COVID-19

January 2021 Closure Notice

January 7, 2020

Dear friends,

We are writing to update you regarding The Price Center’s response to the unprecedented
COVID-19 health crisis. In a meeting this afternoon, we decided to close The Price Center’s Day
Program at 25-27 Christina St. in Newton for two weeks effective immediately.

As I’m sure you are aware, our country is in the throes of an unprecedented Covid-19 spike
following the holidays which threatens the reliability of our healthcare system (as we are
currently seeing occur firsthand in other states). Given this situation and the dangerous trends in
Massachusetts in terms of test positivity rates, absolute and relative increases in daily confirmed
cases and the resulting pressures being placed on our healthcare facilities, The Price Center will
not be reopening as planned on this coming Thursday January 7th. We will remain closed at
least through Friday January 22 – pending sufficient improvement in terms of State and local
Covid infection & transition rates & hospitalizations. Further confirmation of reopening or
extension of closure will be circulated by Thursday January 21.

This difficult decision was made after much consideration and filtering of information from a
variety of trusted sources. We want to assure you that this is a preventative measure made in the
best interest of the health of our individuals, staff, and the greater Price Center Community. We
will update you promptly should anything change.

Our Residential Programs will continue with little change other than the factors itemized below.

Residential Program Impact:

• Residential Programs will continue with 24-hour coverage.
• We anticipate, greater Price Center resources will be freed up to support our residential team.
• Please be advised that our Moratorium on visitation for residential programs is going back into
  effect until further notice – no non-employee outside parties will be allowed on premises at any
  of our residential facilities.

Thank you all for your understanding and support in this difficult time. We appreciate that this
closure does create difficulties for everyone and these decisions are never easy. Thanks also to
our dedicated staff who have so selflessly persevered and remain positive about our mission.
We owe them all a great debt of gratitude.

Sincerely,
Lou MacDonald

December 21, 2020

Dear Friends,

Last month we elected to close for one week following the Thanksgiving Holiday in order to conduct adequate testing (given the required five (5) day incubation period). We are pleased to say that this procedure allowed us to successfully reopen as planned following the closure with no Thanksgiving related Covid incidence in our programs.

In consideration of the continued growth in Covid infection within the Commonwealth and the regression to Phase 2 Level 1 by many communities including Newton, we will once again be closing following Christmas and New Years in order to guard against the possibility of holiday related introduction of the virus into The Price Center.

Due to the cadence of the two holidays and the associated five (5) day waiting period prior to testing, the duration of closure will extend from our originally scheduled closure date of Wednesday December 23, through Thursday January 7 (assuming of course that test results confirm no significant incidence of Convid-19).

We plan to test all staff engaged in our Day Programs prior to reopening as well as program participants whose testing may be requested by their guardian.

We appreciate that the duration of this closure may impose a hardship on those in need of a more speedy return to Day Services. We nonetheless feel it is of importance to remain cautious in these unprecedented times. On-line programming will continue following our holiday schedule. Please be reminded that participation in these programs is important for all individuals and allows The Price Center to fund all of our continuing program efforts.

Finally, Walgreens Pharmacy has contacted us regarding scheduling a vaccination program for our staff and residential program participants. While we have no firm dates yet in place, we do believe that the first vaccination is likely to take place in December or early January. This is a very exciting development in our efforts to return to a safer and more stable programming environment.

Stay safe and Happy Holidays.

Lou

December 5, 2020

Day Programs Will Resume Operations as Planned Monday December 7

The Price Center successfully tested eighty seven (87) staff yesterday including all Day Program Staff and is please to announce that we will reopen Day Program Services Monday December 7, 2020.

November 20, 2020

Dear Friends,

As you know, this Thanksgiving is occurring during an extraordinary spike in Covid-19 cases within the country and within the Commonwealth. Furthermore, it is one of four major holidays occurring in rapid succession – Hanukah, Christmas, and New Year’s being the other three. With the example of Canadian Thanksgiving (October 12) and the roughly doubling of cases attributed to its celebration in Canada as well as the risks posed by the over fifty million Americans expected to travel and congregate next week, we have determined to take a course of action to alleviate the resulting risks to our Day Program staff and attendees.

