Central District Health Chooses Anecdotes Over Facts

On the evening of July 7, 2020, I “attended” the virtual meeting of Idaho’s Central District Health board. During this meeting, the main discussion was the increase of Covid in Idaho’s Ada County.

I have to say, as the meeting went on I became quite unimpressed. In fact, it sounded like I was listening to high schoolers.

Most surprisingly, when the topic turned to masks, the board didn’t ask for any hard data on their efficacy.

Let me explain.

During the meeting. Jim Sousa, Chief Medical Officer of St. Luke’s Heath Care System, was one of the guests on hand to give information and answer questions.

Sousa said it was important we do something, because earlier in the year, their hospital in Idaho’s Blaine County had to shut down because half the staff went out sick and under quarantine with Covid, and it looked like Covid cases in Ada County (home of Boise / the State Capitol) might resemble what happened in Blaine County.

Sousa then gave anecdotal evidence as he advocated for masks.

For example, he told a story about a couple of hairdressers in a southern state who had COVID, but because they wore masks, none of their clients became infected.

At that point, the question I wanted to ask was, “If masks work that well, why didn’t they prevent the hospital staff in Blaine County from catching Covid?” But it was a virtual meeting and there was no opportunity for questions.

Souza also stated that none of the recent spike in Covid cases came from the George Floyd protests, “because from what I saw, over half of the protesters were wearing masks.”

How’s THAT for science?

I should point out that this is the same Jim Souza who wrote an op-ed that appeared earlier this year in many Idaho papers, informing us that the virus “lies in wait. It likes crowds. It picks on the vulnerable. It waits for us to lose our focus. And then it moves in,” as if the virus were sentient.

No evaluation of the pros and cons

Amazingly, NONE of the CDH board members asked ANY tough questions of the hospital representatives on hand.

And like I said, no hard science on masks was presented. One would expect a board of this stature – making a decision that will impact 500,000+ people – to demand (& evaluate) hard data on the PROS & CONS of wearing masks.

Nope. Nothing.

Also, during his time speaking to the CDH board, Souza said that treatment for Covid in Idaho hasn’t changed much. He listed all the drugs & treatments being used, and NEVER ONCE mentioned hydroxycholoroquine, zinc, or azithromycin. The HCQ/zinc/azithromycin treatment, also known as the #ZelenkoProtocol, has been proven to clear Covid symptoms in people within 8 – 12 hours of starting the protocol.

This begs a deadly serious question. WHY are Idaho’s doctors NOT using the Zelenko Protocol? Do they still think “orange man bad?” Do they not realize that all the articles slamming HCQ as dangerous have been proven wrong & that multiple studies have shown HCQ to be safe & effective for treating Covid?

If Idaho’s doctors are letting Covid patients die without putting them on the #ZelenkoProtocol, and if our Central District Health board isn’t recommending that Idaho’s doctors look into the Zelenko Protocol, then both the doctors and the CDH board have blood on their hands.

Could it be that these hospitals would rather admit a Covid patient and collect large sums of cash for doing so instead of prescribing a valid, $20 treatment?

They will no doubt vehemently deny any such motivation, but the way Idaho’s government went all Jekyll-Hyde since $1.25 billion came our way in March / April, I have serious questions.

So what’s the next step?

The CDH board voted for CDH Director Russ Duke to draft a Mandatory Mask recommendation for Ada County, and possibly Valley County.

Yes, Idaho’s Central District Health board plans on making facemasks mandatory in Ada County, Idaho because a chief medical officer gave anecdotal stories yet had ZERO hard evidence for mask efficacy.

The Board didn’t examine any other evidence at the board meeting. None. Zip. Ziltch. Nada.

It really was like listening to high schoolers. There were so many holes in Souza’s talking points, a high school debate coach would have laughed him out of the room. And the fact that the board didn’t seek to weigh evidence from both sides of the issue was equally laughable if it weren’t so sad.

It was obvious most of the CDH board had already made up their mind to vote for mandatory masks, evidence be damned. Without waiting for the board to discuss or make a motion, CDH Director Russ Duke eagerly said he would write up a mandatory mask rule if the board wanted it.

Almost immediately after him saying that, board member District 1 Ada County Commissioner Diana Lachiondo gushed over the fact that Duke spent so much time on the phone with her this past week. At that point, it became quite apparent that this meeting was merely a formality to invoke a decision they had already reached.

Only one board member, Representative Megan Blanksma, seemed to want more consideration of facts. Thankfully, when it became obvious the board was getting carried away and about to make a decision on a far-reaching mandate concerning schools, Blanksma wisely jumped in to curtail it.

CDH Board Faux Pas

As a side note, earlier in the meeting the board went offline for a while to confer with legal counsel in executive session, because last week’s private board meeting (when they first voted to take Ada County back to Level 3) was in violation of the state’s open meeting law. As a result, when they came out of executive session, the board voided the minutes of their last meeting!

Of course, then they had to vote again to put Ada County back into Stage 3, but in so doing they also added the rule that no meetings of more than 50 people would be allowed. So much for church services!

And I think there was less than 60 seconds of discussion on this issue.

