MAR 13, 2020

Important Updated Information About COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Intercare Families –

Intercare Therapy is a family-owned, family-focused company, and the health and safety of your family and our staff remains our highest priority. As a result of the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), we want to provide you with a deeper understanding of the measures we have had in place for health and safety, as well as additional safeguards recently instituted, to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.

The idea of a widespread virus is understandably scary, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share what we're doing as a community to prepare, as well as what you can do to help mitigate the spread and effects of COVID-19. We will continue to monitor new developments, reevaluate our procedures daily, and communicate this information to you as needed.

The following are measures that we had in place prior to the spread of this disease to minimize illness: - We ask that you notify us and cancel a session if your child has any cold or flu like symptoms, including: a runny nose, cough, sneezing, vomiting, and fever—symptoms that are characteristic of many viruses, including COVID-19. - Our team members are equally attentive to their own health and are trained to cancel or reschedule sessions if they exhibit any of the above symptoms of a contagious disease. - Our team members all receive training on “Good Hygiene Practices” to best protect our clients, public health and minimize the spreading of germs across people or places. In addition, these best practices have been updated given COVID-19 and our team members have been reminded to adhere to these guidelines.

Immediately following the outbreak of COVID-19, we have supplemented our procedures with the following additional safeguards: - We instructed all team members to adopt the preventive actions published by the CDC to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 and other contagious diseases. - We have dramatically reduced social interactions and group meetings (and shifted as many as possible to remote/video meetings) to comply with CDC recommended best practices for “social distancing.” - We have requested that all staff report if they have traveled outside of the United States in the past three weeks, and have developed protocols for determining if and when any team member who travels abroad can return to treating clients (based on guidance set forth by the CDC). - Additionally, if you, your child, or a household member has recently traveled abroad, or has plans to do so, it is important that you contact your Clinical Director so we can determine if a temporary 14-day suspension of services is warranted.

In the meantime, we encourage everyone to follow the basic health practices (some noted below) to stay healthy and minimize the spread of infectious disease along with adhering to our sick time policies and procedures:

• Ensure you and your family members maintain good hygiene, like washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water, and covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• We ask that you cancel your child’s session if you or anyone in your home are feeling ill, or showing signs of flu or fever. For more advice from the World Health Organization on basic preventative measures against the COVID-19, click here.

As always, the health and safety of our staff and client families is our top priority. We will send follow-up communications on this matter as needed. Please know that Intercare’s Senior Team is monitoring the latest information about COVID-19 daily, while paying strict attention to the guidance provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), as well as other national, state and local health agencies. We will continue to update our clients, team members and others about our response to the outbreak, possibly including a disruption to your service if warranted.

Should you need to cancel any appointments related to these matters, please contact our scheduling department at 888-428-3223.

We also encourage everyone to read the World Health Organization's Myth Busters website , as well as this guide to preparation from The New York Times.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy weekend. Please reach out anytime if I can be of further assistance. Take care and thank you for your faith in us.

Best wishes, Gary