We will close (per our preexisting schedule) on Thursday November 26 and remain closed for an extended week with planned reopening on Monday December 7. This closure will:

• Allow us to fully test Day Program staff on Friday December 4th and secure test results over the weekend (12/5-12/6). Ensuring no positive asymptomatic cases enter our premises.
• Secure attestations and testing as needed for Day Program attendees.
• Determine as a result of the foregoing activities the advisability of maintaining our planned reopening date of Monday December 7.

A confirmation of, or any changes to our reopening plan will be communicated and posted in the Covid-19 section of our website by Sunday December 6th.

During the closure we will maintain and, in some cases, expand our on-line programming. Please be reminded that your loved one’s participation in our on-line services is important to their well-being and in most cases provides a reimbursement mechanism for The Price Center to maintain its staffing and service levels.

Finally, thanks to our staff for their diligence, creativity, and determination in working through the many challenges posed by this unparalleled crisis and to you for your understanding and support. We remain highly committed to our mission and are in fact optimistic that once this crisis has passed, we will emerge as a more resilient and dynamic organization.

Happy Holidays and Stay Safe,

Lou

November 20, 2020

Thanksgiving Break Residential Program Procedures

As we approach Thanksgiving break, we are reminded that while it has been a difficult year, we have a lot for which to be grateful. We are grateful for the effort, patience and grace that has been shown by our individuals, staff and families. Price Center homes as we once knew them, have undergone many changes and we continue to adapt as needed. We are thankful to be surrounded by a caring community of interdisciplinary teams, staff and caregivers that want the best for their individuals.

We understand that in a typical year this holiday may be a time to travel and visit with family and friends, however, this year we ask that you seriously consider your holiday plans. Unfortunately, we are not in a typical year and as of late we have seen dramatic increases in the transmission of COVID-19. This has occurred across the country and Massachusetts, but it has also occurred specifically within our own community. We need to work harder individually and as a community to model good behaviors in an effort to protect the health of our community and to help keep our homes quarantine free.

Please fill out, sign and submit the attestation form that can be found by clicking here. In order to assist us in keeping our group homes from being negatively impacted by Covid-19 we ask that you attest to the following statements included in the Attestation Form.

• During Thanksgiving break, individuals returning to their guardians care for the holiday did NOT travel to locations other than in low-risk states. (Low-risk states are defined per Massachusetts guidelines found at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order#lower-risk-states-. )
• During Thanksgiving break, individuals returning to their guardians care for the holiday did NOT participate in any social gatherings that violate Massachusetts guidelines regarding such gatherings. (Guidelines for social gatherings can be found at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-state-of-emergency#limits-on-gatherings-)

If you choose to decline to certify the above statements, or if you elect to not complete and submit the form, individuals will not be permitted to return to their residential program (a) for 14 calendar days after their return to Massachusetts if they traveled or (b) until they provide proof of a negative test result for COVID-19.

The Price Center will be providing testing on 12/4/2020 for individuals that have travelled or would like to be tested prior to returning to their Price Center residence. If you would like to schedule your loved one for testing please contact the Price Center Nursing Department at 617-244-0065X 5004. A medical consent form will need to be signed and returned in order for the testing to be completed. This form can be found on the last page.

We appreciate your support and attention to this matter. Our goal remains to continue to provide as much inperson programming for our individuals as possible in a safe environment. Thank you for your continued support and dedication during this difficult time. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.

Sincerely, Renata Ivnitskaya BSN, RN Director of Nursing & Healthcare Services

View Attestation Form PDF

November 20, 2020

Thanksgiving Break Day Program Procedures

As we approach Thanksgiving break, we are reminded that while it has been a difficult year, we have a lot for which to be grateful. We are grateful for the effort, patience and grace that has been shown by our individuals, staff and families. Price Center day services as we once knew them, have undergone many changes and we continue to adapt as needed. We are thankful to be surrounded by a caring community of interdisciplinary teams, staff and caregivers that want the best for their individuals.