To wrap up their meeting, the CDH board voted to instruct CDH Director Russ Duke to draft an order that all of Ada County, Idaho MUST wear masks when in public and in enclosed places. No timeline was discussed for how long that might last, and board member Ted Epperly included plenty of undefined terms in his motion. And they will include masks for children, too, because even though their infection rate is phenomenally low, Souza thought it would be a good idea.

Bottom line, the board came off looking like a rubber stamp for whatever Jim Souza recommended.

It would be good to get the CDH board to CONSIDER ACTUAL SCIENCE at their next meeting. Maybe – JUST MAYBE – Idaho’s CDH will act like professionals & carefully consider both pro and con evidence before deciding any rule that will affect 500,000+ Idahoans.

Treat Our Covid Patients Better!

Idaho also needs to stop the politics and get our Covid patients treated with the Zelenko Protocol. There is rarely a reason for people to be hospitalized for Covid if they begin the Zelenko Protocol within five days of symptom onset. And with that, the hospitals would NOT be dealing with Covid patients, and there would be no need to consider mandatory masks.

Per the peer-reviewed research, there’s no need to wait for a test result to start the Zelenko Protocol, just prescribe the protocol on clinical suspicion. If our Idaho doctors and our CDH board cannot fathom that this protocol works, then we need more open-minded doctors and a better-informed Central District Health board.

As it stands, this board meeting was unimpressive. We’ve had enough knee-jerk decisions the past four months. I hope to see more professionalism and a more balanced examination of facts at their next meeting.

Health Freedom Idaho wants to thank author Daniel Bobinski for allowing us to share his report of the virtual meeting by the Central Health Department

Health Freedom Idaho encourages readers to TAKE ACTION.

Start by EMAILING your Mayor and those of your surrounding cities.
The Health Departments have failed to consider the lack of safety and effectiveness of paper masks, bandanas, and face coverings as protection from a virus. Tell them you do not want them to mandate masks allowing each citizen their own body autonomy and the freedom to maintain their personal responsibility when it comes to health.
Here are some resources to review and share:
https://healthfreedomidaho.com/mask-mandates

[email protected] – Boise Mayor McLean
[email protected] – Meridian Mayor Simison
[email protected] – Kuna Mayor Stear
[email protected] _ Eagle Mayor Pierce
[email protected] – Garden City Mayor Evans
[email protected] – Star Mayor Chadwick
[email protected] – Caldwell Mayor Fleetwood
[email protected] – Nampa Mayor Debbie Kling
[email protected] – Middleton Mayor Steven Rule
[email protected] – Mountain Home Mayor Rich Sykes
[email protected] – Sun Valley Mayor Peter Hendricks
[email protected]– Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw
[email protected] – Hailey Mayor Martha Burke
[email protected] – Bellevue Mayor Ned Burns
[email protected] – Buhl Mayor Tom McCauley
[email protected] – Burley Mayor Steve Ormond
[email protected]– Hagerman Mayor Alan Jay
[email protected] – Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Noah Casper
[email protected] – Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad
[email protected] – Coeur d’ Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer
[email protected] – Twin Falls Mayo Suzanne Hawkins
[email protected] – Post Falls Mayor Ronald Jacobson
[email protected] – Weiser Mayor Diana Thomas
[email protected] – Wilder Mayor Steve Rhodes
[email protected] – Payette Jeffrey T. Williams
[email protected] – Homedale Mayor Gheen Christoffersen
[email protected] – Councilman Bruce Gardner
[email protected]– Cambridge Jack Toothman
[email protected] – Salmon Mayo Leo Marshall
[email protected] – Idaho City – Phillip J Canody
[email protected] – Stanley Mayor Steve Botti
[email protected] – Fairfield Mayor Terry S Lee
[email protected] – Jerome Mayor Dave Davis
[email protected] – McCall Mayor Bob Giles
[email protected] – New Meadows Mayor Darbey Edwards
[email protected] – Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert
[email protected] – Lewiston Mayor Michael Collins

# # AUTHOR:

For 30 years, Daniel Bobinski has been a management / leadership coach and corporate trainer. He’s also a certified behavioral analyst, NYT best-selling author, and long-time columnist on workplace issues.

In 2019 Daniel decided to start writing about news & politics, penning a weekly column for UncoverDC. He also writes for RedState.

Daniel is a veteran and a self-styled Christian libertarian who believes in the principles of free market capitalism while standing firmly against crony capitalism.

To inquire about 1:1 coaching with Daniel or corporate team training, reach him through MyWorkplaceExcellence.com. For things political, use @newbookofdaniel on Twitter and Parler. You can also follow him on Facebook.

RESOURCES:

Zeleko Protocol: https://joshmitteldorf.scienceblog.com/2020/06/18/suppression-of-chloroquine-is-scandalous/

The 7 individuals who make up the board of Central Health in Idaho
GENERAL EMAIL BOX for comments: https://cdhd.idaho.gov/cf.php

There are 7 individuals on the Board of Central Health they include:
Betty Ann Nettleton, R.N.

Board Chair
Representing Elmore County through 2021 Retired Nurse

Megan Blanksma
Vice Chair
Representing Elmore County through 2023
State Representative