Foothills Caring Corps Program Services Delivery Update

June 8, 2020

Dear folks:

We hope all is well with you. It has been difficult for everyone during this public health crisis as well as the more recent unrest and tensions during the protests. We hope you are safe. We have missed seeing you these past several months!

We are excited as we make plans to see you again. You will notice many modifications of our services in the interest of safety. As always, the modifications and timing we adopt are done to support and protect our Neighbors and volunteers. Our motto continues to be safety first.

We are happy to give you an update on our movement to re-launch our services.

First, we have wonderful volunteers and staff who have been working all this time! We have been continuing to successfully handle ongoing services for:

1. Mobile Meals (Monday, Wednesday and Friday deliveries, two meals per day and three meals on Friday)
2. Telephone reassurance (volunteers and staff are making telephone calls to check on Neighbors)
3. Grocery shopping for Neighbors (shopping for essential needs with drop off in front of home)
4. Very limited medical transportation for chemotherapy, dialysis, or other special need transports

As we move forward

During the past three months, staff have been developing specific safety requirements for all Neighbors and volunteers to be put in place when we re-launch our programs. Face masks and social distancing will be critical requirements for all programs and services.

1. Scheduled virtual meetings with volunteers to explain the safety needs and to hear from our volunteers will be held in June. In addition, staff have put together some specific guidelines to make certain that we can promise and deliver requested services. It will be extremely important to inform our communities that we may have a shortage of volunteers since our volunteers will need to wear personal protective equipment and not all volunteers are comfortable with this. In addition, many of our volunteers are in the process of heading back to their primary homes and are not available for the summer months. Once we know how many volunteers we have ready to move forward, we will gradually begin the re-launching of our programs.
2. Now that Arizona state leaders have reduced some of the stay-at-home orders and allowed non- essential businesses to open, we continue to review daily statistics to see which programs can be re- launched now and which will be re-launched at a later time. As we see a reduction in the Covid-19 cases and Covid-19 deaths in Arizona, we will move forward with the re-launching of all our programs.

Changes in our programs beginning June 22, 2020

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, 9:00am-noon, beginning June 22, we will be accepting returns of loan closet items. The items must be cleaned and sanitized and brought to the back- side of our office building. Ring the doorbell when you are outside of Suite 101. We are not accepting any crutches or canes at this time. If you have any questions, please call before you head to the office. 480-488-1105

A receptionist will be at the office from 9:00am-4:30pm. There is a shield in front of the desk for social distancing protection. If for some reason you need to come into the office, a face mask will be required. Please call if you would like further information. 480-488-1105

Intake for potential Neighbors will begin first with a telephone interview and then with a follow-up shortened home visit. Potential Neighbors will be asked to wear a face mask, and our staff member  will be wearing a face mask.

The week of June 29^th, Loan Closet items can be loaned out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons from 1:00pm-4:00pm. You must call ahead to see if there are items available, and we will reserve the items if we have them. You will then be requested to call when you are outside of the office to make sure the staff or a volunteer will be available to assist you with your item(s). 480-488-1105

Our Van Program Coordinator will be developing a calendar for the month of August, 2020. We will be installing plastic safety dividers in the vans. This will reduce the passenger capacity of the vans.  You will be receiving your calendar with the planned trips in July.

We will not be re-launching our one-on-one services until after July. If you need help with your grocery shopping, please call the office and ask for Valerie. We are keeping lists for all the other one-on-one services and at a later date, we will re-launch the programs.

Medical Transportation services will be extremely limited in June. If you have scheduled a medical appointment, please check to see if your physician can work with you via telephone. Please check with other alternatives you might have and see if perhaps someone in your neighborhood might be able to assist you. As we settle on our numbers and capacity, we will begin to re-launch our  services based on the capacity we have. There will be a limit set on the number of appointments for which we can provide transportation for each person.  This will be highlighted in communication that  will be sent out in July.

Health Advocacy services will be available beginning in July. We have a licensed social worker, Melanie, who will be available to provide additional support to individuals just returning home from the hospital or rehabilitation center. She is also available for consultation for resources that are available in the community.

How to find out more information

Please plan to give us a call if you want to learn more information and to let us know your particular situation. We have staff in the office, but we are requiring folks who stop in to wear a face mask. Please give us a call at 480-488-1105. We encourage your calling to learn more about alternate resources that may be available to assist you. If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to ask or let us know.

Thank you, we hope to see you in the near future.

The attached health questionnaire will give you guidance as to your health status for deciding to go out into the community.

Stay well and stay safe.

Staff of Foothills Caring Corps