Over the course of the past few weeks, COVID-19 has impacted countries across the World and disrupted daily life as we know it. Among those who have been impacted most by COVID-19 are healthcare professionals including PAs, NPs, MDs, DOs, RNs and many other healthcare providers. The coronavirus has not only impacted practicing professionals, but also the students who are currently in training to become the future of healthcare. ARC-PA, the accrediting body of physician assistant educational programs, has been far from helpful during this national crisis. PA programs and their students have been struggling to find answers on what to do for clinical education during this time due to students being removed from clinical sites and the lack of guidance from ARC-PA. Since March 10th, ARC-PA has released two vague statements that have provided very little direction on what is acceptable for completing clinical education during this time. Thankfully, ARC-PA has high standards of education for their programs and students, however during this time of crisis ARC-PA needs to make clear temporary exceptions to their standards of clinical education. Specifically, we are asking ARC-PA to clearly state that clinical students may temporarily fully complete clinical rotation requirements in the form of online distance learning rather than in-person clinical experiences. While we understand the importance of in-person clinical experiences, we must look at the practicality of these types of experiences being completed given the current circumstances. Programs will be unable to place students into clinical sites for weeks to months due to students currently being banned from most health care systems across the country. It is irresponsible for ARC-PA to continue to not acknowledge this, which is why it is necessary that temporary exceptions be made. It should be noted that ARC-PA would not be alone in making these types of exceptions as many other accrediting boards, medical associations, and medical schools across the country have been allowing unique exceptions to occur in order to graduate students on time. Now more than ever the United States needs its healthcare heroes, and now more than ever ARC-PA needs to support PAs and PA students. #PAsSaveLives

In light of the Covid-19 Pandemic, most of our leaders within the United States are providing best case scenarios of how long it will take for the virus to "wash through" the United States and the world. Although reasonable best case scenarios say it could last as short as three months within the United States (Pentagon), we could be facing many months of the virus with potential stay-at-home orders occurring across the country during that time frame. In the 1918 flu pandemic, we had an outbreak in the Spring, the Fall, and again in the Winter. We could be facing the possibility of social distancing and stay-at-home orders for over a year. Estimates of when a vaccine will be available are at approximately 18 months. We can hope for the best, but we should also expect and plan for large volumes of infected throughout the duration of that time frame, even longer. We should expect that our hospitals will become overwhelmed repeatedly with waves of outbreaks. The thought that the virus will go away within a matter of a couple of months is something that we shouldn't even be considering, let alone expecting. While we are presently verbally encouraged to stay at home, many of our institutions promote programs that regularly involve daily face-to-face interactions. Aside from also supporting essential services, we should also consider effectively planing and enacting legislation for incentives for both non-profit and private online businesses, employment and education programs. Doing this is essential for the long-term well-being of our country.

Well over half of all employees' hours have been cut or completely gutted during the pandemic. Many have openly cited concerns regarding paying monthly rent and bills, working through rigorous protocols in at-risk conditions, and lack of efficiency and communication from YMCA-CW administration. Receiving hazard pay and paid leave are the only equitable solutions right now. Paid-Time Leave for all employees who are not being scheduled: Due to COVID-19, employees have lost work hours and are not given paid-time leave. Our licensing has changed protocol and has resulted in very few employees being scheduled. We are being forced to use our PTO when many of us have little or no PTO to use. The YMCA is refusing to support their employees with paid-time leave in this uncertain time. Many of us have built relationships with our co-workers, program families, and other peers at our sites. We should be able to feel secure that we will not be put in a position that can potentially affect us in our return to work. We are being expected to wait until the pandemic plays out with no pay. Although we are highly trained and experienced, we simply cannot afford to continue with the YMCA unless we receive a living wage. Hazard Pay for all employees that are working regardless of position or location: In order to keep everyone safe, there are additional and significantly more rigorous protocols employees must now take to protect the health of everyone in the program. Not only are we caring for the children, but we’re also rigorously cleaning and sanitizing. While we are happy to help the families of first responders, emergency workers, healthcare professionals, and other families - this is still a large and uncertain risk and is putting the lives of employees, their loved ones, and everyone they come in contact with in danger while risking their health and overall well-being. It is our job to care for these families, and we want to do it the best we can with extra support. The YMCA has 5 core values: caring, honesty, respect, inclusion, and responsibility. Please help YMCA employees urge CEOs Tyler Wright and Kevin Washington to publicly support this petition and give their staff Paid-time leave and Hazard Pay. YMCA employees dedicate their physical and emotional labor caring for the well being of others. If we are not financially stable or physically in good health, it will be more difficult to do so. We deserve stability and good livelihood, not marginalization. Many companies have taken care of their employees during this hard time, and YMCA is a very well known nonprofit alongside these businesses (Starbucks, Willamette Dental, New Seasons, Home Forward, Vision Works, and Target to name a few). We are ready to see YMCA on this list. It's time to live up to the core values and show their employees that they care and will support their employees. Are you with us? -Simrat Mann, Maria Vu, Tullia Fusco, Faith Lao, Daniel A. Zepeda, Mike White, and Nayantara A. Johnson.

Access to child care is in crisis right now and possibly far into the future with disastrous consequences. Parents unable to make copayments due to loss of income. Providers who are in a real and present danger of closing permanently without financial relief. Emergency workers who can’t access much needed child care. Something has to be done. As a nation, we are on the verge of losing more than half (yes you read that right - MORE THAN HALF) of our child care programs in the next week IF there isn’t significant public investment and support. There are over 2 million paid providers and educators in the U.S., and we cannot afford to lose them! Without child care, frontline workers won't be able to continue doing their essential jobs and, as we emerge from this crisis, we may find there is no child care system to return to as families go back to work and school. Providers who are open are struggling without support for public health training, and working in hazardous conditions for long hours. We need to support them in their critical role in our public health infrastructure. And families -- including frontline workers -- shouldn't have to worry about how they will afford child care in this time. SIGN NOW to urge Congress to provide at least $50 billion in child care funding to ensure the stability of our child care system so parents and caregivers have child care to return to when this crisis is over!

On Friday, President Bollinger announced that all classes will now be graded on a Pass/Fail only basis. With the moving of classes to an online format, this represents a further decline in the quality of education. Given that students have paid nearly $30,000 for tuition this semester, it is unfair that they continue to pay this cost while receiving a level of education that is clearly inferior to that for which they paid. Online classes simply do not offer the same quality of instruction as in-person classes, and students no longer have access to the amenities that their tuition is supposed to fund, such as library and computer lab access, engineering equipment, and more. The mandatory pass-fail further means that students will be paying for tuition without any impact whatsoever on their GPA, which is another undue burden created by the university's policies. Moreover, a significant portion of students' tuition is the student life fee, which pays for amenities that students no longer have access to such as Dodge Fitness Center. With the closing of these spaces and the cancellation of student events such as commencement and senior activities, it is unfair that Columbia continues to hold on to this money despite not being able to provide students these services for which they have already paid. Finally, the pandemic that necessitated these measures has also thrown the U.S economy into a severe recession. Many students are facing severe financial hardship as a result of losing their jobs or their family losing their jobs. In fact, many students depend on their jobs to pay for their tuition. Ultimately, it is only fair that as Columbia recoups expenses from cancelling student events and closing campus spaces, that some of this money be refunded to the students whose tuition paid for it in the first place. Please sign this petition and tell the administration of Columbia University to refund Spring 2020 tuition to all students.

It is important because I have personally witness what my daughter and so many other students have experienced in Athens, GA., where the University of Georgia is located. Because the housing regulations are so lenient in Georgia, the management companies take advantage of student/tenants. In the past, I have notified the Congressman, Jody Hice, but my email was ignored with responses to support his office.

Numerous families will be affected and it will bring devastating circumstances if not addressed immediately.

Towson University has almost 23,000 students enrolled. That’s 23,000 diverse living situations and learning styles. For many, online classes are not the right platform they need in order to learn at their full potential, which is why they chose to study on campus. This could be because in house courses are best for their comprehension of content or because they simply do not have the proper tools or living conditions in order to succeed. During this time of stress and uncertainty, continuing to grade them using the same rigor as on campus classes is not what’s best for Towson’s students. While one student might have the tools and learning capability to achieve in distance learning, the next two may not. Many institutions have chosen to give their students the option of a pass/fail system and Towson should to.

