COVID-19 UPDATE: 4/2/2020
Hello Everyone!
I sincerely hope
this finds you all well. I want to provide you an update on how Cantalician
Center for Learning is responding to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Our top
priority is the health, well-being, and safety of our team members as well as
the children and adults we serve. Though the work we do may look very different
right now, please know that we are committed to our
mission of creating opportunities for success by offering meaningful and
supportive services.
- Our
COVID-19 Response Team meets on a conference call at least daily to assess the
needs of our entire organization and pays very close attention to the ever
changing mandates and regulations and how they affect our ability to continue
to provide supports.
- Our
School Age and Preschool Services have moved to a distance learning platform following
a directive from Governor Andrew Cuomo to close schools. We are pushing out
educational content to our students via an online platform with new content
uploaded daily. I can't even begin to tell you how hard and how fast our School
Team worked to get distance learning up and running in an incredibly short
amount of time. We are reaching out to families and caregivers regularly to
address any needs while the school building is closed and making accommodations
for students who can't access content online. Thank you for your efforts,
School Team!
- Our
Day Habilitations Services and Employment Services are temporarily suspended
following a directive from the Office for People With Developmental
Disabilities (OPWDD). We are reaching out to all the individuals receiving
services regularly to ensure all of their needs are met and/or addressed. Our
outstanding Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are continuing our Meals on
Wheels volunteer opportunities that are more critical than ever at this point
in time; preparing care packages for families in need; sewing much needed
protective masks for our sister agencies that operate residential services and
keeping up with our continuous training from OPWDD. I continue to be
overwhelmed by our staff's creativity in insuring the people we serve feel
supported.
- Diversified
Labor Solutions (DLS) continues to operate with dedicated team members who are continuing
to meet the demands of our packaging customers who have been deemed essential.
More frequent cleaning including entrances, workspaces, breakrooms/lunch room,
and restrooms is occurring. Social distancing guidelines are being followed to
ensure everyone's safety.
- Our
Daycare Services are temporarily suspended to ensure the safety of our staff
and children we serve. Enrollment continued to decrease as more and more people
are being safe and staying home.
- Our dedicated administrative team members are following the
recommendations from the county and state aimed at protecting the
health of the community. They are working remotely and transitioning in-person
meetings to conference calls or virtual meet-ups. Our administrative team's
ability to adapt to working from home while keeping us "open" while being
"closed" has been extraordinary.
- We
are in daily contact with our state and local partners. We are following their
direction as well as the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) recommended
preventative protocol.
- We're evaluating our plans for upcoming events and services. At this time, our Cantalician Celebration 2020 will be postponed until November 12, 2020.
You can continue
to help by helping to prevent the spread of illness and to support the response
to this outbreak. We ask that you continue to monitor your local news stations,
our website, and our social media pages for any updated information regarding
our organization.
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 difficult
time. I want to thank you for your continued support and understanding as me
and the administrative team navigate this uncharted territory. Please know that
I miss each and every one of you and hope to see you all very soon.
Stay
well and safe,
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 3/17/2020)
- 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
