FAQ #47: January 7, 2021 – Containing Answers from January 5th
Answers to Staff Questions on Patient Care and Clinical, Supplies and PPE, and HR Policies
The following FAQs were adapted from questions submitted by VNSNY staff for the CEO Conference Calls hosted by Marki Flannery on Tuesday, January 5th.
Supplies, Masks and PPE
Q. How frequently is the N95 mask replacement recommended? What is the process for frontline staff to obtain new N95 masks? Also interested in knowing whether we are currently receiving supplies from the state or federal authorities and what is our current stock of N95 masks look like?
A. Tony Dawson, Vice President for Quality and Customer Experience: So please reuse your mask unless it becomes soiled and/or non-usable. We’re asking you to reuse that N95 mask as we always have since we started this, but if your N95 mask is soiled and/or no longer usable, you can pick one up at the regional distribution centers.
Michael Bernstein, Chief Experience Officer: And with respect to the inventory, our objective is to keep a 90–day inventory of N95s as well as all the other PPE supplies. And we are achieving that right now. We purchase our N95s from reputable sources that are NIOSH approved N95 masks. And we’re using that route as opposed to state or federal authorities at this point in time.
Q. This is a tip for those plagued by fogging of goggles and safety glasses. Clean and dry them, then apply a thin layer of liquid soap and wipe dry. You may have to do the outside part too.
A. So apparently that should help the fogginess so thank you for sharing that tip with us.
HR Policies / Pay and PTO Policies
Q. Please tell the Partners in Care policy makers to make employee handbooks available to new and existing employees in a digital format. I came to the office to get a copy like you suggested on the support call and the person had no idea they were supposed to be giving them out by request along with supplies, so I didn’t get one. I was told there were none. It’s not the first time the policy came into being and the points of contact for us aides have no idea what’s going on.
A. So the employee handbook is handed out to all new employees at orientation. And unfortunately, it’s a paper document. I know they are working on creating a digital format but that doesn’t exist today which is why you’re not able to get a digital format.
I’m surprised that if you came in and you’re an existing employee and wanted a copy that you couldn’t get one. So, Marian can you please reinforce with the Partners in Care HR team to make orientation manuals available for staff?
Marian Haas, Chief Human Resources Officer: And I will make sure that this employee who sent the request in is mailed a hard copy to her home. Sorry for you coming in and not being able to receive one.
Q. Can you talk about the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act and how it will affect our current PTO as we currently use all paid time off from one bucket (I am a VNSNY CHOICE employee).
A. Marian Haas, Chief Human Resources Officer: Yes, there were some changes to the law in connection with earned safe and sick time. For VNSNY employees who have one PTO bank as this individual does, it does not change any of our policies and practices for your use of that time. The amount of PTO that you are provided is greater than what the requirements are under the Earned Safe and Sick Time law.
So although we track the use of time in connection with the benefits that are provided under the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act it doesn’t change the way that you’ll be reporting or using your PTO time out of one bank going forward. There was an announcement that was sent out recently in connection with the change in the law, and you can refer to the policy that’s posted on HR Connect for any further details.
Vaccination
Q. After getting the vaccine for COVID-19 am I to social distance from household members as I can be contagious and for how long?
A. Andria Castellanos, Chief of Provider Services: So the COVID-19 vaccine is not a live vaccine. So you will not get COVID-19 from the vaccine. It is not possible. You do not need to social distance from your household members and you will not be contagious.
Saying that, you should still follow all the safety protocols when you go outside your house that you have been following: masking, social distancing, using the right PPE, et cetera. So again this is not a live vaccine. You cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine itself and you don’t need to social distance from your household members.
Q. I’m hearing half dose for each injection, is this what is happening?
A. Andria Castellanos: No, we are not giving half doses of vaccine. There was some information out in the press that this might become a recommendation in the future. This is not what is happening. Everyone is getting a full dose of vaccine.
The same person who asked this question asked what the dose was. And the dose of the Moderna vaccine is 0.5 milliliters, so it is the full dose. We are not giving half doses of vaccine.
Q. For those who already had COVID-19 illness how long do we wait for the vaccine due to immunity status?
A. Andria Castellanos: The guidance on this seems to be changing a little bit. Tony do you have the latest on this?
Tony Dawson: So the latest on that right now is that you could still continue to get the vaccine despite your immunity status. So we will monitor this closely as we continue to monitor all of our information on the vaccine but for now you would continue the vaccine as normal.
Q. Can the COVID vaccine be taken on an empty stomach or do we have to eat before taking it?
A. Andria Castellanos: That’s a great question. There is no guidance about having food before you take the vaccine. So I suppose you could take it on an empty stomach, there is absolutely no guidance or direction on this. So if you want to take it on an empty stomach you can.
Q. Where and when will staff be able to receive the COVID vaccine?
A. We are administering the COVID vaccine here at our 220 East 42nd Street location. You will have an appointment either directly scheduled or via a wait list to be able to come in and get the vaccine. So you will know when to come and that’s when you’ll get the vaccine.
