What's Happening

Note: This statement, originally published March 13, 2020, continues to be updated to include the most recent mitigation protocols.

Adrian, Michigan – As U.S. public health officials on March 9, 2020, called for stricter measures of social distancing to mitigate the accelerating community spread of COVID-19 in the United States, the Adrian Dominican Sisters took immediate steps to join in the national effort. Since then, the Congregation has continued to increase its efforts in mitigating the spread.

The first time a Co-worker tested positive for COVID-19 was July 6, 2020. The first Sister living on campus to test positive was December 20, 2020.

 

Outside Visitor Protocols (PDF) - Visitor appointments began July 6, 2021

As of June 22, 2023:

• Masking for all Co-workers is optional, except in specific circumstances.
• Visiting is unrestricted, though we ask people who are not 100% well to refrain from coming to campus. Additional information for visiting resident Sisters is available here.
• All liturgies are open to the public.
   

As of May 10, 2022:

• All Co-workers in the Maria and Regina buildings must wear KN-95 masks and face shields.

As of March 17, 2022:

• All Co-workers are required to wear surgical masks. Face shields and N-95 masks are no longer required for Co-workers.
• Sisters may resume commercial domestic travel; use prudent caution for international travel; cruises remain suspended.
• Sisters and Associates may attend Congregation-sponsored conferences, assemblies and annual meetings in person, but we encourage discernment, weighing the benefits of attending virtually. Sisters may attend conferences or workshops in person. We encourage discernment, weighing the benefits of attending virtually
• Family, Sisters, Associates, and Friends of on-campus Sisters may visit by appointment. See the Visitor Protocols document for details.
• Liturgies are closed to family and friends.

As of January 10, 2022:

Madden Hall Co-workers who are able to work from home should do so and continue through at least March 4, 2022.

• All Co-workers must wear either an N-95 or surgical face mask when on campus. Co-workers assigned to work in Maria and Regina buildings are required to wear both a face mask and face shield at all times.
• All commercial travel for Sisters is suspended through the end of January.
• In-person Congregation-sponsored conferences, assemblies, and meetings are suspended through the end of January. Sisters are urged to avoid all other in-person meetings during this time.
• No new visits will be scheduled for Sisters living at the Motherhouse during January.
• All liturgies are closed to off-campus Sisters, Associates, family and friends.

As of August 18, 2021:

• All Co-workers, as a condition of employment, must be vaccinated for COVID-19. Co-workers must have received both doses of Pfizer or Moderna or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson by October 15, 2021.

As of December 14, 2020:

• All Co-workers who enter a building where they may be in direct contact with Sisters must wear N-95 face masks and face shields.

As of May 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021:

• All Congregation-related travel remains suspended.
• All Congregation meetings will be held virtually.
• The Motherhouse campus remains closed to all guests and visitors through April 5, 2021.
• All Sisters should avoid commercial travel.
• All Weber Center in-person programming remains suspended.

As of April 6, 2020:

• All Co-workers must wear a face mask while they are on campus.

As of March 20, 2020:

• “Shelter in Place” for Adrian campus residents, who must remain on campus and in their communities;
• Dining rooms closed and meals are delivered to campus residents;
• St. Catherine Chapel closed to residents; liturgies continue with necessary personnel and are broadcast through closed circuit television.

As of March 19, 2020:

• Madden Hall administrative offices are closed to all, except critical Co-workers; others work from home, as possible;
• Co-workers in positions critical to the care of the residents are screened daily for symptoms of illness.

As of March 14, 2020:

• In compliance with State Executive Order prohibiting visitors at health care and residential facilities, no outside visitors to the Motherhouse campus;
• Co-workers are to self-screen, monitor, track, and report any symptoms of illness.

As of March 10, 2020, the Congregation has suspended:

• all Congregation-related travel as well as meetings, conferences, and gatherings involving travel by its 533 Sisters, 206 Associates and nearly 300 Co-workers;
• personal travel by Sisters to areas where the virus has been reported and participation anywhere in social or other events involving larger groupings of people;
• all workshops and programs sponsored or hosted by Weber Retreat and Conference Center; and 
• visits by off-campus guests to the Dominican Life Center of the Motherhouse where the community’s elder members reside. 

A task force comprised of the Congregation’s Administrator and lay leaders of the Motherhouse campus are meeting daily to monitor the pandemic and to develop effective mitigation protocols and implement new measures as needed. As conditions warrant, these suspensions may be modified.  

The Adrian Dominican Sisters join with people around the world in prayer for the victims of the coronavirus, their families, and all healthcare workers who are courageously serving on the frontlines of this pandemic. In their letter to the community announcing this “prudential preventative action,” the five members of the General Council wrote that the measures were being implemented “for the common good of our own community and the larger communities in which we live and serve.”