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Dear Valued Employees,
Thank you for continuing to support our customers in the face of this pandemic. CareGivers America is working diligently to address concerns and keep you, your families, and our customers safe.
With the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we are in the midst of a global health crisis the likes of which none of us have ever witnessed before. We don't know what's going to happen, and we don't know how long it will take for life to return to any degree of normal. Your performance throughout this pandemic is a testament to what our organization can accomplish when we work together.
We have implemented a number of preventative procedures to minimize the spread of disease among staff and patients. We also have secured needed PPE and have this available in every office. It is imperative that we protect our most vulnerable population and our valued staff.
Caring for clients during such extreme circumstances can be exhilarating and inspiring, but it can also be exhausting. We want to offer our deepest thanks to all of you for the amazing work you do on the frontlines each and every day. You are critically important to our parent company’s mission of being “better together” - the Simplura Health Group.
Know that we would not be whole without the talent and abilities you bring to the organization. You matter and the mission you are a part of matters.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mia Haney, President
CareGivers America | Simplura Health Group
CGA is highly recommending that frontline workers who interact directly with patients receive the COVID-19 vaccine, unless otherwise directed by their healthcare provider.
At this time, Pennsylvania does not have a uniform provider for COVID Vaccination administration – providers vary from county by county.
CareGivers America has been gathering data and coordinating with vaccine providers to assist our staff in accessing the vaccine at a location that is convenient to them. A list of the locations where you can get a vaccine is available here. It is the responsibility of all employees who wish to be vaccinated to contact a provider to schedule an appointment:
If you are having trouble opening the live link above, click here to see the list of providers as of 1/12/2021.
We will update this list regularly with new vaccine providers as they become available.
The PA Department of Health is distributing vaccine to providers on a weekly basis. If a provider does not have vaccine this week, that may change the next week, so please be patient as the government makes the vaccine more accessible over the coming weeks.
If you have questions regarding the vaccine itself, please visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/vaccines.
We are asking that anyone who received any step of the vaccine let us know that they are part of our organization’s risk mitigation efforts. This information will be kept confidential and will be used for informational purposes only.
Click Here to report if you have received any step of the COVID-19 VaccinationHome Health Care employees should take this short survey to determine if they should go to work OR if they should self-quarantine for the safety of our customers. CGA Offices are monitoring survey results and will contact you if your work status should change based on your answers.
Hand Hygiene: The Basics
Hand-washing is one of the most important steps to break the chain of infection. This micro-course follows CDC recommendations and provides a refresher on the specific requirements to successfully stop the spread. TAKE THE COURSE |
Infection Control: The Basics
This course explains scientifically accepted infection control principles to reduce transmission of pathogens. TAKE THE COURSE |
Airborne Precautions
Quick and relevant instruction for implementing infection control measures to prevent transmission of airborne disease. TAKE THE COURSE |
Preparing for a Pandemic
The course spotlights Pandemic flu, but it offers principles and practices relevant to viral transmission disease precautions. |
Transmission-Based Precautions
This course presents the principles of transmission-based precautions and strategies to apply in daily practice. |
Have a Worried Child at Home?
It can be scary to hear about a disease outbreak, but learning the facts can help ease your mind. Find out more about how viruses work, and the best ways to prevent them from infecting more people. TAKE THE COURSE |
Field Staff
Sick Policy. DO NOT ENTER OUR OFFICES OR GO TO A CUSTOMER'S HOME:
You put everyone around you at risk if you enter our facilities with any of the above.
Follow Best Practices.
Daily Self-Screening. Screenings for overall health should be conducted daily. Employees must NOT go to work if they have any signs or symptoms of illness. They should report their symptoms and await instruction from management.
A "COVID-19 Daily Screening" questionnaire needs to be completed daily for every office staff member, and for every visitor attempting to enter the office. Office staff members are to complete and submit this form for themselves, prior to, or immediately upon entering the office. Office staff members are to complete and submit this form for every visitor attempting to enter the office prior to the visitor entering the office.
If an office staff member has a temperature equal to, or greater than, 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, he/she may NOT enter the office. If an office staff member answers “yes” to any question on the questionnaire, he/she may NOT enter the office or must leave the office immediately. Upon departure from the office, office staff member must notify his/her supervisor and complete a COVID-19 Employee Questionnaire, and await further guidance.
