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COVID Information

The well-being and health of our residents, applicants, employees, and partners remain our primary focus at the South Carthage Housing Authority (SCHA). We continue to monitor the quickly evolving news related to the coronavirus (COVID-19). During this time, I wanted to update you on the actions we have taken in response to the pandemic.

SCHA will continue to actively and effectively manage our business in response to COVID-19, with three key objectives in mind:

  1. Keeping our residents, applicants, employees, and their families safe.
  2. Ensuring our business is operational to serve our residents.
  3. Doing our part as corporate citizens to contain the spread of the virus.

To promote a healthy work environment, SCHA has instituted the following practices:

  • We ask employees to practice good hygiene including frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and disinfecting surfaces.
  • We have resumed all employee travel with their health and safety a priority.
  • We are requiring employees who feel sick to stay home until they are free of fever (100.4), signs of fever, or other symptoms for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines.  If an employee is diagnosed or lives with someone who is diagnosed with COVID-19, he/she must self-quarantine for 7 days as updated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before returning to work.
  • We have resumed all non-essential activities and meetings that would bring residents or the public into our offices and community spaces.
  • Applicants may contact SCHA staff by email or phone to schedule required in-person visits.
  • We are conducting in-person interviews and orientation. A mask is not required but encouraged.

To protect staff and residents who interact daily, we have instituted the following:

  • The lobbies of all SCHA offices are now open to the public, however, as a reasonable measure to protect our employees, residents, and applicants are encouraged to wear a mask. Please contact the appropriate SCHA staff by phone or email to schedule any necessary in-person appointments.
  • Payments are received by walk-in or drop box outside of the main office.
  • Any scheduled re-certification(s) will be conducted as scheduled. Please contact your manager prior to your arrival. Any required paperwork may be accepted by postal mail.
  • All non-emergency inspections (HQS, UPCS, REAC, and housekeeping) have resumed.
  • Maintenance staff has resumed performing essential or emergency work orders (such as clogged plumbing, water leaks, and health/safety-related issues).
  • Upon arrival at an apartment maintenance staff will:
    • Knock at the door and stand back 6 feet
    • Ask the resident if anyone in the unit is experiencing flu-like symptoms or has traveled to a high-risk area. If any response indicates an illness with flu-like symptoms, the resident will be asked to go to another room while essential work orders are performed.
    • Maintenance staff will wear personal protective equipment while in the unit and will sanitize surfaces prior to and after completing the work order.

We will continue to monitor evolving conditions about the virus using reputable sources such as the CDC, World Health Organization (WHO), the State of Tennessee, and local health department websites to ensure the actions we take are comprehensive and suitable. We encourage you to use these sources for information on how to keep yourself and your family safe during this situation.

While we are always available by email/phone, we encourage you to check the SCHA website for operational updates. We appreciate the trust you place in us and look forward to continuing to serve our communities.

Sincerely,
Michael Bates, Executive Director