August 25, 2021 @ 5:15 p.m.
Every Tuesday, Dr. Sherrill Brown, Medical Director, Infection Prevention; Berenice Constant, Vice President, Government Affairs and Civic Engagement; and Steven Satzger, Director, Learning and Training, update our clinic and corporate line of business leaders.

Olivia Lee, Manager, Legislative and Advocacy Affairs, presented on behalf of Government Affairs.  

You can read the notes here.
Sherrill Brown, M.D.
Berenice Constant
Steven Satzger
Pfizer Vaccine Approved by FDA; Booster Update

After detailed review of clinical trials, the FDA has fully approved the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people 16 and older, making it the first to be fully licensed for use in the United States. Emergency Use Authorization continues for those ages 12 to 15, as well as an additional dose for select immunocompromised individuals.

COVID-19 booster shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are set to become available for all U.S. adults starting the week of September 20.
  • People will be eligible for their booster shots eight months after receiving their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
  • Vaccine boosters will likely be needed for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine; however, more data is expected in the coming weeks.
Employee Vaccination and Testing Updates
 
Employee Testing
  • Effective Monday, August 23, California requires that all health care workers who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 be tested on a weekly basis. This can either be a once-a-week PCR test or a twice-a-week rapid antigen test.
  • AltaMed uses the rapid antigen test; therefore, employees will have to be tested twice-a-week.
  • Employee Health leads at each clinic, PACE sites, MSO, and PSC will perform the tests for their respective employees.
  • Corporate employees can get tested at Employee Health; please contact Jose Rodriguez or call (323) 765-6148 to schedule an appointment. 

  • If an employee has been identified as someone who needs to be tested, they will be contacted by their leadership or Employee Health (if at a corporate location) to arrange for testing. 
  • The list of people who require testing and the names of people tested each week will be provided to senior leadership every week.
 
Employee Vaccinations
  • California announced on August 5 that it is requiring health care workers statewide to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The new mandate applies to employees in hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, PACE facilities, and most other health care settings. Like all other health care organizations in the state, AltaMed will comply with the order to have all employees vaccinated no later than September 30. 
 
  • Vaccinations are available to employees on Thursdays at AltaMed Pharmacy – Commerce (5417 E. Whittier Blvd. in Los Angeles).
  • For an appointment, contact Employee Health or call (323) 765-6153.
  • You will need to find street parking at this location.

  • Employees who work at clinics that administer the vaccine can also get vaccinated at those sites. Contact your Employee Health leads to arrange for your vaccination.

  • AltaMed is in the process of updating its COVID-19 immunization policy and will share it, once finalized and approved by the Board. For questions regarding the immunization policy, email covidimmunizationpolicy@altamed.org.
 
Proof of Vaccination is Needed
  • Employee Health is contacting employees who do not have any vaccination information on file. If you have been vaccinated outside of AltaMed, email proof of your vaccination to Employee Health to update their records.
Special Grand Rounds Update

Sherrill Brown, MD, Medical Director of Infection Prevention, presented a special session of COVID-19 Treatment, Vaccine Updates, and Q&A Forum during the Tuesday, August 24 Grand Rounds session. The next COVID-19 Grand Rounds session is scheduled on Tuesday, August 31 at 12:15 p.m.
 
Topics Discussed:
  • Updates on ordering the Monoclonal Antibody
  • Medical Exemptions for COVID-19 Vaccine
  • Reminder about Vaccine Storage and Handling
  • Safe Environment During Gatherings
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Additional Questions
 
Resources:
 
  • Monoclonal Antibody Form
  • For new Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Urgent Orders, please send a Heads-up WebEx Teams message to:
  • Jesus Trucios, Referral Coordinator Lead
  • Justin Maldonado, Referral Supervisor (send him a message on WebEx after ordering HH Monoclonal Ab tx)
  • Patient information does not need to be included
  • All follow-up communication will be through EPIC Secure Chat

  • Q: For providers working remote, how can they sign the Infusion form? Docusign is not part of the current workflow.
  • A: I have used my HIPAA compliant fax number provided by Doximity to receive the form from Dr. Baffigo's team and fax back.
  • A: We are looking into electronic signing of the form. We might need to engage the assistance of the provider in the clinic or the Site Medical Director to sign the form.
 
  • Video Presentation Timestamps
  • Presentation: 0:00 – 36:45
  • Monoclonal Antibody- Workflow Update: 2:32 – 15:47
  • FAQs : 36:45 – 46:51
 
All COVID-19 Grand Rounds materials and recordings can be found on the COVID-19 Resources page on Town Square.
AltaMed Vaccination Sites and Community Vaccination Events

All of the AltaMed vaccination sites are open to those aged 12 or older. Continue to talk to your patients about getting the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as other vaccinations. There are no restrictions and there is no waiting period to get vaccinated.

