February 16, 2022 @ 3:00 p.m.
Every Tuesday, Sherrill Brown, M.D., Medical Director, Infection Prevention; Olivia Lee, Manager, Legislative and Advocacy Affairs; and Denise Gomez, Benefits Specialist, Human Resources, update our clinic and corporate lines of business leaders.

You can listen to the recording here or read the notes here.
You Must Continue to Wear a Mask at AltaMed

In high-risk settings, such as health care facilities, employees still have to wear masks as we are bound by rules specific to us and not the community. In our Los Angeles and Orange County sites, regardless of whether the county or the state end the mask mandate, we will still have to continue masking indoors at all AltaMed facilities at all times.

AltaMed is currently in surge tier level one, therefore we can resume in-person meetings. However, we must continue to follow our safe environment recommendations and requirements, including:
  • Wearing a mask at all times during meetings.
  • Observing six-foot physical distancing.
  • Avoiding food or beverages for indoor meetings.
  • Washing our hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitizer for 20 seconds.
  • Frequently cleaning of all the high-touch surfaces.
Employee Booster Events

Employee Health will host two booster events for employees at the MSO Training Room (1401 N. Montebello Blvd. in Montebello) on Thursdays, February 17 and February 24.

To sign up for either booster event, click on the preferred date:

If You Receive the Booster Outside of AltaMed

Make Your Booster Appointment
  • Email Employee Health.
  • Call Employee Health at (323) 765-6153.
  • Contact the Employee Health lead at your respective clinic.
COVID-19 Sick Pay Hours

Please refer to the memo sent from Veronica Gomez, Vice President of Human Resources, to all employees on Friday, February 11 regarding the state's COVID-19 retroactive sick pay.

Employees requiring retroactive pay for COVID-19 hours must submit the e-time exception form to Payroll. The forms must be signed by their manager and submitted directly to Payroll, which is currently loading all unused hours into employees' PTO banks. The new COVID-19 hours are set to expire September 30, 2022.
Grand Rounds Update
 
Sherrill Brown, M.D., Medical Director, Infection Prevention, presented at a special Grand Rounds on COVID-19 Treatment, Vaccine Updates, and Q&A Forum on Tuesday, February 15. 
 
Topics Discussed:
  • Update on Surge
  • Update on Testing
  • Outpatient Treatment Options for COVID-19
  • Treatment Data Related to Vaccinating Kids

Resources:
 
Video Presentation Timestamps
  • Presentation: 0:00 – 20:33
  • Q&A Session: 20:34 – 29:59

All COVID-19 Grand Rounds materials and recordings can be found on Town Square on the Provider Portal Grand Rounds page.  
MD Labs Patient Testing to End

This Friday, February 18 will be the last day that MD Labs will provide tests to AltaMed patients. Starting Monday, February 21, all patients should be referred to their home clinics for any assessment and testing as we will be absorbing those tests back into our clinical sites.
Vendor Vaccination Required
 
California has recently issued a vaccine mandate applicable to all health care entities in the state in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in health care workers. As of October 1, 2021, AltaMed has been required to maintain records of all vendors, contracted, or temporary employees' vaccine or exemption status. This includes the full name of the vendor personnel entering the location, date of birth, vaccine manufacturer, date of vaccine, administration of first and second dose.
 
Effective Tuesday, March 1, 2022, vendors/contractors who provide services or work in defined health care environments must have received a third COVID-19 vaccine/booster shot, if eligible. To ensure AltaMed complies with the mandate, screeners at each location will be gathering vaccine data at the point of entry. Therefore, please inform all your vendors of our vendor vaccination requirement. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Eddie Howard, Director of Compliance and Ethics, Third Party.
Staying Safe at AltaMed

  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
Please Note: If you are contacted by the media with questions about the coronavirus outbreak or for any other reason, email Christina Sanchez, Vice President, Public Affairs. 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, call Christina at (310) 420-1135. If you'd like to read news releases from AltaMed, visit our external website, AltaMed.org under Newsroom.