March 17, 2021 @ 5:30 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.
Sherrill Brown, M.D.
Berenice Constant
Steven Satzger
Weekly Employee Vaccinations Available

Employee Health will offer Dose 1 and Dose 2 Moderna vaccines to employees once a week on Thursdays at AMU (2035 Camfield Ave.). As a reminder, Employee Health will schedule second doses 28 days after the first.

Click on the date below to schedule your appointment:

You will receive a text and/or email reminder before your appointment. Remember to:
  • Work with your supervisor to ensure your availability.
  • Wear short sleeves.
  • Do not carpool with your colleagues. 
  • Bring your vaccination card with you (for Dose 2).

Vaccination Declination Due March 31
The deadline to sign up for or decline a vaccination is Wednesday, March 31. If you are waiting to get the vaccine for any reason, please fill out the COVID-19 declination. If you received the vaccine outside of AltaMed, please email a copy of the vaccination card to Employee Health for documentation purposes only.

Remember: You may change your mind at any time and sign up to get vaccinated.
Vaccine Updates Presented at Grand Rounds

On Tuesday, March 16, Dr. Sherrill Brown, Medical Director, Infection Prevention, presented COVID-19 Vaccine Update: How Do AltaMed Patients Get Vaccinated? at a special Grand Rounds.

Key Messages:
  • You can help stop the pandemic by getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Get the information you need to choose to get vaccinated when it’s available to you.
  • COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
  • COVID-19 vaccines will be free for you.
  • After COVID-19 vaccination, you might have some side effects. These are normal signs that your body is building protection.
  • You will still need to wear a mask and socially distance after getting each shot of the vaccine for now.
 
Resources:
 
Medical Education will continue to host COVID-related Grand Rounds sessions to update our providers and organization on the ever-changing vaccination processes. Look for an email invitation.

As a reminder, all materials and recordings can be found on the AltaMed Grand Rounds page on Town Square.
Vaccine Appointments and Updates

The AltaMed Vaccine Hotline at (888) 909-5232 is available for patients and the community to call and schedule their vaccine appointments or to learn more about the vaccine distribution process at AltaMed.

Orange County
AltaMed is offering vaccines for our patients in Phases 1A and 1B, Tier 1. We are also offering appointments to all residents of Orange County in the above categories. Visit the Orange County Health Care Agency website for eligibility updates.

Los Angeles County
We have a limited supply of vaccines and are prioritizing vaccinating our own patients in Phases 1A and 1B, Tier 1. Visit the Los Angeles County Public Health website for eligibility updates.

AltaMed Vaccination Sites
  • AltaMed Medical Group – Pico Rivera, Passons (once a week, every Thursday)
  • AltaMed Medical Group – Huntington Park (once a week, every Monday)
  • AltaMed Medical and Dental Group – Anaheim (effective April 9, this site will no longer offer vaccines)
  • AltaMed PACE – Santa Ana, located at 3601 W. Sunflower Ave,. Suite 100 (as of March 23, this will be a new vaccination site)

AltaMed Pharmacies
Several of our pharmacies are providing the vaccine to our patients who can call the AltaMed Vaccine Hotline at (888) 909-5232 to schedule their appointment.

PACE
PACE continues to vaccinate its participants at four sites and is very close to vaccinating all eligible participants.
Los Angeles and Orange Counties Move to Red Tier

Click here to follow the COVID-19 Tracker. Both Orange and Los Angeles counties have moved into the red tier. This will allow for the reopening of certain businesses and activities with capacity requirements.
Safety Guidelines at Work Continue at All Times

  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. 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 an administrative and clinical setting—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.
New Background for Virtual Meetings

For internal or external virtual meetings, you can now set the COVID-19 AltaMed vaccination template as your background. This will help reinforce the AltaMed Vaccine Hotline phone number and the AltaMed.org/vaccine website.

Please do not use artwork that is not approved by Branding and Communications.
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
  • Wednesday morning COVID-19 huddles
  • Wednesday afternoon COVID-19 Alert emailed to all employees
  • COVID-19 resource and policy pages on Town Square
  • altamed.org/vaccine
  • 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.

Town Square
Current information and helpful resources can be found in the COVID-19 Vaccine news block on Town Square.
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.