COVID-19 UPDATE: 5/15/2020

Dear Cantalician Family:

My most sincere thoughts are with you during this truly difficult time. Please know that each and every one of our staff members and individuals we serve are missed. I want to provide you with an update on how Cantalician Center for Learning is continuing to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic. As I've stated in the past, our top priority is the health, well-being, and safety of our students, individuals, and staff. Please know that we are committed to our mission of creating opportunities for success by offering meaningful and supportive services and appreciate your patience as we try to offer services remotely.

• Our COVID-19 Response Team continues to hold weekly conference calls and Zoom meetings to assess the needs of our entire organization and pays very close attention to the ever changing regulations and how they will guide our plans for eventual reopening.
  
• Our facilities team has been working non-stop since we were placed on NY Pause to clean, scrub, and sanitize every inch of our school building, 2039 Day Habilitation Services location, as well as continue best practices for cleaning at our Diversified Labor Solutions (DLS) location at Tri-Main Center. We applaud their efforts as they prepare for our safe return as well as ensure that we are going to have everything within our power prepared in regards to safety and cleanliness to combat COVID-19.
  
• As I am sure you're aware, our school will be closed until the end of the school year with a decision on summer school to be made in the near future. Until this decision is made, we will continue momentum on our distance learning platform Google Classroom. I would like to thank every one of our educators and therapists who have worked tirelessly during the pandemic to ensure there is quality educational content available to our students each week. We also applaud our parents, caregivers, and students for working incredibly hard during such a challenging time.
  
• The team members at DLS have continued to work hard every day as many of our customers were deemed essential since the day we were placed on NY Pause. The staff at DLS is to be congratulated for their commitment to employing safe practices, social distancing, increased cleaning, and creative thinking to ensure the health and safety of every team member.
  
• Our Day Habilitation Services and Employment Services are still temporarily suspended in person, but our staff have been very busy supporting the people we serve and ensuring basic needs are being met, connections are being made to local pantries, birthdays are being celebrated, activities are being offered, and more. Our partnership with Meals on Wheels has continued as the community has come to count on us for this service. We could not be more proud of our Day Hab and Employment team. Thank you for your continued dedication!
  
• Our Daycare Services continue to remain suspended to ensure the safety of our staff and children we serve. We will be sure to notify everyone when those services can safely resume.
  
• Our Safety Committee is working very hard to create re-entry plans that will keep our staff as well as the children and adults we serve safe. The plans will also put vital practices and policies in place to ensure we have done everything possible to "stop the spread." We are working with our Developmental Disabilities Alliance of WNY (DDAWNY) partner agencies to acquire the sought after protective equipment (PPE) that we will need as part of eventual reopening. If you have any thoughts on practices that need to be considered as we work to create re-entry plans, please contact our Safety Committee at [email protected]

We ask that you continue to monitor your email, our website, our social media, and local news stations pages for any updated information regarding our organization. If you are in need or any assistance or support, please reach out to the staff members you are connected to or contact us at [email protected] and someone will get back to you. Please remember that we that we have an extraordinarily dedicated staff that remains committed to offering the best quality supports that we can provide during this unprecedented time. I hope to see you all very soon!

Stay well and safe,

Anne Spisiak

Executive Director, Cantalician Center for Learning

Resource Links: The following are useful links to help people have ease of access to important COVID-19 information: (Last updated 5/15/2020)

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
• World Health Organization (WHO): https://www.who.int/
• Department of Health: https://www.health.ny.gov/
• Erie County Department of Health: http://www2.erie.gov/health/index.php?q=coronavirus
• St. John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/
• New York State Education: http://www.nysed.gov/
• Office for People With Developmental Disabilities: https://opwdd.ny.gov/
• Office of Child and Family Services: ocfs.ny.gov
• Erie County Emergency Services Department (Region 5) Office: (716) 858-4909 24/7: (716) 898-3696
• OPWDD: https://opwdd.ny.gov/  
• OPWDD Providers: https://opwdd.ny.gov/news_and_publications/coronavirus-guidance-opwdd-service-providers    

Statistical Information:

• St. John Hopkins's COVID-19 Interactive Map: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
• CDC Data at a Glance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html#2019coronavirus-summary
• Department of Health - Positive Cases By County: https://health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/coronavirus/

CDC / WHO / DOH / Miscellaneous Resources:

• COVID-19 in the U.S. (at a glance): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html
• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) technical guidance: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance
• WHO COVID-19 Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd
• WHO Critical Preparedness and Response Plans: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/critical-preparedness-readiness-and-response-actions-for-covid-19