Updates from Gov. Polis and City and County of Denver
With more than 4,000 COVID-19 cases on average a day and one in 110 Coloradans actively contagious with the virus, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued a call Sunday for businesses to continue to allow their employees to work remotely as much possible. Read Gov. Polis’ press release. He also announced last week that he has ordered the State Emergency Operations Center to return to level 1, bringing together all state agencies, federal partners and voluntary organizations to better coordinate and synchronize the state’s response to the pandemic. He issued an executive order directing all general hospitals to submit a plan to the state with their maximum surge bed count by Wednesday, as well as a complete surge plan to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment by Friday. Read the Executive Order.
As infection rates soar, the City and County of Denver is providing additional support to the smallest businesses and nonprofits that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by providing them with additional free PPE kits. These kits will help offset the expense of purchasing PPE and assist their employees, volunteers and customers in staying safe and healthy this winter. The kits include hand sanitizer, surgical masks and gloves and disinfectant wipes. If your business has 50 or fewer employees, register for the program today.
Our members work hard every day to make the Denver metro area a great place to do business. We want to keep you in the know about the important work of our members, whether they are opening new business locations, hiring more people or creating new partnerships.
Read about our members in the news:
Add Your Phone to Help Fight COVID-19. One of the key tools to fight COVID-19 and slow its spread is right in your pocket. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 's CO Exposure Notifications is a free and voluntary service developed in partnership with Google and Apple that can notify users of possible exposure to COVID-19.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to Launches Misinformation Initiative. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced that her office is expanding its efforts to combat foreign influence operations related to the General Election. The initiative includes social media and digital outreach and a website to help voters identify foreign misinformation. The initiative further encourages voters to access accurate information as well as tips on how Coloradans can fight back and stop the spread of incorrect material.
Comcast RISE. Comcast has committed to a multiyear plan to fight injustice and inequality. As part of this commitment, Comcast is allocating substantial resources to help Black-owned small businesses through their Comcast RISE program. Comcast RISE stands for Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment. The program will start in 2020 with an initial focus on Black-owned businesses. The next submission cycle will open up eligibility to all BIPOC business owners, those next hit hardest by the effects of the pandemic. Review the selection criteria and apply. The application for our first wave of services is open and will close on Nov. 7.
SocialStreamingTV.com's ZoomCribs Is Live. Zoom Cribs highlights the cool cribs people have or are building on their continuing journey working from home places and other spaces in the wild. Submit your cool crib for consideration and possible some prize money.
TalentFOUND Employer Gateway Survey. Take the Colorado Workforce Development Council's survey designed to help employers and jobseekers. Watch this five-minute video to learn more.
Apply to Serve on Redistricting Commissions. In 2018, the Colorado General Assembly referred Senate Concurrent Resolutions 18-004 and 18-005 to the voters as Amendment Y, which addressed Congressional Redistricting, and Amendment Z, which addressed Legislative Redistricting. Both passed with over 70% approval in the 2018 General Election. Learn more about what commissions you can apply for.
Opportunities with Leeds students at the University of Colorado Boulder. The 4,000+ students at CU Boulder Leeds School of Business are the future workforce of Colorado and need local business support to be successful. Leeds offers many ways to engage with early career business professionals, including networking events, mentorship programs, hosting an intern, providing a student-led project and more. If you want to make a positive impact and contribute to the future of our community and state, email leedscareer@colorado.edu to learn more about engaging with and hiring business students.
New Medical Office Building at St. Anthony North Breaks Ground, Plans to Open Fall 2021.The official groundbreaking of the new 14190 Orchard Parkway Medical Office Building at St. Anthony North in Westminster was recently celebrated by team members and dignitaries. Representatives from each of the project partners spoke about the importance of the longstanding partnerships that led to this milestone.
ColoradoBiz Magazine's 2021 Best of Colorado Business Choice Awards Are Open. From golf courses to law firms to IT support or great places to eat, ColoradoBiz wants to know which companies you consider top of their game. Simply cast your vote, which takes no more than five minutes. Voting is open Nov. 1, 2020 to Jan. 11, 2021, and winners will be announced May 2021.