Q. Will vaccines be available at the Bulova building?
A. So unfortunately we need to use the vaccine where it is delivered and it’s delivered to 220 East 42nd street. From a logistical standpoint there are lots of moving parts in getting the vaccine administered. So we are planning to conduct the vaccinations here at our 220 East 42nd Street location. We needed a large open area which we have here. Andria, do you want to talk a little bit more about why we are doing it here?
Andria Castellanos: So there’s many reasons why we’re planning our vaccination efforts at 220 East 42nd Street. First of all we can handle a lot of people during a given day which is what we want to do. Our goal is to vaccinate as many people as we can each day. The handling of the vaccine is complex, and we want to make sure from a quality perspective that we’re doing it correctly every single time for every single person, and we feel that we can better control the quality of how we have to handle the vaccine at the 220 site.
And then finally, there are the logistics that Marki talked about in her opening comments. Each vial has ten doses. Once you take it out of the refrigerator you have to use all the doses, and managing the vaccine at the end of the day so we don’t waste vaccine is really important and we can only really manage that centrally in one location. So those are some of the many reasons why for now we’re choosing to centralize our vaccination efforts.
Q. Is there a way that the last minute, leftover vaccine can be given to a non-patient facing employee who lives near 220 to be put on the list as an alternative to wasting the vaccine? Not trying to jump the line, just trying to be efficient.
A. So this is a really an excellent question. And we’ve asked this question and the problem is you run the risk that people will be starting to give vaccine to non-priority groups. And the state has already indicated that if an organization gives a vaccine to anyone who is not in a priority group, they run the risk of losing all future vaccine and getting fined and losing their license to operate.
So while we would hate to waste vaccine the guidance is very clear that we are not able to give vaccine to non-patient facing employees at this time.
Return to Work
Q. Is it more likely employees will return to the office in spring 2021 or fall 2022?
A. So we don’t have a definitive date yet. As I’ve mentioned in my comments with the current infection rate at about 8%, we are being conservative in having people return to the office.
Once the vaccine becomes much more widely distributed, I think we’ll be in a position to make decisions about staff returning to the office and we’ll have a better sense of what the office layout will need to look like in a vaccinated world. So I don’t have an answer, but we will give an answer once we have more information.
Administrative
Q. Could these meetings start at 8:30? It’s hard to stop what you’re doing in the field and plan meeting.
A. So I’m assuming that relates to these conference calls. And there really is no good time. We’ve gotten feedback that 8:30 in the morning is challenging for staff because they need to get out and make visits.
So we’ll do the best we can. Again if you miss the call because it’s not a good time, the recording and the FAQs are posted on the intranet for you to be able to review.
Patient Care and Clinical
Q. What are the updates on parking passes?
A. So you may remember that we did receive notification that the parking passes that you currently have, have been extended through the end of June 2021.
We did not receive new or replacement passes. You will use the same parking pass. We did not get additional parking passes. So what we have is what we have. There were questions about whether or not you needed to post the parking pass and the PDF in the windshields and there were instructions as well about where you can and cannot park.
So Dan Lowenstein who is our Vice President for Government Affairs and has really taken the lead to make sure that these parking passes became available to us and renewed, and who continues to lobby to get them extended and made permanent, happens to be on the call with us today. Dan would you like to speak to how these parking passes are to be utilized?
Dan Lowenstein, Vice President for Government Affairs: First of all, if you look at FAQ #46 from the December 31 call there’s a lot of good information there about the passes, including links to the parking privileges. They are very specific about where people can park and where they can’t park.
There have been several instances where staff have gotten tickets but it’s for parking in places that were not allowed. We do ask that if you do get a ticket there are ways to dispute that ticket and also to let Government Affairs know so that we can track them as well. This is a very important privilege that we have. We want to make sure that we can maintain it through next year and beyond there. And I think our ability to use these effectively and will help in our advocacy for extending these permanently.
Q. When are the parking passes valid?
A. The passes are valid seven days a week 24 hours a day however we are instructing staff to only use them to see patients. So the purpose of getting the passes for us was so the staff has the ability to see patients and is not challenged with trying to find a place to park.
If the city finds out that our staff are using these parking passes to go to social gatherings, and private events, and parking in areas and using them for their personal benefits we run the risk that they will not renew these parking passes for us in the future. So while they are valid, they should only be used for business purposes. And we do have some staff that work into the evening and during the night so those passes are necessary for them but for staff that are only working during regular business hours we should not be using the pass to find a parking space.
Q. I encountered a Partners in Care home health aide on a COVID positive case yesterday. The aide claims she was not informed regarding the COVID positive status of the patient and was not provided appropriate PPE.
A. So all aides have been provided appropriate PPE and are being asked on every visit to wear the appropriate PPE. They should have been told that the patient was COVID positive so that they would’ve known to use an N95. Tony can you speak to this?
Tony Dawson: You’re absolutely right Marki. So if the patient is positive than the home health aide is told that the patient is positive. So again I think we just need to follow-up on the details specifically for this patient and if we could have some detail, we can follow through with the Partners in Care side and also with a manager.