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March 16th – 18th  Our offices at 418 Wisconsin Street in Eau Claire and 23122 Whitehall Road in Independence will remain open during regular business hours, from 8 am to 4:30 pm. All Energy Assistance clients are encouraged to conduct their appointments by phone if possible.

If you are sick, show any signs of illness, have a chronic disease, or are over the age of 60, please call us prior to your Energy Assistance appointment and we will help you over the phone or reschedule your appointment. Please call the Eau Claire office at 715-836-7511 or the Independence office at 715-985-2391.

Starting on Thursday, March 19  Western Dairyland offices in Eau Claire and Independence will be closed to the general public and all scheduled appointments for Energy Assistance will be conducted by phone.

Applications for Energy Assistance will also available by mail and online at www.WesternDairyland.org. Additional information is available by calling our main office at 715-985-2391.

After March 19, our offices will remain closed to the general public until we are confident that any major health risks to our staff and clients have passed. We continue to monitor the situation closely and are consulting with local, state, and federal partners to ensure these much-needed programs are readily available.

First and foremost, we want to maintain a safe workplace and encourage and/or adopt practices protecting the health of employees, clients, tenants, or others. We also want to ensure the continuity of business operations in the event of a pandemic. We are in the process of monitoring the information provided from the CDC, WI Department of Health Services, our state and federal funders, and other resource sites.

We ask all employees to cooperate in taking steps to reduce the transmission of communicable diseases in the workplace. Employees are reminded of the following:

• Stay home when you are sick.
• Wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds.
• Cover your mouth with tissues whenever you sneeze, and discard used tissues in the trash.
• Avoid people who are sick with respiratory symptoms.
• Clean frequently touched surfaces.
• Use hand sanitizer after meetings, public places, working with clients/tenants           

Employees are encouraged to use telephone and video conferencing instead of face-to-face meetings as much as possible during this outbreak. Use disinfectant hand wash after visits with clients, tenants, or public.

It is critical that employees do not report to work while they are experiencing respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills or fatigue. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that employees remain at home until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100 degrees F or 37.8 degrees C) or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications. Many times, with the best of intentions, employees report to work even though they feel ill. Paid time off benefits may compensate employees who are unable to work due to illness. Employees who report to work sick will be sent home in accordance with these health guidelines.  If someone is diagnosed with a “serious health condition” such  COVID-19, you may qualify for Family Medical Leave.

In the event the outbreak becomes more severe, we will consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests from employees to work from home during this time. While not all positions are conducive to telework, those positions with primary job duties that can be effectively performed remotely will be given consideration.

Helpful Resource Sites:

• CDC https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html
• WI Dept. of Health Services https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/disease/covid-19.htm
• Higher Risk Individuals Guidance https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/high-risk-complications.html