September 23, 2020 @ 5:30 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.

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 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: Due to COVID-19, should we obtain two flu shots to better protect our immune system?

From the COVID-19 Response Team
A: At this time we do not recommend getting two flu vaccines this year. It is important to get the flu vaccine now or before the end of October to protect yourself this flu season. When the COVID-19 vaccine comes out, we will recommend getting vaccinated for COVID as well.
COVID Screening Reminders and Updates

Employees
  • As a reminder, if you've been exposed to COVID-19 or feel ill, please do not come to work. Contact your supervisor immediately and inform them.
  • We continue to use Qualtrics for our employee screening process. AltaMed requires each employee to undergo a COVID-19 symptom screening before beginning work each day, which will include temperature taking. You must answer all screening questions and submit your results immediately upon entering the building. Complete the screening survey before leaving the entrance or lobby of your location. Do not wait until you are at your desk/work area/elevator to submit answers.

Patients
  • We continue to see and care for patients in our clinics. Every clinic needs to manage patients with potential COVID-19 symptoms. Providers and nurses can triage patients outside, if needed, before the patient is brought into the clinic.
  • We will be formalizing our workflow and standardizing our processes and will share these with the clinics for consistency.

For any questions or concerns, please contact Dr. Brown.
Following Safety Protocols Is Our Responsibility
 
As essential workers, everyone has the right and responsibility to remind colleagues (family and friends, too) to follow safety guidelines–both at work and at home.

  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.
The Flu Vaccine is Your Best Shot at Stopping the Flu

AltaMed continues to schedule flu vaccinations. Please visit Town Square under Flu Season is Here! (top right news block) for all flu-related information, including dates, times, and locations for vaccinations. You still have time to be entered into the weekly raffle to win some great prizes!

Reminders:
  • Employees can attend any of the already scheduled flu vaccinations without making an appointment.
  • If you cannot attend any of the already scheduled flu vaccinations, please send a calendar invitation to [email protected]. Again, calendar invitations are required only to schedule a flu shot outside of the already scheduled dates/times.
  • If you receive the flu vaccine outside of AltaMed, please submit your proof to [email protected].

Below is a map provided by the CDC to see how the flu is progressing. Click to view the weekly influenza surveillance report.
Census Deadline is One Week Away

The deadline for the U.S. Census is on Wednesday, September 30. If you haven't already completed the census, please do so by visiting My2020census.gov.

The goal of the census is to count every person living in the United States. Census data guides how more than $675 billion of federal funding is distributed to states and communities each year. Your answers will remain confidential and private. The Census Bureau is required by law to protect your information and is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify you or your household.
Human Resources Reminders

LiveWell Webcast Tomorrow
LiveWell presents its next live webcast on Surviving School in 2020 on Thursday, September 24 at noon. Take part in this bonus Health FYI about navigating the return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. Go to Town Square, log into your Vitality account and register for tomorrow's event.

Policy Acknowledgments Due October 9
By Friday, October 9, every employee will need to complete an acknowledgment of the new and updated COVID-19 policies. Go to Town Square–My HR Services–Talent Management–Your Transcript and launch this acknowledgment. For questions, please reach out to your HR Business Partner.
In Case You Missed It... View the National Webinar on Safe Voting
 
On September 14, Dr. Efrain Talamantes, Chief Operating Officer, Health Services, and Jennie Carreón, Assistant Vice President of Civic Engagement, were the featured presenters in a national webinar. You can listen to the entire presentation, From the Clinic to the Ballot Box: How Health Professionals Can Promote Safe Voting in 2020, in which they discussed the impact of voting on the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and shared information about AltaMed's successful "My Vote, My Health/Mi Voto, Mi Salud" campaign.
Branding Team Receives Two International Awards

Congratulations to the AltaMed Branding team on winning two 2020 dotCOMM Awards for their recent work – Platinum for the Glow Healthy Cervical Cancer Awareness video and Gold for the Thank You AltaMed Heroes video, which recognizes and thanks AltaMed employees for their commitment and dedication throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The prestigious awards were presented by dotCOMM Awards, an international competition honoring excellence in web creativity and digital communications.
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.