EL PASO, Texas – The American Federation of Teachers from El Paso said they had sent a letter to Judge Ricardo Samaniego and Mayor Oscar Leeser asking them to contact Dr. Hector Ocaranza must be removed and replaced as the health authority of the city of El Paso / County.
The teachers’ group, in a message on social media, where its president, Ross Moore, announced the demand letter, said Ocaranza had lost the respect of local educators by recently insisting that they return to school classrooms amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The group questions Ocaranza’s qualifications for the post of Health Authority as he is not a specialist in infectious diseases – and also doubts the reliability of some of the Covid-19 data that the doctor shared and used to guide his decision-making. to in- person learning.
“Just as it is time for a much-needed change in public health leadership at the national level in the fight against Covid-19, so it is in El Paso,” Moore, the AFT leader, wrote. ‘We need the right experience and background, which dr. Ocaranza, a pediatrician, did not. The Covid-19 data does not show a record of success or transparency of Drs. Ocaranza does not, nor does it create trust and confidence in him. ”
A city official issued a statement in support of Ocaranza on Wednesday night, while Judge Samaniego told ABC-7 earlier in the day that he would follow up on the organization’s objections.
Fire Chief Mario D’Agostino, who heads the El Paso Emergency Management Operations – which includes parts of the city’s Covid response efforts, said the community was “lucky” to have Ocaranza at the helm through the fire. whole pandemic.
The principal also rejects the idea that Ocaranza is not suitable for dealing with outbreaks of infectious diseases, noting his extensive experience on previous occasions.
“During his tenure, Dr. Ocaranza led our Ebola Preparation Team, our Tuberculosis (TB) Outbreak Response Team and our H1N1 Influenza Pandemic Response Team,” D’Agostino said in the statement sent to ABC-7.
In addition, the principal defends Ocaranza’s views on reopening the school and notes that the Health Authority “talks to education leaders on a regular basis and has developed school-specific guidelines for teachers, students and staff.”
Below is a look at the full statement the El Paso AFT posted on social media in which they set out their objections to Ocaranza’s actions, followed by D’Agostino’s full response.
Here is the statement of Chief Mario D’Agostino …
“Dr. Hector Ocaranza has been serving as our city health authority for over twelve years and El Paso is happy to serve and care for our community.
During his tenure, dr. Ocaranza led our Ebola preparedness team, our tuberculosis (TB) response team and our H1N1 response team for influenza pandemic.
Since the onset of the pandemic, he has been involved in ongoing communication with all school districts to provide guidance and support. He met regularly with the school supervisors, school nurses and school athletics staff and developed school-specific guidelines for teachers, students and staff.
Dr. Ocaranza drafted letters of support to ensure continued school funding from the Texas Education Agency and met with the education commissioner to speak on behalf of the school.
El Paso is fortunate to have Dr. Ocaranza because he understands the importance of the health of our community, as well as the importance of youth’s mental health and the impact that the pandemic will have on the future of our children. It is a balance that we as a community must work together to arrive at. ‘