A ZIP code emerges as Sacramento’s coronavirus epicenter. But what’s behind the spike?
The ZIP code covering North Oak Park and other neighborhoods bordering the UC Davis Medical Center has emerged as the coronavirus epicenter of Sacramento. But the sprawling hospital campus that has been treating coronavirus patients for weeks isn’t the source, public health officials say.
The 95817 ZIP code – which includes sections of Elmhurst and Tahoe Park – has 71 cases of the coronavirus, more than any other ZIP code in the county, data show. The infection rate per 10,000 residents is four times higher than any other ZIP code in Sacramento County.
Sacramento County public health officials have declined to offer details about the cases, but acknowledged this week they are tracking three coronavirus infection “clusters” within the ZIP code, all of them at congregate care facilities. The county’s ZIP code data, shown publicly on a map on its website, is based on where infected people reside, not where they are diagnosed or treated.
Citing patient privacy concerns, health officials declined to disclose the names or locations of the three facilities, and declined to say how many confirmed infections have occurred at those sites. County public health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said a cluster is three or more associated cases.
The county defines congregate care facilities as skilled nursing facilities; assisted/senior living facilities; memory care facilities; group homes/board and care; and mental health, alcohol, or drug treatment facilities.
Some community leaders say they want to know more about the cases and what the county is doing to reduce spread. The ZIP code area stretches from Franklin Boulevard on the west to 65th Street on the east, and from U Street on the north to 12th Avenue on the south.
Jake Mossawir, CEO of Oak Park-based nonprofit St. Hope, said residents have been wondering for weeks why there are so many cases, ever since the county began publishing ZIP code data.
“Obviously they have to protect the confidentiality of the patient and that is a huge responsibility,” said Mossawir, who lives in the ZIP code. “At the same time, there is data they could release that could protect patients but also inform the community so they can know where to go, where not to go and where the cases may be.”
Lavinia Phillips, president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, agreed. “I would love for them to be more transparent,” Phillips said. “The sooner they get out information that makes sense to people, the sooner we can disseminate that to people, especially those who don’t have phones and don’t get the newspaper.”
Nearby ZIP codes have not been hit nearly as hard. Just to the south, the 95820 ZIP code – with nearly three times the population of 95817 – has 23 residents with coronavirus.
The ZIP code with the second highest number of cases in Sacramento County, at 65, is 95670, which includes Rancho Cordova. In third is 95825, comprising a portion of Arden Arcade along Howe Avenue, with 45. That ZIP code is home to Sunrise Assisted Living-Sacramento, which has reported at least 25 residents and 23 employees infected with the new coronavirus.
What is a congregate care facility?
“Congregate care” facilities are found throughout the county, but they often cluster near medical centers and healthcare offices.
Notably, another ZIP code with a relatively high per capita number of COVID-19 cases is 95825, which includes the Kaiser Permanente Morse Avenue medical center and office complex. The Rancho Cordova ZIP code includes neighborhoods near the Sacramento Veterans Administration Medical Center.
In total, 21 congregate care facilities in the county had at least one confirmed case of a resident or staffer with COVID-19 as of Friday, according to a county website. In total, there are 141 known cases at those 21 facilities, and there have been 14 deaths. The county does not disclose the names of those facilities, though.
County health official Kasirye said in an interview this week with The Sacramento Bee that the county has been focusing much of its COVID-19 tracking on congregate care facilities. One of the first outbreaks of the virus in the county occurred at a senior living facility in Elk Grove. Another major outbreak was recently reported at a care facility in the city of Woodland in Yolo County.
Local and state officials say congregate care facilities can be susceptible to virus spread because of close living conditions, communal dining and a higher likelihood that older residents have pre-existing health issues.
“Most settings (of) clusters are long-term care facilities,” Kasirye said. “That is a pattern that is occurring in other counties as well. “
The amount of information published by the state and counties on care facility infections varies. Los Angeles County discloses the names of institutional settings, such as care facilities, that have coronavirus cases. The state of California publishes the names of nursing homes that have at least one case, but doesn’t list other smaller congregate care facilities.
