There’s a lot of information out there about COVID-19 (Coronavirus), and it can feel overwhelming. We are committed to supporting communities, residents, and employees’ health with the goal of doing our part to slow the spread of the virus. Conditions continue to evolve quickly so maintaining current, accurate information is essential. As of today, we do not have any confirmed cases of Coronavirus on any of our properties (residents or staff).

We are strongly encouraging you to take preventative measures. At our communities we have posted information about steps to take, to help avoid infection. Our staff are also taking steps to help, such as increasing cleaning of common areas and surfaces, and limiting or canceling group gatherings. Resident Services are being modified accordingly.

As the number of confirmed cases increases, the CDC has made strong recommendations regarding minimizing direct or close person-to-person contact. In order to help slow the spread of the virus, Mercy Housing has implemented national guidelines to limit person-to-person interactions. Our site staff will be scheduled and available onsite as normal and we will be implementing the following precautionary measures immediately:

• Resident Meetings by appointment – Where staff will still be present and available for residents, the offices will be restricted to scheduled appointments only, in order to minimize physical contact.
• Maintenance Requests – Maintenance staff will only go inside of apartments to conduct Emergency or High-Priority Service Requests. All Non-Essential work will be conducted at a later date, as conditions change.
• Contractor Limitations – We will follow the same general guidelines for determining when contractors should be inside of occupied apartments. We will only have them complete work in a resident’s apartment should it be an emergency or high priority to address safety and habitable issues.

We will continue to alter guidance and protocols recognizing that the situation will change and impact communities differently. Check your local city and county websites for daily updates. Our staff are following their local governments’ directives to keep everyone safe while following mandated protocols.

As a reminder, the best way to prevent the spread of Coronavirus is to avoid being exposed and practice good hygiene. This is an anxious time for everyone. Thank you for your ongoing attention to this important health matter and for your support of each other as we work through this together to keep our communities healthy.

Live in Hope,

Jane Graf
President & CEO

Disclaimer: Due to the rapidly evolving situation, recommendations regarding Coronavirus are being updated regularly as our organization becomes aware of the latest government recommendations.  The information in this message may become outdated, so we advise you to always consult with the CDC and your local health department for the most up-to-date information.