August 26, 2020 @ 5:45 p.m.
Every Wednesday, Dr. Sherrill Brown, Medical Director, Infection Prevention, Berenice Constant, VP, Government Relations, and Elizabeth Sepetjian, AVP, Talent Management (HR), give an update for clinic and corporate line of business leaders.

This morning Jennie Carreon, Assistant Vice President of Civic Engagement, and Olivia Lee, Manager, Legislative & Advocacy Affairs, presented. You can listen to today's recording here. 
Sherrill Brown, MD
Berenice Constant
Liz Sepetjian
Questions & Communications

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

We also encourage you to review communications, such as the Wednesday-only COVID-19 huddles and email alerts, COVID-19 resource and policy pages on Town Square, altamed.org/coronavirus, and any regular emails you receive.

FAQs posted below may not be comprehensive, so please check the FAQs in each weekly alert to be sure your questions have not already been answered.

Q & A of the Week

Q: Now that we have plexiglass for the front office staff, are masks alone sufficient and not a face shield too? The patients are having a difficult time hearing the staff through all the layers.

From the COVID-19 Response Team
A: As long as the plexiglass is in between the patients and staff, they can take their eye covering off (face shield or goggles) and just wear their masks. If the patient is peeking around the plexiglass, they need to be directed back behind the plexiglass.
We’re Here For You, Now More Than Ever

Dr. Brown extends her thanks to the members of the Labor Pool who have been very helpful and supportive throughout this pandemic. As of this Saturday, those employees will be returning to their regular roles; therefore, we will be rolling out a newer, simpler and easier strategy to screen employees and patients at the clinics and administrative sites.

Employee Screening Process
  • Employees will need to access Qualtrics (our current employee screening tool) to answer questions and enter their temperature.
  • Both a QR Code and website link will be available at all entrances. If you cannot access Qualtrics, you will need to manually complete the employee screening process and log sheets.

  • A designated staff member at each site will take the employee's temperature. The employee will then enter their temperature in Qualtrics.
  • NOTE: Employees cannot take their own temperature.

  • Each day, an email will be sent to managers listing the employees who were screened—this will ensure that all employees at work are screened.

  • If an employee does not pass the screening, they must immediately contact their supervisor or manager who will provide them with two forms—an employee instruction sheet and a fitness for duty certificate. Managers can click here to access the forms.

Starting on Monday, August 31, employee screenings at the 2035 Camfield campus will take place at the main entrance only.

Patient Screening Process
  • Signs will be posted at the entrance of all clinics informing patients of our screening process.

  • A designated attendant will be available at each site to take a patient's temperature, make sure they read the directions, and answer any questions.

  • Prior to coming to any clinic, a patient is screened at the time they are scheduled for an appointment and, again, when they check in—we have three levels of screenings before a patient enters a room.

Additional information will be shared with staff to help facilitate our new screening processes. Thank you for your continued adherence and keeping AltaMed safe.
Do Your Part!
 
As essential workers, it is our personal responsibility to follow safety guidelines both at work and at home. We continue to remind all our employees and staff to adhere to our 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.
  2. Maintain hand hygiene – Staff should have easy access to hand sanitizer dispensers to clean hands frequently, and should wash hands for 20 seconds at a time.
  3. Practice physical distancing – Six feet apart from other individuals whether inside or outside.
  4. Wipe down any work surfaces you touch.
  5. Patient-facing staff, including front office, should wear a face shield or eye covering in addition to a face mask—avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
  6. Employees must wear appropriate PPE when on site.
Staying Apart While Working Together

As we move into the next phase of our new normal and beyond, Human Resources and Leadership will be communicating through our new Staying Apart While Working Together e-bulletin, which will feature HR updates and information as we adjust and adapt our work and work environments to best serve employees and patients.
 
In addition, Leadership is developing policies and procedures to address the changes affecting our daily work, including working remotely. Once approved, we will announce these policies and share them with you through the Staying Apart While Working Together e-bulletin. Keep in mind that these policies remain fluid as circumstances regarding how we work must remain flexible.
Government Relations Reminds You to Vote!

We are about 10 weeks from the November 3 election. Besides choosing who will represent us in Washington DC, Sacramento, and in city halls, we will also be voting on key ballot propositions. Of the 12 different ballot propositions, AltaMed Action Fund and the California Primary Care Association are supporting Propositions 15 (school funding), 16 (reinstate affirmative action), and 17 (allow people on parole to vote in California; also supported by Black Lives Matter).

Everyone who is registered to vote will receive a vote-by-mail ballot by October 6. Please check your registration status; if you haven’t yet registered, click here to do so. October 6 will be the first day we can vote; November 3 will be the last day. 

Track your ballot with the “Where’s My Ballot?” tool to receive automatic updates on the status of your vote-by-mail ballot. Sign up to receive notifications about your ballot by email, text, or voice call. Track the status of your ballot to assure your voice is counted.
Reminder: Volunteers Needed for CMA-sponsored Free PPE Distribution

In an effort to ensure California physicians can continue to provide care to patients during the COVID-19 outbreak, the California Medical Association (CMA) is providing free medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE) to small- and medium-sized medical practices. AltaMed will support this effort by providing volunteers. The event is Thursday, September 17 on the campus of California State University-Los Angeles. If you would like to volunteer, please complete the volunteer registration form attached here.   
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.