We understand that in a typical year this holiday may be a time to travel and visit with family and friends, however, this year we ask that you seriously consider your holiday plans. Unfortunately, we are not in a typical year and as of late we have seen dramatic increases in the transmission of COVID-19. This has occurred across the country and Massachusetts, but it has also occurred specifically within our own community. We need to work harder individually and as a community to model good behaviors in an effort to protect the health of our community and to help keep our programs open for in-person programming.

Please fill out, sign and submit the attestation form that can be found by clicking here. In order to keep our programs open for individuals & staff to safely learn, teach, and interact we ask that you attest to the following statements included in the Attestation Form.

• During Thanksgiving break, individuals residing in the household did NOT travel to locations other than in low-risk states. (Low-risk states are defined per Massachusetts guidelines found at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order#lower-risk-states-. )
• During Thanksgiving break, individuals residing in the household did NOT participate in any social gatherings that violate Massachusetts guidelines regarding such gatherings. (Guidelines for social gatherings can be found at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-state-of-emergency#limits-on-gatherings-)

If you choose to decline to certify the above statements, or if you elect to not complete and submit the form, individuals will not be permitted to participate in on-site programming (a) for 14 calendar days after their return to Massachusetts if they traveled or (b) until they provide proof of a negative test result for COVID-19. Until then, these individuals may only participate in on-line programming.

The Price Center will be providing testing on 12/4/2020 for individuals who have travelled or would like to be tested prior to returning to on-site programming. If you would like to schedule your loved one for testing please contact The Price Center Nursing Department at 617-244-0065 X 5004. A medical consent form will need to be signed and returned in order for testing to be completed. This form can be found on the last page.

We appreciate your support and attention to this matter. Our goal remains to continue to provide as much in-person programming for our individuals as possible in a safe environment. Thank you for your continued support and dedication during this difficult time. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.

Sincerely, Renata Ivnitskaya BSN, RN Director of Nursing & Healthcare Services

View Attestation Form PDF

November 10, 2020

Dear Friends,

I thought this was a good time to update you on a number of important Covid related items regarding The Price Center.

Firstly, to address the increasing risk of infection as COVID-19 infections rise in the Commonwealth and nationally, The Price Center has launched a partnership with ProEMS to enable our healthcare staff to test employees (and individuals with appropriate authorization) in our facility and to receive results back within twenty-four hours. This 24-hr. response lets us proactively search for contagion even in the absence of symptoms. It has also helped us respond quickly to reported exposures within our programs. Residential staff are tested at least twice monthly and Day Services staff are tested as-needed.

We have adapted to the current environment by better using the size and layout of our Day Services facility to our benefit. Pre-COVID, our facility could accommodate well over two hundred individuals and staff. To meet Social Distancing recommendations, we are now comfortably serving just over fifty and can incrementally expand services as circumstances allow. We’ve assigned small groups to rooms with dedicated staff, strategically installed partitions, and established one-way traffic flow patterns, all to minimize contact. To the same end, we’re using the elevator only by exception and are using all five of our external entrances for different groups. All attendees and staff must be temperature checked and be symptom-free to enter The Price Center. Finally, we are not allowing visitors into our facilities and have adequate PPE readily available for everyone that needs it and its use is strictly enforced.

We are also enforcing these rules in our residential settings.

To their credit, the Newton and Brookline Health Departments have been responsive, professional, and consistent in their guidance. We have greatly benefitted from their support. And we’ve been extremely fortunate in minimizing the infections in our “family.”

Today, we have many advantages in dealing with the virus that were not available to us last Spring. Nonetheless, we are fighting this crisis under the same constraints as the rest of society. In this respect, we have experienced several setbacks in the past two weeks. An asymptomatic individual brought the infection into a Day Hab room two weeks ago and infected another individual and two staff members. We have quarantined the entire room as a result and suspended the Day Hab program until we completed two rounds of employees testing negative. Additionally, we detected the virus in a staff member at one residence, which necessitated our placing the staff and the house in fourteen-day quarantine.

Be assured we are carefully monitoring the situation in the Commonwealth and in our programs and we’re taking things one day at a time. We are continuing to work closely with State and City officials as well as many of our peer agencies to assess COVID trends and take appropriate actions.

