COVID 19 Safety Protocols for Parents Who Are Health Care Providers
- The health-worker/parent does not wear any personal clothing to the hospital. Rather, he wears a pair of scrubs to the hospital, then trades them in at the end of the day for a new clean set. He also brings an extra pair of scrubs home with him. When he returns home, he changes out of the scrubs he is wearing in the garage and returns to work the next day wearing the clean pair of scrubs he brought home with him.
- Each day, independent of her obligation at the hospital, the health-worker/parent takes her temperature when she wakes up.
- The health-worker/parent removes her shoes that she wears to work in the basement and keeps them out of the living space.
- Each day when the health-worker/parent arrives at the hospital he has his temperature taken.
- The health-worker/parent is questioned daily about her health and whether she has any COVID-19 symptoms before being allowed to enter the facility.
- Throughout the day, the health-worker/parent wears a N-95 mask as well as a regular mask (dual protection), as well as other protective equipment, as their particular job duties dictate.
- The health-worker/parent temperature is taken before he leaves his building, meaning his temperature is taken both before entering and leaving the building.
- The health-worker/parent is required to self-monitor for a fever. If he develops a fever or any other symptoms, he must advise his supervisor, in which case he would be sent home immediately.
- If sent home, the health-worker/parent is required to contact Occupational Health (a separate operation required to exist in every hospital) for the region for further examination. That entity would decide if he needs a COVID-19 test, and, if it is suspected to be a work-related exposure, they would arrange for the test.
- If Occupational Health determines it was a non-work-related exposure, the health-worker/parent would be required to contact his primary care physician.
- After a referral, Occupational Health maintains contact at least every 24 hours. Only after Occupational health clears the employee are they able to return to work.
- If you test positive, you must remain out of work for 10 days after the initial onset of symptoms. In addition, you must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and have an improvement in symptoms, before you can return to the workplace.
- When a patient calls for an appointment, they are first contacted by a nurse for screening.
- When a patient arrives at the office, they are tested for fever and placed in a special waiting area. The patient and all staff in that separate and secure waiting area must wear masks.
- No employee is allowed into the hospital from the garage without first receiving a mask.
- Everyone entering the hospital has their temperature taken before being permitted to enter the building.
- They are required to monitor their temperature at home.
- Before any patient can be seen, the front desk screens the patient over the phone and at the clinic’s entrance, thereby precluding anybody from entering the building without being screened. In addition, each patient receives a mask and has their temperature taken.
- To minimize contact, they speak with patients through Telehealth or some similar form of electronic communication.
- All staff members are screened with temperature check prior to working.
- All in person patients are screened before they can travel to the office.
- The office is disinfected every hour.
- The rooms are wiped down after every patient examination.
- There is strict social distancing.