San Francisco honors COVID information-and-guidance and equity teams
October 01, 2021 | San Francisco City, San Francisco County, California
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San Francisco Disaster Council members on a virtual meeting praised city public-health and emergency-management staff for their roles in the COVID response and presented virtual commendations to teams that produced guidance and led equity efforts.
Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, thanked council members and singled out the information-and-guidance (ING) branch for producing widely used guidance. "I'm cautiously optimistic about the future because of the work that we have done," Colfax said, and credited ING for documents and clinical policy discussions that informed local and out-of-jurisdiction responses.
An ING branch director, accepting the commendation, described the unit as central to the city's reopening guidance and legal coordination, and acknowledged colleagues who supported operational delivery. The director said ING worked closely with the city attorney's office and with library staff and clinicians to make materials accessible and usable.
Director Mary Ellen Carroll introduced a separate commendation for the Equity and Neighborhoods team, noting the unit prioritized neighborhoods most affected by COVID for testing, vaccination and outreach. Erin Yen, identified in the meeting as the city's chief equity officer for the COVID response, accepted on behalf of the team and urged that equity be embedded in ongoing planning: "For the leadership to put equity first and leading is to see where we are now," Yen said, adding the work demonstrated the importance of locally rooted staff.
Why it matters: the recognitions highlight two elements city leaders say were essential to limiting COVID harms in San Francisco: a coordinated public guidance function that translated science into actionable documents, and an equity-focused deployment that targeted services to communities with disproportionate impacts. The commendations also reinforce that the city will carry lessons from ING and equity practices into continuity planning and after-action work.
The council did not take formal votes related to the commendations; the meeting moved next into technical briefings on preparedness and resilience.
Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, thanked council members and singled out the information-and-guidance (ING) branch for producing widely used guidance. "I'm cautiously optimistic about the future because of the work that we have done," Colfax said, and credited ING for documents and clinical policy discussions that informed local and out-of-jurisdiction responses.
An ING branch director, accepting the commendation, described the unit as central to the city's reopening guidance and legal coordination, and acknowledged colleagues who supported operational delivery. The director said ING worked closely with the city attorney's office and with library staff and clinicians to make materials accessible and usable.
Director Mary Ellen Carroll introduced a separate commendation for the Equity and Neighborhoods team, noting the unit prioritized neighborhoods most affected by COVID for testing, vaccination and outreach. Erin Yen, identified in the meeting as the city's chief equity officer for the COVID response, accepted on behalf of the team and urged that equity be embedded in ongoing planning: "For the leadership to put equity first and leading is to see where we are now," Yen said, adding the work demonstrated the importance of locally rooted staff.
Why it matters: the recognitions highlight two elements city leaders say were essential to limiting COVID harms in San Francisco: a coordinated public guidance function that translated science into actionable documents, and an equity-focused deployment that targeted services to communities with disproportionate impacts. The commendations also reinforce that the city will carry lessons from ING and equity practices into continuity planning and after-action work.
The council did not take formal votes related to the commendations; the meeting moved next into technical briefings on preparedness and resilience.
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