I also want to recognize the extraordinary work of our Healthcare Services team led by Renata Ivnitskaya and call attention to the commitment, care, and dedication of our leaders and staff in our Residential and Day Services programs. These exceptional people labor around the clock to meet our individual’s needs and maintain a COVID-safe environment. They are an inspiration to us all.

Thank you,

Lou MacDonald

Chief Executive Officer

lmacdonald@thepricecenter.org

September 1, 2020

Dear Price Center Community Member:

While the pandemic remains a concern to all, in accordance with the State’s reopening initiative, the staff at The Price Center have been hard at work crafting guidelines and practices to inform our incremental approach to reopening in order to better manage COVID-19 risks and restore much needed services to our families and the individuals we serve.

On August 10, 2020, The Price Center launched Phase 1 of our day program reopening strategy.  As an agency, we made the decision to reopen very slowly and will continue to accept individuals back into the program selectively based upon need, risk factors, and ability to comply with safety measures such as mask wearing, social distancing, etc.  The health and safety of the individuals we serve and staff is our prime consideration.  At the end of week 3, we had a total of 21 individuals attending our Christina Street day programs (7 in Community Based Day and Specialized Supports, and 14 in our two Day Habilitation Programs). 

Our Phase 1 reopening assessed individuals based upon various factors such as risk/benefit, and ability to tolerate a mask or face shield.  Availability of transportation and readiness to return were also considered.  Phase 1 is a small representation of our Price Center community.  As we successfully near the beginning of Phase 2, we are expanding the number of individuals attending our day programs to those who will access other means of transportation (i.e. The RIDE, Mass Health and DDS funded transportation) and are able to practice social distancing but may not be able to tolerate wearing a mask or face shield.

This letter and its attachments contain important information relating to reopening including the special precautionary policies and practices we will be following to minimize the risks of COVID-19 transmission among the individuals we serve, our employees, and others.  Although, your loved one may not be returning back in Phase 2, we feel it is important for you to know how seriously we take health and safety and all of the safeguards we have in place.

In addition to our updated policies and practices, our program activities and group structures have been modified to assure appropriate social distancing, use of masks, and improved hygiene.  Additionally, we have made significant changes to our spacious facility to better accommodate ventilation and social distancing needs.  The attached documents will detail all of the precautionary steps we have taken to protect the individuals and staff working in our day programs.

Please note that individuals or guardians must complete and return several documents prior to commencing programming. 

• Signed Attestation of Risk
• A current comprehensive medication list with dosage, strength, route, time included.
• Signed physician orders for any medications that will need to be administered at the program. For Individuals attending the Day Habilitation programs only – A current medication list signed by the Health Care Provider may be acceptable. 
• Signed acknowledgement receipt of The Price Center “Day Programs Re-opening Safety and Health Guidance Handbook”

Our primary concern continues to be for the welfare of the individuals we serve and our employees.  We thank you for your partnership in our efforts to keep all of our individuals and employees safe and healthy.

Please visit our website for updates and feel free to contact your program’s Director with program related inquires.

Thank you,

Lou MacDonald

Chief Executive Officer

lmacdonald@thepricecenter.org

March 31, 2020

May 1, 2020

Dear Friends,

Greetings and sincere wishes from The Price Center community.  I hope that that you and your family are healthy and successfully weathering this unprecedented crisis.   I wanted to update you with a brief status report on our reopening plans, as well as our many ongoing activities.

First, not surprisingly, we do not plan to reopen our day programs in the next thirty days.  The scope of this continuing pandemic, as well as the State’s extension of business closures make it apparent that this will not be possible.  As we were among the very first to proactively close our operations on March 13, we will exercise the same prudence when evaluating reopening scenarios in order to best assure the health and safety of the individuals we serve – our top priority.

We have had ongoing internal discussions and are forming a Reopening Advisory Committee to be led by Renata Ivnitskaya R.N., our Healthcare Supervisor.  We will examine and plan various scenarios for a phased return to full operations which considers criteria for reopening, as well as execution strategies and new protocols for health and safety.  