If a visitor has a temperature equal to, or greater than, 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, and/or answers "yes" to any question on the questionnaire, the visitor may NOT enter the office.
Quality and Staff Development Manager and Regional Managers will be responsible for tracking compliance.
* Please note: this does NOT replace the COVID-19 Employee Questionnaire located on the CGA Intranet.
Limited Office Visitation. Visitors and non-essential personnel are not permitted in company office spaces. Employee visitation to local offices should be limited to emergency or business essential needs.
Office staff may lock the doors to the building to keep visitors from entering freely. In this circumstance, the below sign should be placed on all access doors, and accommodations made for how the office will receive mail and deliveries.
Effective 3/13/20, all offices must keep a “Visitor log” to track contact information for all visitors. Should a presumed or confirmed case of COVID-19 come in contact with a CGA office, the log will be used to contact all visitors on and after that date to notify them of potential contamination.
Limited Work Travel Policy. No unnecessary work travel is permitted, this includes travel to conferences, meetings, and other group activities with attendance of more than 10 people that can be attended via webinar or other remote session.
Workspace Cleaning. Employees are asked to participate in the cleaning and disinfection of commonly used areas in patient’s homes, such as countertops, phones, computers, door knobs, light switches, bathrooms, medical equipment and the like. Soap and water or commercial disinfectant will suffice.
PPE. All staff will be able to pick up the following PPE supplies from our local offices during normal business hours. Call in advance so we can arrange for social distancing during the pick up of PPE equipment:
If a customer is deemed suspected or confirmed COVID-19, staff will be provided with the following:
Employees providing care in nursing homes or personal care homes should wear a KN-95 mask and goggles/face shield at all times they are in the facility.
Website Notice. The CareGivers America website has been updated with a virus alert that takes you directly to the PA Department of Health website where up to date information on the virus and preventative measures are being recorded regularly. We encourage staff and patients to visit this website for accurate and up to date information.
The website will be updated regularly with policy updates. Policy updates occur frequently due to the nature of our learning curve with this pandemic, and regularly updated policies being received from the DOH and the CDC. Please see the website for the most up to date policies and procedures.
Mandatory Patient Preparation Discussions. To prepare for a worst-case scenario, CGA Nurses and office representatives will be calling all patients to discuss the following:
Ideally you should use one mask per customer.
How to safely Put on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
How to safely Take Off Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Call your local office to obtain masks! We are receiving more mask shipments each week to keep you safe in our communities and in our patient’s homes.
Customers and employees have been notified and asked to report any symptoms of illness prior to a scheduled shift. CGA Employees have been notified to report all suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in customers or staff. CGA office staff should complete a “COVID-19 Customer Questionnaire” form upon notification of customer symptoms so that management staff may review and provide guidance on appropriate PPE to be worn if the customer is deemed to be suspected or confirmed COVID-19. Employee Questionnaire form is available if employees report symptoms of illness so that they may be guided on return to work policies according to the most up to date CDC guidelines.
The following policies apply to confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19.
The following staff may not be utilized when caring for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19:
PPE | Diagnosed COVID-19 Patient | Suspected COVID-19 Patient | Presumed Virus-Free Patient without symptoms |
---|---|---|---|
Gloves - employee | X | X | X |
Surgical mask - employee | X | X | X |
Surgical mask - customer/patient | X | X | |
Gown/Apron - employee | X | ||
N95 or KN95 mask - employee | X | X | |
Face shield or goggles - employee | X | X |
Staff who enter a health care facility (hospital, SNF or PCH) with known COVID-19 patient(s) should use PPE dictated in the above chart for “Diagnosed COVID-19 patient” regardless of whether the patient they are treating has confirmed or suspected COVID-19.
All employees who support patients with confirmed COVID-19 AND who have complied with the above “Mandatory Precautions While Caring for Someone with COVID-19” (especially regarding the use of PPE equipment for the customer and the employee), may treat other non-symptomatic patients in an alternative setting according to the following guidelines:
PREFERRED Test-based strategy: Exclude from work until:
If preferred test-based strategy above is not possible due to lack of quickly available testing, employee should be excluded from work until: