Dear Families,
First, I would like to thank you for really stepping up to show your appreciation for our staff. They are enjoying the notes, gift cards and other items that you have sent. They are working tirelessly with our residents so every boost of appreciation goes a long way. In this month of Thanksgiving, we will be dedicating November to show our staff how grateful we all are for their on-going commitment to our residents. We are working on ways that we can show are staff how grateful we are for all of their hard work. We have a lot of ideas and we are starting to put some plans in place. One of our plans involve you, our families! At the beginning of the pandemic, we had "Gratitude Thursdays" and one family would write a note of gratitude each month for all our staff which was then emailed to them. The staff loved it especially if it was one of "their" resident's family members.
Families,
As Scott Thompson mentioned during the MFA meeting, the campus is currently facing challenges with our phone system. Some areas are more affected than others. We currently have the new phones in our possession and the next step is to install them in the areas that are most affected.
This is a large project with many buildings and phones to upgrade so we will be implementing this new system in phases.
Phase 1 has started now and will be rolling out new desk phones in the next few weeks. They are starting with McAuley and the business office and then on to Quinlan and Mercy Glen. As we work through phase 1, we are gathering the information for other buildings on campus that will be part of the next phases.
Another part of Phase 1 is to repair McAuley's overhead paging system which is currently not working. Equipment has been ordered to restore this service.
Thank you for your patience with this process. We will inform you of any updates as they occur. Please continue to call 773-973-6300 to reach the person you would need to talk to.
Mary Pat O'Brien
Assistant Executive Director
At the October MFA General Meeting, Scott Thompson presented on technology updates at Misericordia and AWARDS, a new system to track and manage resident care at Misericordia.
Click here to view the Misericordia Technology Update Presentation
October 22, 2021
To the MFA,
What follows are the responses provided by Misericordia's Administration to the questions that were posed during last Sunday's MFA membership meeting.
If you wish to view last Sunday's meeting again, you can view the YouTube recording here: MFA October 17th Membership meeting.
Pam & Jim Capraro
MFA Chairs
Misericordia Administrator responses to MFA Member Questions:
Congratulations and a big thanks to Misericordia parent Bonnie Romniak for dontating her winnings on the Wheel of Fortune to Misericordia!
Click below to read the great article about Bonnie's adventure on the Wheel of Fortune and to view a portion of the show starring Bonnie's apperance.
Click here to read the article in the Daily Herald
Click here to view a portion of Bonnie on the Wheel of Fortune
Pam and Jim Capraro
Misericordia Family Association Members,
We hope this finds you and your families well. As we mentioned at our most recent board meeting, it is both an honor and a privilege to serve as your MFA chairs. We stand on the shoulders of the many capable leaders who have gone before us, most recently, Laurie and Bill McCarthy, who ushered us into the world of video communication as the pandemic upset our normal way of operating.
It is almost hard to believe we are beginning our third year of virtual meetings. Certainly, the pandemic has changed how we have done almost everything in our day to day lives. Fortunately, one thing that has not changed, is the excellent care provided to our family members by the staff at Misericordia. They are hardworking, unfailing and creative in their efforts to provide a safe and nurturing environment for those we hold so dear.
September 29, 2021
Dear Families,
This is an update on the “state of the state” here at Misericordia. Overall we are doing well in terms of Covid. We have had very few breakthrough cases which is a blessing. We are possibly half way to “normal” in returning to work programs and recreation programs. Some cohorts are starting to expand although we continue to be very cautious. Home visits seem to be going well and we have not had any issues. Outdoor outings are continuing to take place and they are loving the fall weather.
As of today our staff vaccination rate is 93.6%. Our vaccination mandate goes into effect 10/4/21. We have several staff who have requested an exemption and they are currently being reviewed by an external panel. Unvaccinated staff will need to make their own decision soon. We do hope and pray that these staff will get vaccinated and continue the journey with us.
What a journey we’ve been on together these past two years. When we started as your MFA chairs in 2019, many of us had never taken part in a virtual meeting or been physically apart from our Misericordia family member for any length of time. Now, it’s a different world.
And yet, what was true then is still true now. Our MFA families are persevering, generous, and flexible. We want to thank each of you for your amazing collaboration and creativity during these unprecedented times! It was clear that MFA families kept support of Misericordia as a high priority – whether it was making masks, delivering meals to residences, fundraising, or doing whatever was needed. Thank you! We literally couldn’t have done it without you.
We are happy to welcome our friends, Jim and Pam Capraro, as the new MFA chairs who started in August. Jim and Pam are long-time members of the MFA Board. We are confident that their considerable leadership, skills and vision will take us forward in exciting ways. We look forward to working with them.
We hope to see everyone in person sooner rather than later!
Thank you,
Laurie & Bill McCarthy
Past MFA Chairs
July 2021
Dear Friend,
On behalf of Sister Rosemary and the entire Misericordia family, we pray that you and your families continue to be safe and well. Normally at this time of year we would be writing to invite you to our annual Misericordia Family Fest. But like 2020, 2021 is very different as we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 restrictions and yet continue to ensure the health and safety of our residents and staff.
In the interest of keeping our entire Misericordia family safe, we have made the difficult decision of postponing this year’s in-person Family Fest once again. However, we still need your support to help Keep Misericordia Strong! In keeping with the traditions set by our dear friend Pauline Greco, the “Queen of Raffles,” over 40 years ago, we invite you to take part once again in our annual Cash and Car Raffle that is now part of our Keep Misericordia Strong Campaign.
We will be offering 3,000 Cash Raffle tickets for $100 each and a chance for 25 individuals to win cash prizes with the grand prize being $50,000! Car raffle tickets will be available for $50 each or 3 for $100 for the opportunity to win a 2021 Kia Forte, generously donated by Andy Francis of Evergreen Kia! The winners will be drawn on September 15, 2021, during a virtual drawing. When we receive your order, we will email you your ticket number(s) upon request. If you would like a copy of your ticket, email
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of Misericordia. Since the 1950s, Misericordia has been dedicated to helping persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We are most grateful for your past support and truly rely on you as we begin our next century. We look forward to the time when we can gather together in celebration of Misericordia’s annual Family Fest here on our campus. Thank you most sincerely for your continuous belief in our mission. We are blessed to call you friends and wish each of you good health, happiness and hope for the future.
With grateful hearts,
Lois Gates, Assistant Executive Director
The Greco Family and Friends Committee
July 9, 2021
Dear Friends,
I hope you had a relaxing 4th of July holiday weekend. I am writing to let you know that on Sunday, July 4, The New York Times featured a powerful Guest Essay article from our good friend and fellow MFA parent David Axelrod. If you haven't read it yet, please take the time to do so. I am sharing it in this email as an attachment. We are so grateful to David and Susan for taking the time to share their (and their beautiful daughter Lauren's) story with The New York Times readership and grateful, too, to The New York Times for publishing it. I know that David and Susan have heard from numerous legislators and countless readers who thanked them for sharing this very personal story, and the entire Misericordia community is so grateful, too.
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