By Tom Lydon

Chief Executive Officer

To our entire Lifespire family, our individuals, staff, family members, and business partners. I want you to know that we are thinking about you and your families and wishing you well. We can appreciate the disruptive effects of this pandemic on you, your families, and our staff and on all the individuals who are in our care. It is difficult to find the right words as this crisis is unlike anything that we have experienced in our lifetime. I am overwhelmed with pride and emotion when I have seen first-hand the dedication of our front line staff. The self-sacrifice from our direct support professionals, the facilities maintenance crew, management staff from Purchasing, Facilities, Residential, Day, IT, HR. and Lifespire’ s medical/nursing team has been incredible. I also wish to thank the leadership of CSEA for their desire to insure the safety of our individuals and staff. Lifespire’s Executive staff have been busy as well securing additional PPEs for the field. We have secured 3000 N-95 masks from Weeks –Lerman and another 6000 through our affiliation with NYSARC and the IAC. We have secured emergency food, hospital beds and some hospital gowns. We have distributed hats, duct tape and sheet protectors to make additional face shields. We have also placed an order with a landscaping company to purchase 45 full-face shields. Throughout Lifespire’s residential program, we have had seven confirmed COVID-19 cases. We have been busy preparing the John Cook CSC as a temporary hospital discharge recovery site. Persons who have tested positive are considered contagious for 14 days. The individuals discharged will stay at John Cook CSC until they have reached 14 days being asymptomatic. Staff are doing 12 hour shifts and we have the shift staffed with 24/7 nursing. There are many open shifts within the residential department on weekends, 4p-12a, and 12a-8a Monday –Friday. If you are interested in working, please contact Janice Delphin in HR at jdelphin@lifespire.org, or Wendy Schoenfeld in Day Services at 917-415-1399 or Mike Polin in Residential at 917-273-9688. No one knows how long this crisis will last but I pray it will be short. I pray that you and your family and those in our care will be safe! I know that together we all will get through this worldwide pandemic. God bless you all!

With gratitude,
Tom