18 million) this week for further distribution to local meal providers.

Older adults who need assistance can contact the Eldercare Locator to find services available in their community. The Eldercare Locator can be reached at 1-800-677-1116 or https://eldercare.acl.gov/.

For more information about the Texas response to COVID-19, please visit https://texas.gov/#covid19/.

For more information about the Older Americans Act nutrition programs, please visit https://ACL.gov.

Grayson County Sheriff’s Department Press Release:

On Monday, March 23, 2020, at approximately 2:27 pm, City of Sherman city workers observed what appeared to be a white female’s body underneath a bridge on Blue Flame Road, Sherman, Texas. The Sherman Police Department responded and contacted the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office due to knowing the Sheriff’s Office was working a missing white female named Emilia Gunnels, 21 years old, missing from Tee Taw Circle, Sherman on March 22, 2020.

Once on scene, the body was close in age and had similar features as Emilia Gunnels, so the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office took the lead of the investigation with the help of the Texas Rangers. The body was pronounced deceased by the Justice of the Peace and sent to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office where it was positively identified as 21-year-old Emilia Gunnels. The Grayson County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers are currently working the case as a homicide and are actively working leads and talking to witness. Further details will be released as they become available.

On Sunday, March 22, 2020, at 1:57 p.m., Howe police responded to a domestic disturbance at a residence in the 600 South Maple Street in Howe. The 29-year-old resident reported that her fiancé, 36-year-old Jose Luis Salazar, had assaulted her by grabbing her by the arms and throwing her to the ground where she hit her head on an overturned chair. She reported that she broke free and locked herself in the bathroom before calling the police. Salazar had left the home prior to the officer arriving.

The victim told the investigating officer that she was 12 weeks pregnant, but she refused transport to a hospital by emergency medical services personnel.  At 2:47 p.m., Howe and Van Alstyne police officers went a residence in the 1100 block of N. Waco Street in Van Alstyne where they arrested Salazar for Assault of a Pregnant Person (Family Violence) and transported him to the Grayson County Jail. An emergency protective order was obtained on the victim’s behalf.

Assaulting causing bodily injury to a person the actor knows is pregnant became a 3rd-degree felony on September 1, 2019.

Statement from the Grayson County Office of Emergency Management:

The Grayson County Health Department (GCHD) has confirmed the second positive case of COVID-19 within Grayson County. The second patient is in their 50s with recent travel to the Dallas area. The patient is currently in home isolation to reduce the likelihood of the illness spreading. Both of the confirmed cases are from Denison. The GCHD Public Health Emergency Preparedness team is identifying and contacting individuals who may have been exposed. Any individuals identified as having close contact and having been exposed will be contacted directly by the GCHD.

The Grayson County Health Department will continue, in partnership with our community providers, to monitor and investigate COVID-19 within Grayson County. Grayson County will continue and will encourage individuals, to follow preventative measures as recommended by President Trump, Governor Abbott, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Texas Department of State Health Services.

If you have recently traveled to an area with the ongoing spread of COVID-19 or have had contact with someone who has COVID-19 and has developed fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath within 14 days of your travel, call your healthcare provider. To prevent potential spread, please alert your provider before arriving at the provider’s office or emergency department.

Submitted by Jennifer Salazar, Program Director of the Texas Senior Medicare Patrol, The Better Business Bureau Education Foundation 

As the number of people and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic grows, so do the scams associated with it. Scammers use public health emergencies as opportunities for new fraud schemes, and because older adults are at greater risk for serious illness from COVID-19, they may target older populations.

“There is currently no FDA-approved vaccine for COVID-19 and although there may be treatments for symptoms, there is no ‘cure.’ However, scammers often use fear-based tactics to convince people that a vaccine or cure is now being offered,” said Jennifer Salazar, Program Director of the Texas Senior Medicare Patrol.

It’s also important to remember that although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health officials may contact you if they believe you may have been exposed to the virus, they will not need to ask you for insurance or financial information.

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) recommends that Medicare beneficiaries:

· Contact your own doctor if you are experiencing potential symptoms of COVID-19.

· Do not give out your Medicare number, Social Security number, or personal information in response to unsolicited calls, texts, emails, home visits, or booths at health fairs and other public venues. If your personal information is compromised, it may be used in other fraud schemes as well.

· Be suspicious of anyone going door-to-door to offer free coronavirus or COVID-19 testing, supplies, or treatments.

· Carefully review your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) or Explanation of Benefits (EOB), looking for errors or claims for products or services that weren’t received.

· Follow the instructions of your state or local government for other actions you should be taking in response to COVID-19.

· Contact your local SMP for help. SMPs empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, errors, and abuse.

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) is ready to provide you with the information you need to PROTECT yourself from Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse; DETECT potential fraud, errors, and abuse; and REPORT your concerns. SMPs help educate and empower Medicare beneficiaries in the fight against health care fraud. Your SMP can help you with your questions, concerns, or complaints about potential fraud and abuse issues. It also provides information and educational presentations. To locate the local Senior Medicare Patrol, contact Jennifer Salazar at 888-341- 6187.