How to Make an Appointment
  • AltaMed Patients:
  • MyAltaMed.net if they already have an existing account
  • AltaMed Vaccine Hotline at (888) 909-5232
  • Non-AltaMed Patients and Community Members:
  • AltaMed Vaccine Hotline at (888) 909-5232
  • MyTurn

AltaMed Vaccination Sites
  • AltaMed General Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (Sundays and Mondays)
  • AltaMed Medical Group – Northgate Market, Olympic (Fridays)
  • AltaMed General Pediatrics – Westlake, 3rd Street (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays)
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group – Commerce, Goodrich (Thursdays and Saturdays)
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group – East Los Angeles, 1st Street (Monday to Friday)
  • AltaMed Medical Group – Westlake, 3rd Street (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays)
  • AltaMed Daniel V. Lara Clinic – East Los Angeles (Monday to Friday)
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group – El Monte (Mondays)
  • AltaMed Medical Group – Pico Rivera, Slauson (Monday to Friday)
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group – Huntington Beach (Thursdays and Fridays)
  • AltaMed Medical Group – Orange (Fridays)
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group – Santa Ana, Main (Monday to Friday)

AltaMed Pharmacy Sites
  • AltaMed Pharmacy – Anaheim (Thursdays)
  • AltaMed Pharmacy – Boyle Heights (Monday to Friday)
  • AltaMed Pharmacy – Commerce (Monday to Friday)
  • AltaMed Pharmacy – Commerce, Goodrich (Thursdays and Saturdays)
  • AltaMed Pharmacy – Huntington Park (Monday to Friday)
  • AltaMed Pharmacy – Pico Rivera, Passons (Monday to Friday)
  • AltaMed Pharmacy – Santa Ana, Bristol (Monday to Friday)
  • AltaMed Pharmacy – South Gate (Thursdays) 
  • AltaMed Pharmacy – West Covina (Saturdays)

Community Vaccination Events
AltaMed continues to host several community COVID-19 vaccination events. Please click here for the full list of event sites and information.
Safety Guidelines

  1. Wear your masks—Face masks are to be worn at all times over your nose and mouth (except when drinking or eating), and should be stored properly or discarded. Patients need to wear masks at all times in examination rooms as well.
  2. Maintain hand hygiene—Staff should have easy access to hand sanitizer dispensers to clean hands frequently, and should wash their hands for 20 seconds at a time.
  3. Practice physical distancing—Stay six feet apart from other individuals whether inside or outside.
  4. Wipe down any work surfaces you touch.
  5. If employees need to be within six feet of someone for a prolonged period of time, wear a face shield and face mask in both administrative and clinical settings—avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. In addition, a face shield and face mask need to be worn at all times when interacting with patients.
  6. Employees must wear appropriate PPE when on site.
Questions and Communications

We welcome your questions, suggestions, and input. We do review each question and respond appropriately, so please continue to email us—click here. Know that this is a safe space and most questions will be answered individually prior to being shared anonymously with staff.

How to Stay Informed

FAQs
  • Click here to read the most recent FAQs (answers to new questions are pending).
  • Refer to the weekly FAQs in earlier editions of the COVID-19 Alert to see if your questions have already been answered.

Town Square
  • Go to the COVID-19 Vaccine news blocks on Town Square for current information and helpful resources.
Human Resources Reminders

Employee and Provider Engagement Surveys Due September 7
Employees and providers are reminded to take part in the Employee and Provider Engagement Surveys and help us get to 100% participation before Tuesday, September 7. We are off to a strong start with 56% participation in the Provider Survey and 65% participation in the Employee Survey. Unique survey links were emailed to each employee and provider by Press Ganey on Monday, August 16. Please complete your survey if you have not already done so.

Q3 Compliance Training Due September 10
All employees must complete their Q3 mandatory training by Friday, September 10. Please make sure to complete this required training.
Please Note: If you are contacted by the media with questions about the coronavirus outbreak or for any other reason, please email Veronica Orozco, Sr. Manager, Public Relations. The Public Relations team monitors all media coverage of AltaMed (social and traditional platforms) to uphold our reputation. If you have questions and concerns regarding media coverage, please call Veronica at (323) 482-3073. If you'd like to read news releases from AltaMed, visit our external website, AltaMed.org under Newsroom.