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. (In today’s meeting, Olivia Lee speaks on behalf of Government Relations). 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 use existing communications, such as the Wednesday-only COVID-19 huddles, COVID-19 resource and policy pages on Town Square, altamed.org/coronavirus , and any regular emails you receive.

Q & A of the Week

Q: While in the break room, a staff member filled up her water bottle by covering the whole water spout with the mouth of her bottle. I know staff are cleaning and sanitizing, but can we place some kind of notice on water dispensers stating that you do not reuse certain bottles and don't put the whole bottle over the spout? This is a danger in spreading germs. 
 
A: Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We will disseminate messaging to the company to discourage any possible contamination of water dispensers. We will also notify our environmental aides to clean these spouts regularly.
 
Recommendation: Avoid placing reusable bottles and cups around water dispenser spouts. If possible, we recommend that you bring a pre-filled water bottle from home, or use a wide-mouth refillable cup or disposable cup for one-time use if consuming water, tea, or coffee from a break room.
COVID-19 Numbers on the Rise

 With the ongoing loosening of restrictions, health and government officials are reporting a spike in the number of positive COVID-19 cases throughout our counties. At AltaMed, we want to remind you to continue to follow the safe practices below - especially at work!

It is everyone's responsibility to adhere to these protocols to ensure the safety of our staff and patients. We also encourage you to kindly remind colleagues to follow all safety guidelines.

  • 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.
  • Face masks should be worn at all times over your nose and mouth (except when drinking or eating), and should be stored properly or discarded.
  • Employees must wear appropriate PPE when on site.
  • Maintain hand hygiene – all staff should have easy access to hand sanitizer dispensers to clean hands frequently, and should be washing hands for 20 seconds at a time.
  • Practice social distancing – six feet apart from other individuals whether inside or outside.
  • Wipe down any work surfaces you touch.

Testing and Testing Sites
Currently, we have three main testing and evaluation centers open in Los Angeles County:
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group–West Covina
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group–Commerce, Goodrich
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group–South Gate

To be tested at one of these locations, an appointment must be made on the Los Angeles County COVID-19 testing website .
 
We also have two testing and evaluation centers open in Orange County:
  • AltaMed Medical Group–Santa Ana, Bristol
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group–Anaheim

To be tested at one of these locations, patients must first go through their providers.

A ntibody Testing
Regarding COVID-19 antibody tests, at this point, we have not recommended testing for COVID antibodies at our clinics. Anyone interested can have their primary care provider order a COVID antibody test to be done through Quest. This will be up to their primary care provider’s discretion.
AltaMed Celebrates its Health Care Heroes in New Video
 
During the last several months, we’ve been particularly proud and appreciative of the work you’ve put forth. Inspired by your determination, compassion and collaboration, the Patient Experience Team, in collaboration with Health Services, Communications, and Branding, created a special video showcasing and honoring our AltaMed health care heroes.

W e came together as a strong organization to meet the challenges that faced us, and we continue to work together to navigate and meet new challenges with courage and flexibility every day. You can also view the video on Town Square - Patient Experience .

Again, thank you for all you do, all you have done, and all you continue to do!
Please Note: If you are contacted by the media with questions about the coronavirus outbreak, or for any other reason, please contact: Veronica Orozco , Sr. Manager, Public Relations via email. 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.