A PEW RESEARCH STUDY REPORTS MORE than half of Americans find the internet to be essential during the COVID-19 outbreak. This finding is not surprising to many people who are reading this magazine; as business leaders and parents who are working and managing learning from home, we know a home internet connection is needed now more than ever. Just pause for a moment and imagine life without internet at home.
While COVID-19 and the related stay-at-home orders put a spotlight on how critical it is to have access to technology and a reliable, high-speed home internet connection, the crisis also exposed even further the cruel irony of the digital divide. Those with home internet connections benefit from all the opportunities of a digital world, but those without fall even further behind.
Some of our most vulnerable populations include low-income and refugee families who suddenly have to adapt to online learning and figuring out how to work from home or search for work virtually for the first time, and seniors who need to stay connected as they isolate away from loved ones can particularly benefit from home connectivity.
How can we come together as civic leaders to address this need to better serve our community? Here are some ways we can work together to ensure greater digital equity and inclusion.
Comprehensive Approach To Digital Inclusion
In order to address the digital divide, we need to think of the issue as more than just a physical home internet connection. There are multiple barriers to connectivity that come into play and make up the reasons why an individual or a family may not have a home internet connection.
Some people lack the digital literacy to understand the benefits a home internet connection can provide. They may not fully realize the equalizing power the internet can provide to them and their family, enabling someone to obtain critical computing skills, search for jobs, access news and health care information and so much more.
Others may only have a smart phone or tablet at home and lack affordable hardware like a laptop or desktop computer. An internet connection is only as good as the device by which it is accessed.
And for others, the price of internet service may be the determining factor. Many people are balancing bills and are unaware of more affordable home internet options.
The good news is that there are numerous broadband companies and various internet offers available to low-income families throughout metro Denver. Comcast, for its part, has offered its Internet Essentials program for nearly a decade. The program is designed to be a wrap-around solution to directly confront every barrier to digital adoption by offering affordable internet at $9.95 per month, subsidized computers and free digital literacy training to eligible low-income families.
If we’re going to build digital equity in Colorado, we must address all three of these barriers and work together to educate our community on the importance of a home connection.
Public-Private Partnerships
As a leader in our community, I know you can appreciate the magnitude of this challenge, and that it’s one requiring all of us to work together to address.
At Comcast we’re constantly evolving our Internet Essentials program to better meet the needs of the community. In March, following the COVID-19 outbreak, we began offering Internet Essentials free for two months for new customers – an offer that will remain available through the end of the year.
We aligned and collaborated with a lot of help from elected officials, school districts and foundations and the nonprofit community to ensure we reached all families and individuals in our community.
We also partnered with nearly a dozen organizations to further cover the cost of home internet connectivity for Internet Essentials-eligible individuals and families who need additional financial assistance through our Internet Essentials Partner Program. The program, which relies on public-private partnerships, enables companies or nonprofits and other organizations to coordinate funding to help connect those who may still be unconnected.
Through creative solutions with local partners, together we’ve connected thousands of people to the power of the internet since March – many for the very first time.
We still have work to do to reach those who remain unconnected; and to ensure they gain the digital skills necessary to learn, work, and access health care and other vital services online.
School districts, foundations and nonprofit organizations cannot take on this massive task their own. And, we as business and community leaders can’t address it on our own. We all have a responsibility to re-imagine how we work together to help raise awareness about the need for connectivity, as well as ensure more people know about what programs and resources are available.
Everyone should have access to the opportunities made possible by having the internet at home. We hope as fellow civic leaders you join us in this work to build digital equity, as when our communities thrive, so do we.
Even though we were warned that another wave of COVID-19 was likely this fall, that didn’t make last week’s announcement of new metro area COVID-19 restrictions any easier. Coloradans have done a great job following the guidance of our public health experts – washing hands, wearing masks and social distancing – and that has enabled us to begin to rebuild our economy. Controlling the virus is key to our economic recovery.
As a new wave hits our region, we must double down on our efforts to get this virus under control, so we can reopen our businesses and get employees back to work. Here’s what we know about the restrictions.
As we have been throughout this time, the Chamber family is here to support you with the resources you need to adjust to these new rules. Below we highlight a few of those changes. To see a comprehensive list of resources, visit denverchamber.org/covid.