Many counties, like Sacramento, do not disclose any care facility names. Santa Clara does not publish the names of facilities, but does publish tallies of how many cases have been confirmed at various types of congregate facilities.
Experts said those kinds of inconsistencies have obstructed a broader understanding of the spread of the virus inside facilities that care for California’s most vulnerable residents.
The county has been able to identify clusters through a tedious process called “contact tracing.” The county employs a team of six contact tracing specialists to figure out where clusters of cases are occurring, allowing the county to quarantine people quickly, if needed, who have been in contact with an infected person.
Kasirye said her department is now training more employees to do that type of tracking, and hopes over time to expand to as many as 30 trackers from the current six.
“The reason is to be prepared in case we get to a point where social distances and stay-at-home are relaxed,” Kasirye said. “If we see a bump then, we have to do contact tracing.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday he intends to dramatically increase the number of trained “contact tracers” in preparation for incrementally re-opening the state economy by allowing more businesses to open and more people to go to work. Contact tracers will be critical for that step. When new coronavirus cases occur, those tracers will contact and test people who had recently associated with the infected person, then quarantine and isolate them.
A diverse Sacramento ZIP code
The 95817 ZIP code covers a diverse landscape of neighborhoods. It’s home to the rapidly-changing Broadway business corridor in Oak Park, where trendy restaurants and boutiques have opened in recent years, leading to an economic boom in the area but also concerns that gentrification is occurring in a neighborhood that was long the center of African American culture in Sacramento.
The Med Center neighborhood and Elmhurst are home to some health care workers and other employees of the UC Davis Medical Center. Tahoe Park is a middle income neighborhood and a large senior living facility on Broadway stands on the former site of the California state fairgrounds.
The median household income is about $45,400, lower than the countywide median of about $63,900, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
There are concerns among community leaders that lower-income residents and those in difficult living situations may be susceptible to coronavirus.
People are less likely to follow the stay-at-home orders if they live with an abusive partner, especially mothers with children, said Rachelle Ditmore, co-founder of City of Refuge, an Oak Park nonprofit for homeless mothers.
For people who have been incarcerated or victims of human trafficking, being ordered to stay at home is triggering, Ditmore said. One woman was thriving in the program, but as soon as the stay-at-home order was issued, she started struggling, and ultimately left, Ditmore said.
“She said, ‘I feel like I’m in prison again,’” Ditmore said. “It’s a familiar feeling of being trapped.”
Sacramento City Councilman Eric Guerra, whose district includes part of the 95817 ZIP code, said he and the county have begun efforts to broaden coronavirus education among Sacramento’s immigrant and non-English speaking communities, including in the 95817 ZIP code. That includes Latinos and Asians, as well as members of the Slavic community which has been hit with a cluster of COVID-19 cases.
Guerra said he met this week with county Health Services Director Dr. Peter Beilenson to talk about bridging the culture and language gap that causes some immigrants to shy away from government and institutions. Guerra said health officials are producing more educational materials in non-English languages to distribute in communities, including information about getting coronavirus testing.
“In a pandemic, we need to be very thoughtful and very intentional about getting information out,” Guerra said. “If we are going to be effective in addressing the pandemic and lowering the curve, we need to make sure we are communicating as best as possible to every community and understand how the virus is spreading.”
Councilman Jay Schenirer, who also represents part of the 95917 ZIP code, is planning to set up mask giveaways and other preventative efforts to help Oak Park residents protect themselves from the virus.
Phillips said it’s difficult for some Oak Park residents who don’t have their own cars to get to Cal Expo for testing, and suggested healthcare professionals should bring testing to the neighborhood.
“I’d love to see a (testing) truck roll up to McClatchy Park one day,” Phillips said. “We should have people who look like them providing testing, education and assurance.”
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
