Forum Q&A for Asante leaders, Jan. 31

Key takeaways from the regular online leader forum. Bookmark this page for future reference.

Published on January 31, 2022

Asante Human Resources

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EMPLOYEE COVID VACCINATION STATUS

VACCINATION AND OPEN POSITIONS

Sixty employees have moved out of the exception process and into the vaccinated workforce.
Fewer than 1% are noncompliant.
Asante has more than 1,000 open positions but has accelerated hiring.

DATA WORKFORCE

CDC requires reporting vaccination status of all staff, including contractors and students.
Each director or manager will receive a list of employees to verify if they are working on-site or remotely.
Fully remote workers are excluded from vaccination reporting.

N95 MASKING

N95s are available in clinical departments. Nonclinical departments may order masks through Materials Management at (541) 789-4541.
Staff in outpatient facilities, including APP clinics, should wear an N95 when interacting with all patients.
Any nonclinical staff member whose work involves COVID hot zones must be fit-tested.
Visitors are not required to wear N95 masks.
Questions about levels and N95 requirements should be submitted to

co*****@as****.org

.
Learn more in N95 FAQs.

RETURNING TO WORK

Asante is following CDC guidance on when employees who have contracted COVID-19 can be cleared to return to work.
Staff may return to work if they meet the following criteria:
- Five days have passed since symptom onset.
- Was asymptomatic or had mild symptoms.
- Had a negative antigen test result.
- Has been cleared by Asante Employee Health.

ANTIGEN TESTING

Test kits are available at Asante Employee Health locations in Ashland, Grants Pass and Medford.
Tests must be Asante-approved. Home tests do not qualify.
Employees who want to be tested should go through Asante Employee Health and not the drive-thru testing site.
Each Asante-provided kit contains two tests, which allow the employee to test twice if needed.
The antigen test should be taken on day five of symptoms. If the test is positive on day five, test again on day seven.
These are for employees only and are not to be given to friends, family or others.
On weekends and after hours, tests are available at Asante Urgent Care in Grants Pass (from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and from hospital house supervisors.

RETURN-TO-WORK CLEARANCE ON WEEKENDS

Asante Urgent Care in Grants Pass will manage clearance on weekends. Call at (541) 507-2170.
Notify UC PSR that they need a return-to-work clearance.
PSR finds provider to complete the RTW evaluation.
Telephonic process for clearance same as with Employee Health.
If cleared to return to work:
- Urgent Care provider notifies employee’s manager with clearance information.
- Next business day Employee Health will follow up with the employee and schedule them for an official return-to-work appointment to verify.
If not cleared to return to work:
- Employee needs to be scheduled for a follow up appointment with Employee Health on the next regular business day.
Employees must be cleared by Employee Health before they can return to work, even if after a 10-day isolation and negative test.

CONTACTING EMPLOYEE HEALTH

Medford: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; (541) 789-5008.
Grants Pass: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday; (541) 507-2300.
Ashland: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays; (541) 201-4484.
Email

em************@as****.org

.
NEW! On Halo, search Employee Health COVID Communication. The chat is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you need a Halo account, submit a request through myTECH.
Employees should not come into any Asante facility, including an Employee Health clinic, if they have tested positive or have COVID symptoms.
Employee Health is working with a communications vendor for support with extremely high call volumes.

AT-WORK EXPOSURE

If an employee is symptomatic, follow the proper call-out procedure for the unit.
The employee will be paid with infection prevention admin pay or Workers Compensation.
All notifications for admin pay will come from active monitoring/contact tracing. HR will enter the designation on the employee’s time card.
Admin pay applies only to at-work exposures. Otherwise normal ETO/sick day practices apply.

SMULLIN REOPENS TO LIMITED USE

For large groups that smaller rooms can’t accommodate (following meeting guidelines).
Open only to Asante employees and medical staff.

CAPACITY MANAGEMENT

Asante has developed a model to manage surge capacity — from input to throughput to output. Measures have included:
Surge planning.
Prioritizing surgeries and procedures.
Centralizing the transfer admit process.
Adding estimated date of discharge.
Developing community partnership, including with skilled nursing facilities for post-discharge placement.
Managing dialysis services to include more outpatient options.
Working with governmental agencies to ensure community placements.
Reliance on contract labor rises in accordance with surges.

NEXT FORUM

The Q&A forums are moving to a monthly frequency. The next one is Feb. 22.

SCOTT’S THOUGHTS

“I know this is a challenging time, and I appreciate your sticking with us. We are turning a corner, but it’s going to take a long time until we’re out of this. I appreciate you asking the questions. They may seem tough and complex, but keep asking.”