Good Evening,
I am sure many of you were tuned in this afternoon, to Governor Mike DeWine’s COVID-19 update press conference. We learned in the press conference that a “Stay At Home Order”, has been put in place for the state of Ohio. Amy Acton, MD, MPH, Director of the Ohio Department of Health, has ordered that all persons stay at home unless engaged in essential work activity. I anticipate that there will be many questions as to what this means for the employees at Catalyst Life Services and our operations.
Per the Director’s Stay At Home order, Catalyst Life Services, a Behavioral Health Care Provider, is considered an Essential Business. This is defined by the majority of services provided at Catalyst Life Services. We will be reviewing the order closely and getting more guidance on some services and operations that need more clarity. The order states “Essential Businesses are encouraged to remain open.”
In response to this pandemic, new emergency rules have given us the ability to provide many services through telehealth. The goal is to keep individuals home and to practice social distancing. While our doors will remain open, telehealth should be our preferred method of treatment. A week and half ago, several staff who had the ability to work remotely, were instructed to do so. As the telehealth options became available at the end of last week, we will be assessing the possibility for more individuals working remotely. Our goal is to allow those who have the ability to work remotely, successfully and productively, to move in this direction.
As an Essential Business, our doors will remain open. We will still be here to provide very needed and important services to our consumers. For a variety of reasons, telehealth will not always be an option. We also have staff at the agency that may not have the ability to work from home, based on the duties of their position. This is why it is critical that we are following all CDC recommendations. We will practice Social Distancing and strong hand washing measures. We will stay home if we are ill, and have any signs or symptoms of COVID-19. We will be encouraging and supportive of our co-workers who need to stay home. We will avoid group gatherings, in which we don’t have ability to be 6 feet apart. We are completing screenings, and temperature checks on all staff and consumers. We will continue to do this.
I am truly grateful to all the staff at Catalyst Life Services. This is a time of uncertainty and fear and I am amazed watching so many pull together, and do what we do best. Take care of the people we serve and each other.
” Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
With gratitude,
Laura Montgomery, President & CEO