Our Residential Community has continued unabated and the commitment and diligence of our residential staff has been extraordinary.  As a relatively new member of the team, I am humbled by the efforts of our residential employees and their leadership.

All of our staff are extraordinary and vital to our efforts to serve your loved ones.  Our folks have been busily employed in a variety of outreach activities including, live health checks, Zoom based fitness and interactive stories, and video based activities.  We have received great feedback from many of you regarding the value of these efforts and you should know, it has been important to our staff members as well.  Additionally, day staff have engaged in supporting our residences, maintaining our facilities, and a variety of tasks to support The Price Center.  We are doing our very best to keep all of our excellent staff employed during this emergency. 

Thank you for your continued support.  Please reach out to me at any time at the email address below with questions, suggestions, offers of assistance, or if you feel we can support you in any way.

Best regards and stay well,

Lou

Lou MacDonald
Chief Executive Officer
LMacDonald@thepricecenter.org

March 31, 2020

Dear Friends,

I hope and trust that you and yours are all well and being vigilant during this unprecedented health crisis.  I’m reaching out to share the steps The Price Center has taken to date, as well as our more forward-looking plans and perspective.  Rest assured that every decision and step we take is being made with the health and wellbeing of the special individuals we serve as well as that of our staff in mind.

In mid-February we formed an internal Task Force to monitor the situation and plan for actions accordingly.  We consulted with leaders in the public health community, physicians on the front lines, and the State for guidance. Early on, we implemented stringent sanitation practices and screened all who entered the Price Center for illness and fever.  By March 13th however, it was becoming apparent that these efforts may not be sufficient to protect our community and we became one of the first organizations of our type to close all of our day programs.

The situation was, and remains, fluid in terms of when we might reopen.  We are hoping and planning for the situation to stabilize and allow us to reopen as early as May 4, but this is by no means certain and, at this time, is optimistic.  We will keep you posted via email and web site postings as the situation progresses.  We continue to work with the State, Trade Associations, and Public Health Experts and to consider their guidance.

Our residential programs continue with enhanced precautions in effect.  We have enlisted back-up staff to meet our additional needs from our qualified day staff.  We have built food and material inventories at each house in accordance with our COOP policy and have a central repository as well at our facility on Christina St. in Newton.  We screen all staff daily prior to their entrance to at our facilities.  Please keep in mind that no visitation is allowed for the sake of the health of our individuals.

Central to our ability to serve is the health, wellbeing, and retention of our excellent staff.  Many have been with us for years and their talent, commitment, and dedication to the individuals we serve is a critical ingredient driving the quality of our services.  We have continued to pay them even in the absence of visibility into possible State compensation, which is only now beginning to take shape.  We currently have no way to know if such compensation will meet the extraordinary costs imposed on The Price Center or will replenish our endowment, which has been impacted both by operations and by investment slippage.

Our staff have really stepped up, and those who can are engaged in numerous activities of service to The Price Center and the individuals we serve including:

• Providing back-up staffing to our residential programs which now operate 24/7 under very difficult and stressful circumstances.
• Stepping in to support non-Price Center residences that need experienced and qualified staff, especially those homes where our individuals live.
• Working behind the scenes to create YouTube and Zoom recreational and educational productions for our individuals at home.
• Creating and refining Covid-19 specific training materials for all staff.
• Building inventories of supplies and back-up food.
• Improving our Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).
• Cleaning and maintaining all aspects of our main facility.
• Improving the external environments at our homes.
• Supporting vital administrative functions.
• Working to help us secure adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our operations in the face of severe shortage.
• Providing outreach to isolated individuals and families.

As we are transitioning to this new reality (no matter how long or short the circumstances may dictate) we are also aware that our ability to communicate with all of our constituents needs to constantly improve.  We are well engaged with a project to improve our web presence that has been underway and we hope to launch a cleaner, more navigable site within weeks.  Until then, please do utilize our existing site at www.thepricecenter.org for updates and services.

We are also engaged routinely with our Board of Directors who have been a solid base of support and guidance during this crisis.  Our sincere thanks go to them as well as to all of the people who have reached out to us to offer support and assistance.  We will need the involvement of all who care about our achievements over the last forty years to assure our success in the next forty years.