With COVID-19 spreading rapidly across Washington State, the health and livelihoods of center teachers, directors and owners are under threat, and families are scrambling to find safe care for their children. Issues that may appear to be temporary, e.g. frontline teachers and directors becoming ill and sites shutting down, threaten to cause permanent damage to the early learning system. As capacity decreases, children are withdrawn from care and parents are unable to go to work.Many child care professionals already earn low wages, often with no health insurance. This is true of centers that accept state tuition subsidies or those paid by families. Without immediate state intervention, the COVID-19 pandemic will push child care professionals to economic collapse. Here are some of the supports that our Early Learning System needs to survive this crisis: * Teachers and directors who are unable to work should receive unemployment benefits to cover lost wages without a repayment requirement for reimbursable employers. * All child care teachers and directors should receive free COVID-19 testing and free health care if they become ill. * The State should cover market rate tuition (including private pay) if parents or caregivers are unable to pay due to job loss or work closure. * If a facility must close due to COVID-19 related reasons, the state should cover market rate tuition payments to ensure all providers stay in business and supply financial support for re-opening. * Payments and direct assistance to centers should be based on enrollment, not attendance. * The State should procure and distribute to child care providers all health and safety supplies needed to care for children. * All background checks should be expedited within 24-hours for child care related employees. * Paid substitutes should be provided if staff members are unable to work. * New hires should be authorized to start work without completing pre- service requirements during this emergency. * DCYF must provide updates, in appropriate languages, to centers, teachers and directors on a regular basis, at least every other day, or more often as necessitated by fluid events. * Any emergency changes initiated by DCYF to the WACs that would change or increase regulations should be made in consultation with frontline professionals, including SEIU and WCCA. * All health and safety and licensing enforcement should be paused during the crisis except for the most serious situations that may result in the loss of authorization or license to provide care. * All Early Achievers mandates, ratings, and requirements should be suspended through the duration of the pandemic. * First quarter 2020 L & I and ESD employment taxes, due April 30, 2020, should be waived for all child care providers of 500 employees or less. It’s Time to Respect, Protect, and Lift Up Child Care Professionals!

UC Berkeley, the city of Berkeley, and the entire country (not to mention the world) are going through both an economic meltdown and a public health crisis due ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Many tenants - including UC Berkeley students - are unable to pay their rent as a result of the economic meltdown and shelter-in-place order. Furthermore, so many students live paycheck-to-paycheck that they could never afford the added expense of paying backrent. Many of these students also do not have a "non-Berkeley home" they can return to. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has responded by banning evictions (and defaults) in properties secured by Federal Housing Administration-insured (Fannie and Freddie) Single Family mortgages. On March 17, the Berkeley City Council passed an initial moratorium on evictions and suspended rent payments for tenants who been financially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic; the city council is expected to pass additional emergency legislation to strengthen the law to protect Berkeley residents and keep them in their homes. As a state agency, the university is generally exempt from regulations issued by a local government. As a result, the only way to protect students in university housing from evictions and unconscionable rent collections is for the university to voluntarily enact such a policy. Letting homeless and housing-insecure students live for free in otherwise empty university housing would only cost the university little to nothing. Additionally, the fact that the University is allowing students to move-out and receive a pro-rata refund means it is already budgeting for little to no revenue from housing for the remainder of the year. It is therefore clearly within the Univeristy's means to allow students already living in the dorms to not owe rent. Many students cannot simply move-out of the dorms and "go back home." For instance, they may not have another home to return to, may have a Bay Area job they need to support themselves and/or their family and which has not been halted by the pandemic, or their family home may be unsafe (e.g. if they've been rejected by their family for not being cis-hetero or if their family home is physically dangerous). This is literally a matter of life and death. If students are forced out onto the streets - either through a formal eviction or because they decide to move out early in order to avoid back rent they cannot repay, they could catch coronavirus and die, as well as infect other community members.

People losing jobs cannot work

"During the COVID-19 crisis, we all have a responsibility towards our communities to keep ourselves healthy and avoid situations that can spread the virus. As of March 17th, the state of Florida will close all bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and other small businesses in order to help us uphold that responsibility. While this is a step in the right direction regarding health, the effects of these sweeping business closures affect the livelihood of thousands of Florida residents that rely on front-of-the house restaurant, club/bar work or tips to make ends meet. Without a plan in place to supplement the income of these workers, and with no guarantee that unemployment benefits will provide the relief people need in a city with one of the highest costs of living in the country, we demand a moratorium on rent collection. Hard-working people are going to suffer at the expense of the greater good. While we don't deny the importance of instituting these closures, we would be ashamed and heartbroken to watch our government let people who rely on health and wellness care work, restaurant work, work in the entertainment industry (clubs/bars), and other small businesses face evictions, blows to their credit, or be backed into a corner financially through no fault of their own. As a spa business owner and full-time Licensed Massage Therapist, this is my sole source of income. So many other massage practitioners and business owners in the industry, are affected. Simply providing people with an unemployment payment of temporary paid leave at minimum wage would not be enough to cover their typical expenses. We need Broward County and Florida as a whole to put a moratorium on rent NOW in order to preserve the livelihood of so many hard working business owners, healthcare practitioners, and other affected industries during this time of crisis".