Dear Imagine friends and family,
I want to lead with how proud I am of all of you. You hope that in a crisis. we can all pull together. The Coronavirus pandemic is a real crisis and you have pulled together beautifully. People are staying home with very few symptoms and observing the recommendations from public health authorities while their coworkers work extra to cover each other’s shifts. The care has been kind. Families have come forward to help as have friends. Thank you. We appreciate you.
As a community, we are doing well. Nearly every position was full when this started which helps a lot. We are currently hiring so that those of you working so hard can catch your breath. We are in the hiring process with half a dozen great people including two whose work will be reserved for filling in when someone can’t come in.
As of this writing, no individual served by Imagine has been tested for COVID-19 and we have not had cause to seek a test. Four employees are or have been on leave after testing due to symptoms consistent with COVID-19, and one employee is on leave due to symptoms but was denied a test. All of the employees tested have received results that they are not infected with Novel Coronavirus. We will support our colleagues to remain out until it is medically appropriate for them to return to work. We encourage other employees who are sick to stay home. Those with fever, coughing and/or difficulty breathing should stay home and contact their doctor.
In the meanwhile, it is crucial that we honor the shelter in place order, maintain social distance to the extent possible, stay home when sick, get tested when instructed and follow the recommended hygiene. And continue to look out for each other. We’ll get through this.
To help, Imagine has:
- Ordered a bunch of board games and activity books to help with the extended time at home;
- Ordered reusable masks from a local artisan and small bottles of sanitizer spray for when you are in the community;
- Developed on-line onboarding to facilitate and streamline the hiring process;
- Hired half a dozen new staff to assist with coverage and extended hours of care, with a goal to hire 15.
- Asked our Facilitators to assess critical supports needed by individuals with less than 24 hour care, so that if we need to temporarily reduce hours of service, we insure that their wellbeing continues to be addressed;
- Spent more than a little time conjuring the party we’re gonna throw you all when it is safe again;
- Raised the referral bonus for employees who bring friends to help;
- Arranged online social opportunities for the people we serve;
- Begun work with our partners at San Andreas Regional Center to prepare “surge capacity” in case the needs of individuals in our community change suddenly due to the pandemic; and,
- Given thanks for all of you.
And Imagine is in the process of::
- Making our own hand sanitizer, thanks to an anonymous donation of materials which overcame many barriers. We will be maklng more than we can use even under current circumstances and will be sharing what we make with our community. Watch our Facebook page for availability.
- Gathering reusable masks to reduce the risk of in-home staff passing airborne germs to each other and the people we serve. Although these are not readily available, we are currently working with four suppliers (three local) to provide masks to all staff. As the masks come in, they are being prioritized according to the size of the team and the underlying health conditions of the individuals served.
You can keep up, if you are concerned, at the CDC website dedicated to this disease, the link is here.
By the way and for obvious reasons, the Book Reading by Marc Sanders will be rescheduled at a later date.
As ever, if you have any questions, feedback or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can write me here.
Gratefully yours,
Doug