COVID-19 and the resulting shut-down and stay-at-home orders have been challenging for everyone... TrueNorth included! As an essential, life-sustaining business that remained open during quarantine, our leaders and staff quickly found solutions to meet our consumer and employee needs while working within policies, procedures and health guidelines that changed nearly daily.
Our team rose to the challenge and did stellar job! Here's what we've been up to since March...
All of our locations put a cleaning and sanitizing regimen in place, with high touch surfaces cleaned and staff washing hands after each client. Staff and clients wear face masks and the number of people in waiting areas is limited.
Additionally, some programs - like Social Rehab and Family-Based - stopped services in order to comply with health department mandates and keep everyone safe, opting for periodic check in calls to clients. Many of the staff from closed programs transitioned to help other departments that were seeing increased calls for services.
Telehealth was implemented in most programs in order to continue providing services while staying socially distanced.
Click HERE to read about the Benefits of Telehealth.
The Amazing Kids Clubs in Hanover and Red Lion closed to having kids on site, but staff continued to check in with families via phone and video calls. They also used the time to clean, reorganize and rearrange, as well as create new curriculum for when the program re-opens. Summer Camp was re-worked and a virtual version kicked off the beginning of June.
Crisis and Residential Services have taken on the biggest challenge in providing 24/7 care in a way that is safe for both employees and consumers.
In our Assisted & Supported Living and Community Residential Rehabilitation homes, residents had to abide by the Governor's Stay-at-Home mandate. Like you, they weren't able to visit with family or friends, their activities were cancelled and they were stuck at home. Our staff stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park with implementing protocol for a sanitized environment, ensuring residents had everything they needed and even planning activities to keep them occupied.
One big concern was what would happen if a resident tested positive for the corona virus... Where would they quarantine? The answer came in a big way! A couple who both work on staff at TrueNorth were wanting to do something to help during the pandemic. They realized they have a rental property that is between renters and sitting empty. They offered the fully-functioning, furnished apartment for client use if anyone becomes ill or needs to quarantine. Having this option is a perfect solution and greatly appreciated!
Crisis has continued providing services at our Walk-In Center in Hanover as well as the hospitals in Adams, York and Fulton counties. Other interactions happened via telephone and telehealth.
Our increase in crisis calls and customer engagements indicates the pandemic, stay-at-home orders and other unsettling happenings of 2020 have put mental health concerns on high alert across our service areas.
As the communities we serve begin to re-open, TrueNorth continues to monitor the situation, with senior leaders meeting virtually on a daily basis and communicating with staff via email with frequent updates. All safety precautions and protocols have remained in place and are updated as needed.
We are thankful we have been able to seamlessly re-work our services in order to meet the requirements and continue to serve our communities during this time. We couldn't have done it without our amazing - and flexible - staff who continually look for ways to improve our client experience/interactions and a wonderful community who supports the work we do!