Preparing for a Pandemic

Last week the Center for Disease Control declared that it is expected that the Covide-19 virus will spread in the United States.  Dr. Rachel Levine, Health Secretary of the PA Department of Health stated, “It is critical now that we be prepared for the possibility of community spread of COVID-19”.  If you haven’t already, it is probably time to dust off your agency’s Emergency Preparedness binder to get ready for the upcoming challenges we may face.  The information below may assist you in developing a plan for your agency.

1. What is Covid-19?    Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person.  Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIL5m5XznNY  (This is a brief video that describes Covid-19 and preventative actions.) 
2. Develop/Review an agency wide Emergency Communication plan.  During a pandemic, situations can change quickly. Have a plan and updated contact information to reach employees, families, and those you support quickly.
3. Review/develop sick leave policy for pandemics.  The Allegheny County Health Department stated last week that a mild case of Covid-19 can cause a person to be sick for 2 weeks.  A more severe case for 3-5 weeks.  The CDC is encouraging people to stay home if they are ill to prevent the spread of the virus.  An agency may consider reviewing their policy to prevent people from coming to work and contaminating others.
4. Identify employees that are able to telecommute.  Unfortunately, no one is able to predict how long or severe Covid-19 will be. Telecommuting will be beneficial to maintain agency business and maybe even stopping the spread of the virus.  Human Resources may want to develop a working from an alternate location agreement between the agency and employee to ensure everyone’s expectations are clear.
5.  Many of the people we support may be at a high risk if they are exposed to Covid-19.  According to an article published in “The Scientist”, a magazine for people in the life sciences field, the most vulnerable are the elderly, as well as people with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory illness, high blood pressure, and cancer.  Knowing who is the most susceptible and establishing a baseline of health for them may help you identify the virus earlier to avoid further complications.
6. Identify a containment room at each location.  If an employee becomes ill consider having a designated area as a “containment room” to help prevent the spread of the illness to others until transportation or medical care can be obtained.
7. Identify surfaces that are frequently touched and could easily spread the virus.  Door knobs, kitchen and bathroom surfaces, and cellphones are all commonly touched throughout the day.  Consider developing a procedure or guidelines for routinely cleaning these surfaces to prevent contamination. Also consider the items you many need to prevent the spread of a virus, such as tissues, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes.
8. Develop/review procedure for sheltering in place.  There may be a time that the PA Department of Health suggests that people avoid crowds or close spaces.  Consider what will be needed if people are at home for an extended period of time.  Contact contractors that provide services, such as a pharmacies, to ensure that routine medications will be available and arrive on time.
9. Provide employees and those we support with a refresher course on the basics of handwashing.  People often will wash their hands, but forget to do it for a whole 20 seconds or miss areas that could still harbor the virus.  Milestone HCQU West has an online training that reviews these concepts; click this link to go to our Training Center: Infection Control or contact us for an in-person training.
10. Stay up-to-date on the latest information about Covid-19 from reliable sources.   The Centers for Disease Control (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html) and the PA Department of Health (https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx) will most likely have the most up-to-date information.  Be careful about obtaining information from sources like social media that may not have the most current or accurate information.
11. Take care of yourself. Start now and get plenty of rest, fluids, and a healthy diet.