January 6, 2021 @ 4:45 p.m.
Every Wednesday, 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.

You can listen to today's recording here or read the notes here.
Sherrill Brown, MD
Berenice Constant
Steven Satzger
Questions & Communications

During the COVID-19 vaccination administration, we will email updates to employees as more information becomes available. Please be alert to communications from your center managers, clinic administrators, site medical directors, department managers/leaders, and Employee Health, including emails, memos, newsletters, department huddles and/or cell phone text messages.

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
  • Wednesday morning COVID-19 huddles
  • Wednesday afternoon COVID-19 Alerts emailed to all employees
  • COVID-19 resource and policy pages on Town Square
  • altamed.org/coronavirus
  • Periodic emails, as needed

FAQs
  • Click here to read the weekly FAQs
  • Refer to the weekly FAQs in earlier editions of the COVID-19 Alert to see if your questions have already been answered
Q & A of the Week

Q: Will administrative staff get the COVID-19 vaccine after frontline workers are vaccinated? 

From the COVID-19 Response Team
A: We are planning to vaccinate our administrative staff according to Public Health recommendations. This will be after vaccinating our patient-facing staff or those with the highest risk of exposure at work. We are aiming to get enough vaccines from the Department of Health to ultimately vaccinate our entire workforce in the next one to two months.
#oneshotatatime

Dr. Sherrill Brown was part of a handful of frontline employees who took part in
last week's "test run" of our internal vaccination process before launching it this week.

Watch the video to hear why Dr. Brown received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Recap of Employee Town Hall

Yesterday, more than 700 employees took part in a Town Hall where staff could learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines and how we will implement the employee vaccination process.

Thank you to panelists Sherrill Brown, MD, Medical Director of Infection Prevention; Faustina Nevárez, MD, Medical Director of Women's Health; Steven Satzger, Director, Learning and Training, Human Resources; Sabrina Kosok, AltaMed Institute for Health Equity Manager of Medical Education; and Vanessa Pena-Garcia, AltaMed Institute for Health Equity Consultant.

Click on the information below to view the presentation or hear the recording:

We will update the Employee FAQs with new questions that were brought up during the Town Hall. Please continue to check Town Square for COVID-19 vaccine-related information.

Helpful Links:
Vaccinations Begin This Week

It is our goal to vaccinate all AltaMed employees and providers who want the COVID-19 vaccine. Please be patient as we work through the complex scheduling process over the next few days.

We have received a certain supply of the Moderna vaccine in Los Angeles and Orange counties. We are hoping to receive additional vaccines, but do not have an exact time as of now. Once we do, we will schedule more employees for vaccination. We ask that you remain patient as we wait to obtain additional vaccines.

  • Starting January 7, 8 and 9, we will begin to offer the Moderna vaccine at both our Corporate and Anaheim distribution centers.
  • Emails were sent to frontline/patient-facing staff earlier this week to schedule their appointments. Before scheduling your appointment, please work with your managers for the best date and time.
  • Do not share the email with others as the SignUpGenius scheduling link is unique to you. If you have technical issues with SignUpGenius, please contact Vanessa Pena-Garcia for assistance.
 
Given that the vaccine, once thawed, must be used within a few hours, we may be reaching out to fill any open appointments. Please be alert to emails from Employee Health near the end of the day asking you if you can fill an opening. You must have an appointment. 

Once again, we will do our best to provide vaccines to all AltaMed employees and providers who request one.
 
If you receive the COVID-19 vaccine outside of AltaMed, you must email proof (CDC vaccination card) to Employee Health for documentation purposes.
Immunization Policy Acknowledgement Due Today

If you have not already done so, please review the COVID-19 policy and complete the acknowledgement today. This is mandatory for all employees. 

  • Go to Town Square, then to My HR Services and log in
  • Under Talent Management, launch the COVID Immunization Policy Acknowledgement
  • Read the policy in its entirety, then complete the acknowledgement
Stop the Surge

  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 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. Patient-facing staff, including front office if no plexiglass barrier is used, 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.
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.