April 16 – Phone Script from CEO

Hello Bridgewell Parents & Guardians. I am Christopher Tuttle President & CEO and today is Thursday, April 16.

As of this morning, we have eight people in our services who have tested positive and one who has recovered. They continue to do well and are recuperating. We currently have 30 staff who are actively positive for COVID-19 and thankfully four people have recovered and are returning to work. I will continue to keep you updated.

Yesterday, Governor Baker confirmed that Massachusetts is in the surge of the virus, as predicted. I anticipate that we will see an increase of positive diagnoses at Bridgewell over the next several days. This outcome has been expected and we have planned for it.

As I mentioned on Monday’s call, the Massachusetts’ Department of Developmental Services has partnered with Fallon to provide mobile testing of individuals and staff. We are submitting for all of our homes to be tested. This will expedite treatment and hopefully slow down the spread of the virus. Testing for Individuals requires parent or guardian consent. We need your help by providing approval as soon as your Program Director reaches out to you. Thank you in advance for your prompt response on this.

We continue to order PPE’s to make sure our programs are equipped and to build our stock pile.

Please know that the staff are doing a remarkable job to make sure your loved ones are well taken care of. So I ask when you call the programs to talk to your loved ones please take a moment to thank the staff.

The next recording will be posted on Monday, April 20 by noon.