July 17, 2020
 
Dear Family Members and Caregivers,
 
EEDA is planning for a re-opening of Day Habilitation and family home visitation beginning Wednesday, July 22nd, 2020. Please be advised of the specific details:
 
Day Habilitation:
  • Individuals living in EEDA’s residences will not currently attend a Day Program outside of the residence (whether it’s through EEDA or another agency). EEDA will continue to provide Day Habiltation programming in the IRA, including planned safe outings.
  • A small group of fifteen community members will attend two Day Hab locations. This location may not be your family member’s regular Day Hab location, but we will ensure that staff members are familiar with your loved one.
  • Those who indicated on the Day Hab survey that your loved one is ready to return to program will receive a phone call or letter informing you of the schedule. EEDA has not scheduled everyone to return at once.
  • Many of you have opted out of returning to Day Hab at this time, which we totally understand. Please maintain communication with us and let us know if this changes.
  • For record keeping purposes we will have to complete a health screening form that records data related to COVID-19. This will be a daily occurrence.
  • Your loved one’s temperature will be taken prior to being admitted to the van. If a person’s temperature registers over 100.0 degrees, your loved one will not be admitted to the van and you will need to speak with Day Hab management regarding the next step.
  • Day Hab hours may vary and community activities will be limited. Day Hab staff will keep you informed. 
  • We will assess the Day Hab Program every two weeks and schedule accordingly.  
  • EEDA has made Virtual Day Hab available during the week and Virtual Socialization is now available on weeknights and Saturdays. These services are available to everyone and we encourage your loved one to participate. For more information, please click this link.
  • You can find EEDA’s Day Hab Policy here and EEDA’s Day Hab Form here.
 
Family Home Visitation:
EEDA is planning to resume family home visitation for individuals living in our IRAs beginning July 22, 2020. We understand how hard this has been for you and your loved one and we want to ensure satisfaction, safety, and success. We ask family members cooperation with the following:

  • Family members will need to make an appointment with residential management staff to plan visitation and adhere to the regulations in our Family Home Visitation Policy.
  • Family members must agree to have their own temperature taken and complete a health screening questionnaire prior to leaving the IRA with their loved one.
  • Family members will have to agree to fill out a family home visitation form, which can be found here.
  • These forms require personal information regarding visitors and community outings during the home visit. Please be assured that we are not trying to pry into your private business, but during the pandemic it is paramount that we all work within the strictest guidelines to protect our residential participants. Equally important, we need to keep our staff members safe.
 
I encourage you to remain flexible and patient while we proceed with re-opening plans for Day Habilitation and family home visitation. Please keep in mind that our guidance comes from the Department of Health and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities. We have never experienced a pandemic before and have learned there is a lot of information that needs to be coordinated, processed, and implemented. The only thing that has remained steady is the strength and action of our EEDA staff. They exhibit daily the EEDA values of professionalism, compassion, good humor, pride, respect, and creativity. We are so fortunate to have each and every one of them.
 
We look forward to working with you and your loved ones each step along the way.  
 
 
Sincerely Yours,
Lisa Meyer Fertal
Chief Executive Officer
Travel Advisory: Restricted States

Based upon Governor Cuomo's Executive Order 205, issued June 25, 2020, the following states and territories meet the criteria for required quarantine: 
  • Alaska 
  • Alabama 
  • Arkansas 
  • Arizona 
  • Colorado 
  • Delaware 
  • Florida 
  • Georgia 
  • Guam 
  • Iowa 
  • Idaho 
  • Illinois 
  • Indiana 
  • Kansas 
  • Kentucky 
  • Louisiana 
  • Maryland 
  • Michigan 
  • Minnesota 
  • Missouri 
  • Mississippi 
  • Montana 
  • North Carolina 
  • North Dakota 
  • Nebraska 
  • New Mexico 
  • Nevada 
  • Ohio 
  • Oklahoma 
  • Puerto Rico 
  • Rhode Island 
  • South Carolina 
  • South Dakota 
  • Tennessee 
  • Texas 
  • Utah 
  • Virginia 
  • Wisconsin 
  • West Virginia 
  • Wyoming
These restrictions are based on a seven day rolling average of positive tests in excess of 10%, or number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents. 
Dear Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers,
 
I hope this letter finds you well. The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) mandated that all providers in New York State close their Day Habilitation Programs on March 18, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. East End Disability Associates realizes this has not been an easy time for anyone. 
 
While we would love to open our day programs soon, carefully of course, programs remain closed according to OPWDD’s guidelines. However, EEDA anticipates that day programs will be reopening sometime in the future and that programming will be much different than what we are all used to. In order to prepare for the reopening of day programs we feel it is important to start planning early.
 
To design day programming that best suits the needs of our families, we would like to get some input from all of you and hear your questions and concerns regarding your loved one returning to the Day Habilitation Program. While we await guidance from OPWDD and the Department of Health (DOH), we have created the attached survey to help us gather information to formulate the best possible plan for re-opening. The information you provide us with will help us create the safest environment for your loved one. Thank you for taking the time to participate in this important survey. Please click the button below to begin taking the survey.
​Lisa Kennedy,
East End Disability Associates
Associate Director of Day Services

COVID-19 Resources and Links

EEDA Policies & Procedures ​
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EEDA Letters