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COVI-19 President’s Update June 6

Good Morning Cushing Community,
I am pleased to report that Cushing continues to remain healthy with no new reported cases this week. As the cases in the state continue to decline and we begin to move into Phase 2, we now have permission from the state to allow on-site visits. I know that this has been an incredibly long time to wait and has been very stressful and emotional for both our families and for those that we support. Effective June 9th, Cardinal Cushing’s student and adult residences will begin to schedule onsite, outdoor family visits.

All family visits must be scheduled in advance through Student Program Coordinators or through House Managers in our Adult residential program and must comply with social distancing directives from public health officials and licensors (guidelines are below). We know that socially distant visits are not ideal, however, we must adhere to these protocols and guidelines the best we can to prevent infection within our community. If there are any changes to the attached guidelines, we will update families immediately. Additionally, these family visits are subject to change based on weather, advisement from state agencies or due to increased risks of infection within our community.

As weather has changed, and summer is approaching, it seems we will be tasked to continue with this. Unfortunately, we have been advised that we still cannot allow those we support to go home or to go offsite with family members. We ask for your patience and support as we navigate this next step. We know that these restrictions continue to create a great amount of heartache for our families and those we support. Our staff share your sadness and frustration over these continued restrictions however, we must comply with all of the guidelines put forth by EEC, DDS and DPH. We will continue to advocate on behalf of those we support and their families and we hope to have additional guidance from DDS and EEC in the coming weeks as the state begins to move through phases of reopening.

We received notification from DESE that they will be releasing guidelines next week regarding the reopening of all schools. We continue to await guidance from DDS on the reopening of our adult day programs as well. Our administrative team has been meeting regularly to discuss reopening plans as well as making modifications to the environment in order to comply with social distancing.

Thank you again for all of your help and support during these times. I invite you to reach out to program directors to share any questions or concerns you have around these guidelines. While it is a small step, we are all excited to begin this next phase at Cushing.

Visitation Guidance Adult Services
Student Services-Family Visit Guidance

Be Well,
Michelle Markowitz
Interim President & CEO