Our Denver Metro Small Business Development Center is staying on top of the latest information to help small businesses access funding and restructure to meet the changing environment. Learn more at denversbdc.org.
Also, be sure to visit our new job board at denverchamber.org/jobs where you can find job listings in Colorado’s diverse industries, resources to gain new skills and information for entrepreneurship.
We know that uncertainty makes business decisions difficult. That’s why we are urging our federal and state leaders to do all they can to focus on relief for our small business community. Please continue to reach out to us at any time with your questions, concerns and ideas.
On a final note, we wouldn’t be the Chamber if we didn’t make one last push for you to vote. Tomorrow is Election Day! If you haven’t turned in your ballot yet, you have until 7 p.m., Tuesday. Find your nearest polling center and check out our ballot guide for our take on the key issues for Colorado’s business community.
Stay well and vote.
Kelly Brough is the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber.
When we looked out across the landscape in March 2020, and saw 500,000 Coloradans out of work and 500,000 students out of school, we knew the only way to help Colorado recover was to help employees safely return to work and help students safely return to school. To do that, employers needed timely and accurate information on the prevalence of COVID-19 within their organizations to help guide their decisions about how to reopen safely. We knew this would require an integrated approach to providing employees access to regular, affordable COVID-19 testing and daily symptom tracking, alongside local public health departments’ contact tracing efforts. That’s what inspired Gary Community Investments to establish COVIDCheck Colorado, a social benefit enterprise designed to do just that.
Today we’ve conducted more than 40,000 tests and helped 200,000 students from early childhood through college return to in-person learning, which has made it possible for many employees to return to work. But we need even more Coloradans heading back to work, waiting in line at their favorite lunch spots, and re-engaging with the small businesses that helped catapult Colorado’s economy to #1 back in January.
While working from home has proven to be effective for many businesses, our economy can never fully recover until more businesses bring their employees back in person. And, many of our lowest-wage earners working service and retail jobs are depending on it.
So how do we bring the business community back to Denver safely?
For a nominal fee, members of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce can use our integrated platform to provide their employees access to schedule an appointment to get tested for COVID-19 every two weeks at any of COVIDCheck Colorado’s drive-thru testing sites. Employees receive results in 48-72 hours, and those who test positive for COVID-19 receive a phone call from a telehealth provider who offers support and guidance on self-isolation. Positive cases are reported to local public health agencies and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Those who have been exposed to the virus get notified in accordance with the state’s contact-tracing protocols. Employees can also attest to the symptoms they may be experiencing through a mobile-friendly website. Designated leaders at every organization have access to a HIPAA-compliant dashboard displaying the organization’s test results and symptom data to help stop potential outbreaks before they start.
Fast and accurate COVID-19 testing remains one of the most critical public health strategies to keep each other safe and healthy. It’s also a critical strategy in our community’s efforts to put more Coloradans to work.
Interested in partnering with COVIDCheck Colorado? Contact Courtney Steele, Director of Private Partnerships, at csteele@covidcheckcolorado.org.
Mike Johnston is the president and CEO of Gary Community Investments
We know we’re fortunate to live in Colorado for so many reasons. And one of those reasons that has become even more apparent in 2020 is our proximity to excellent health care institutions.
In metro Denver, we are surrounded by the leaders in medicine. Our hospitals and health care systems outrank others nationwide.
Many of the faculty and staff at some of these institutions are also leading research that has the potential to change the trajectory of COVID-19 to help people worldwide.
Improving Testing
Adequate and fast testing has been one of the biggest struggles for getting this virus under control. As of Friday, Colorado’s positivity rate was 2.72%, which is below the 5% recommendation for containing the virus. The efforts of Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado State University and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment could help bring that down even further. These organizations are collaborating to test sewage at Front Range wastewater-treatment facilities to see if COVID-19 is present in the wastewater. The effort could give health care leaders a quicker way of learning about a potential surge in the virus, or if no COVID is found, it could help with decisions about reopening policies.
With children heading back to school, many parents, students, teachers and administrators are wondering whether children are a source of spreading the virus. National Jewish Health is studying whether children have fewer infections or lack symptoms, as well as whether asthma and other allergic diseases affect the symptoms and severity of the disease. And even with Denver Public Schools’ students learning virtually as the school year begins, Denver Health’s School-Based Health Centers continue to be open to all DPS students, both in-person and over the phone.