In that sense, while we are necessarily focused on the situation at hand, we are also optimistically looking forward to a better future for our organization and the entire community we serve. For this we will draw upon everyone with a stake in our success to contribute meaningfully, as their heart and their circumstances allow, to help us pick up the torch and build a greater tomorrow. 

We will be in touch.

Very best wishes for a safe and healthy April.

Lou

Lou MacDonald                                                            
Chief Executive Officer                                                              
617-244-0065 x1003                                                                  
LMacDonald@thepricecenter.org                                  

March 14, 2020

We are writing to update you regarding The Price Center’s response to the unprecedented COVID-19 health crisis. In a meeting this afternoon, we, together with the Board of Directors, decided to close The Price Center’s Day Program at 25-27 Christina St. in Newton for two weeks effective immediately. Our Residential Programs will continue with little change other than the factors itemized below. This difficult decision was made after much consideration and filtering of information from a variety of trusted sources. We want to assure you that this is a preventative measure made in the best interests of the health of our individuals, staff, and the greater Price Center Community. While we have had several individuals and one staff person sent home with illness this week, allow us to emphasize that at this time, we have received no notification of any suspected or known cases of COVID-19 among our individuals served, or staff.

We hope and expect to re-open Monday, March 30. Until then, we will be in close communication with The Price Center’s Board of Directors, DDS, as well as local and State Public Health Agencies. We will update you promptly should anything change.

Residential Program Impact:

• Residential Programs will continue with 24-hour coverage.
• We anticipate, greater Price Center resources will be freed up to support our residential team.
• Please be advised that our Moratorium on visitation for residential programs remains intact until further notice – no non-employee outside parties will be allowed on premises at any of our residential facilities.

We have stepped up our employee screening for all shifts including taking the temperature of all incoming staff.

In addition to email please visit our web-site for updates and please contact Shannon Teles our VP of Programs with program related inquires.

Sincerely,

Lou MacDonald                                                            Michelle Fineberg

President, The Price Center                                        Chair, Board of Directors

March 12, 2020

In continuation of our outreach on the Coronavirus situation, following the Governor’s declaration of a State of Emergency in the Commonwealth and the World Health Organization’s declaration of the Coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, the Board and I wanted you to know how we have been preparing.

First, these declarations haven’t yet had an impact on our critical support or services, though the State has promised guidance and resources in a conference call earlier late yesterday (3/11/20).  Please keep in mind that the situation is very fluid, we are monitoring our programs and community real-time, and we anticipate specific guidance to be forthcoming shortly from the State.

Our goal is to keep the whole of The Price Center family healthy and to continue to provide uninterrupted support and services. In this effort, our priority is to take all viable precautions to prevent infection and to protect the health and welfare of our employees, clients, and their families to the greatest extent possible.

To that end, we are instituting a one month moratorium – effective immediately – on all visits to The Price Center and our Residential Programs. This visitation moratorium will be evaluated and lifted, or extended as public health circumstances require.  Changes will be posted here. 

Under normal circumstances, we love having visitors, but minimizing “community” contact is a very high priority, according to the many experts we’ve consulted, and given the vulnerability of the population we serve, a necessary precaution. This also impacts many of our “community-based” programs and activities, which we are suspending or altering, for now to minimize risk.

Further, we are:

• Engaged with health officials to ensure we are carefully following their recommendations;
• Working closely with our cleaners to clean the facilities daily to minimize the risk of transmission (and in fact taking on additional responsibilities internally);
• Training staff to evaluate and react to daily circumstances and to ensure proper hygiene is coached, supported, and practiced by everyone at The Price Center and our residences;
• Developing appropriate protocols for isolation and treatment of any individuals exhibiting symptoms; and
• Developing  contingency plans with other agencies and local and state officials.

To this point, The Price Center has not recorded any cases of Covid-19 and we are doing everything we can to avoid that possibility while putting responsible contingency plans in place.

In addition to making every effort to protect our community, we are committed to keeping you informed. Please continue to review our website for the latest updates.

Sincerely,

Lou MacDonald                                                            Michelle Fineberg

President, The Price Center                                        Chair, Board of Directors