View as Webpage September 9, 2020 @ 4:30 p.m.

Today's Weekly COVID-19 Briefing (Recorded at 7:45 a.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. This morning Olivia Lee, Manager, Legislative & Advocacy Affairs, presented. You can listen to today's recording here or read the notes 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-only 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.  Click here to read the weekly FAQs (September 7) All Employees - FAQs Managers - FAQs

Q & A of the Week Q: Are there any updates on COVID-19 testing criteria for members? From the COVID-19 Response Team A: We still recommend testing individuals who meet the local Public Health and California Department of Health guidelines. In brief, they include: People with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 People in close contact with a COVID-19 patient or suspect People needing clearance testing prior to a procedure or surgery   We do not recommend testing asymptomatic individuals unless they have had some sort of exposure or need it for clearance.

Flu Vaccines Now Available AltaMed is now providing free flu vaccinations to employees and patients. Go to Town Square (top right news block) for all flu-related information, including dates, times, and locations for vaccinations as well as related forms.   Can’t make one of the flu shot events? Schedule your vaccine for any time outside of a flu event by sending a calendar invitation to [email protected]. If you receive your flu vaccine outside of AltaMed, please submit your proof to [email protected].   Employees who get a flu shot may submit proof to Vitality and receive 200 Live Well points. Take part in the 2020 Census or our voter registration efforts at one of our flu events when getting your flu shot and be entered into a raffle drawing. The raffle drawing will include gift cards and other items like water bottles (raffle period ends October 31).   The Contest is On for Some Great Treats! Get your flu vaccine early to help your team win! As members of your team get vaccinated, complete the routine Annual Flu Tracking Log, which is located on Town Square under Flu Season is Here! (top right news block). Blank weekly flu tracking logs will be sent to the Clinic Nurse Manager/Supervisor every Monday to be completed with the names of employees who have been vaccinated. These weekly flu tracking logs are due by the end of every Wednesday to Employee Health.

Slow the Spread!   As essential workers, it is our personal responsibility to follow safety guidelines both at work and at home. We continue to remind all our employees and staff to adhere to our safety guidelines: 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. 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. Practice physical distancing – Six feet apart from other individuals whether inside or outside. Wipe down any work surfaces you touch. 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. Employees must wear appropriate PPE when on site.

National Webinar on Safe Voting - September 14 Dr. Efrain Talamantes, Chief Operating Officer, Health Services, and Jennie Carreón, Assistant Vice President of Civic Engagement, will be featured presenters in a national webinar "Clinic to the Ballot Box: How Health Professionals Can Promote Safe Voting in 2020" on Monday, September 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. They will discuss the impact of voting on the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and share information about AltaMed's successful “My Vote, My Health/Mi Voto, Mi Salud” campaign. To register, please click here. The webinar is organized by VoteHealth2020, a nonpartisan coalition of health professionals collaborating to increase the number of peers and patients registered to vote by November 3, 2020. Please share this important webinar with colleagues and friends.

Deadline Reminders Leaders have been assigned an online module regarding responding to employees during COVID-19. Please make sure to complete this mandatory training by Monday, September 14. Visit MY HR Services–Talent Management–Your Transcript on Town Square. This is the last month to take part in the U.S. Census – the deadline is Wednesday, September 30. If you haven't already completed your census, please visit My2020census.gov to do so.

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.