When it comes to improving the turnaround rate for testing, Centura Health is one of a small group of health systems nationwide working to implement a digital way to study the minute structure of human tissue and organs and how disease changes the body’s tissue. By quickly scanning slide specimens, the technology could help quicken the turnaround time for test results for a variety of needs, including COVID-19.
Discovering a Vaccine
Experts say a viable vaccine is our best way out of this pandemic. As members of the COVID Prevention Network, UCHealth and the University of Colorado School of Medicineare recruiting 1,000 patients to test the Moderna vaccine. The trial is for people who are most at-risk for contracting and becoming ill from the virus, including health care workers and people in higher-risk groups, such as Black, Indigenous and Hispanic patients and those with certain health conditions. Kaiser Permanente is also participating in clinical trials for a vaccine, enrolling 1,400 participants in California and Oregon.
Treating Those Who Are Sick
When it comes to treating the disease, Children’s Hospital Colorado has been collecting data to research the effects of convalescent plasma on COVID-19 patients. At one time, the hospital was the only center in Colorado collecting convalescent plasma. And, DaVitahas launched two clinical research trials to study how COVID-19 affects people with end-state kidney disease who are receiving dialysis. One study looks at how COVID-19 antibodies affect immunity in patients receiving dialysis at DaVita dialysis centers. The other looks at the link between genetic markers and the severity of COVID-19 symptoms in patients with end-stage kidney disease.
We knew Colorado’s health and bioscience industries were strong before, but we had no idea the challenges they’d face in 2020. They’ve risen to the occasion and then some. Let’s do our part for them – stay socially distant, wear a mask, wash your hands and continue to work remotely as much as possible. We’re on our way to a stronger Colorado and a stronger economic recovery when we all do our part.
Kelly Brough is the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber.
Back to school is normally a time of excitement – picking out new supplies, swapping summer stories and opening a new textbook. COVID-19 has changed what back to school will look like -- whether in-person or virtual. Education leaders at our Virtual Voices on Back to School shared just what the school year might look like.
Virtual Voices aims to keep Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation alums informed and engaged as our community works through this challenging time. Each virtual meeting brings together leaders on the front lines of impacted industries to share their knowledge, perspectives and leadership lessons.
Last week Susana Cordova, DPS superintendent, Mike Miles, CEO at Third Future Schools, and Elizabeth Reyes, graduate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College, discussed the importance of in-person learning, how to keep students and teachers safe and how they’re adapting to the continuous changes from COVID-19.
Check out our key takeaways and the video of the webinar below.
Adapt fast. The pandemic abruptly hit schools this past spring where students were in school one day and then virtual for the rest of the school year. Schools had to adapt fast to continue education and are continuing to have to make changes. Data has been key for schools to make quick decisions. Data allows for districts to implement plans to keep their people safe based on guidance from health experts.
Public education is essential. Our community has to figure out a way to operate and keep staff and students safe. Focus on safety and achievement. Students can’t afford to take a pass on achievement to stay on track. We need to have conversations about why our education system is essential. We need to support our teachers and be transparent with them on what it means to be a teacher during COVID-19.
And, to keep our teachers and students safe, we need the supplies to do so. Education leaders are relying on partnerships to create a safe environment and provide essential resources. Resources are still needed. If you have laptops, time or are able to donate, contact your local school district to see how you can help.
School is more than learning. Students go to school for resources beyond education – food access, mental health support, mentorship and more. It’s critical to have those resources in the conversation when deciding between virtual or in-person learning. School is a support system that needs to continue to be there for students and their families.
Focus on the opportunity gap. Before COVID-19 there was an opportunity gap and the pandemic brought it to the forefront. We have an opportunity to talk about the gap and work to address it. We need to make sure all kids are getting the education they need to succeed.
We also have the opportunity to create a common language on how we talk about racism in our schools. Focus on how and what we’re teaching about racial history and how we can create an inclusive curriculum.
Reduce community spread. Wear a mask and wash your hands. It’s our community’s responsibility to keep the spread down. Reducing the community spread increases the ability to start in-person learning.
Join us for an upcoming Virtual Voices. Check out our upcoming programs.
