It is especially important for people with disabilities and/or chronic health conditions to be aware and prepared to respond to the risks of COVID-19. The best place to get reliable, up to date information is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control:
Coronavirus Disease 2019 - general resource page
People At Higher Risk - more specific information for the elderly, people with disabilities, and people with chronic illnesses.
This page will be updated as needed as the situation develops.
Effective Immediately - March 15, 2020
Due to the pandemic outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19, the North Country Center for Independence, (NCCI), will be closing its office to the public until further notice.
All staff will work remotely from home using phone, email, internet applications, and other technology to perform their jobs. Some staff will continue to use office only resources under social distancing guidelines.
If you have questions or other needs, you can still call NCCI at 518-563-9058 and leave a message. Staff will call you back within 24 hours. Messages left on a Friday will be returned by the end of business on the following Monday. You might also get a faster response through email. Staff and program email addresses and telephone extensions can be found on NCCI’s website, here: https://www.ncci-online.com/contact
Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services Program (Concepts) time sheets, enrollment packets, and other documents will continue to be processed as normal. Aids and consumers of the CDPAP program should email their documents to appropriate staff or they may use the locked document boxes to the right side of the office main entrance. Please visit our website at: https://www.ncci-online.com/home-care for further instructions and a contact list for staff. Medicaid application services will continue as will Medicaid transportation scheduling services.
During this time however, staff will not be permitted to engage in face-to-face meetings, which includes home visits and community group meetings.
NCCI is taking this action out of an abundance of caution and strong sense of responsibility towards our staff, consumers, and the community, and in compliance with New York Governor Cuomo’s “New York On PAUSE” declaration, which will be effective at 8 PM Sunday, March 22, 2020.
NCCI is following the advice of world and national public health officials. Many of our board members, our staff, and consumers face the prospect of dangerous illness if they should be exposed to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Although there have been few reported cases in our service area as of yet, testing for the virus remains dangerously low. Every day that goes by without adequate testing for the virus increases the risks of wider exposure to the community. During a White House Coronavirus Task Force news conference update on Saturday, March 14, Dr. Deborah Birx said the following.
“Until you really understand how many people are asymptomatic [meaning not sick but still able to pass the virus to others] and asymptomatically passing the virus on, we think it’s better for the entire American public to know that the risk of serious illness may be low, but they could be potentially spreading the virus to others.”
“That’s why we’re asking every American to take personal responsibility to prevent that spread.”
Here is a simple guide outlining the importance of staying put and limiting your contact with other people, to protect your health and the health of others, including people with disabilities and their caregivers:
Plain-Language explanation from Green Mountain Self-Advocates
You can also read updates on this situation by clicking here to read our regular blog posts related to the coronavirus pandemic.
NCCI’s governing Board of Directors believes that closing the office and limiting face-to-face contact is the responsible thing to do. NCCI remains devoted to our mission of helping people with disabilities achieve their full potential and independence.