FAQ #33: October 1, 2020 — Containing Answers from September 29
Answers to Staff Questions on Employee Health and Safety, Patient Care, 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, September 29th.
Employee Health and Safety
On Friday, I went to CVS for my flu shot with a voucher that I printed out from VNSNY. And I was told that they don’t accept 1199 insurance. Please advise.
Marian Haas: Yes. Unfortunately, some of the CVSs seem to be not following the outline for the flu vouchers that we provide. You should not be asked to show your insurance card. The voucher is sufficient for you to get a flu shot free from any CVS, Walgreens or Duane Reade that you might go to. So I’m sorry this person had difficulty at the CVS but they should not be asking you for your insurance card if you have a VNSNY voucher.
I received my flu shot at Walgreens last week. I was not required to show ID. So try Walgreens.
So try Walgreens, Walgreens is on board.
I got my flu shot at CVS in Glen Head this weekend without asking any questions. I just showed the VNSNY voucher.
Glad that you didn’t have any difficulty.
I received a flu vaccine at CVS using the VNSNY voucher. The pharmacist was able to give me a copy of the form. I faxed this to employee health today. Anything else I need to do?
No, there’s nothing else you need to do. You did the right thing. You faxed the confirmation to health services today. That’s the message I want to share with everyone. When you get your flu vaccine, please send the confirmation – a copy of the confirmation to health services so that we know that you got your flu shot.
Any new employee COVID cases since the three that were reported last week?
So I’m really pleased to say that there have been no additional cases reported since the three that were reported last week.
Any plans for VNSNY to test staff?
So it’s very premature but, Andria, maybe you’d like to share that we are evaluating this at this point?
Andria Castellanos, Chief of Provider Services: We are working closely with the city and the federal government and there will be distribution of a COVID test. We are evaluating our ability to do this testing in our facilities safely. And so the only information I can give people is stay tuned and we’ll communicate as soon as we know when and if we’ll be able to deliver the test in various sites that we have.
Patient Care and Clinical
There is a reported uptake of positive COVID cases in certain neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. How will we be advised of the areas? Even if the patient is negative, we touch surfaces like doorknobs and elevator buttons. People who live with or visit the patient could be positive. Please advise.
So you’re right, there is an uptake and we are concerned about it. It’s all over the news, both TV, radio, newspapers. And we will continue to keep staff notified of areas where there is an increased incidence. But that should not change your behaviors. So I’m going to ask Tony to talk about what we expect of staff when they’re making visits.
Tony Dawson, Vice President for Quality and Customer Experience: So a few things to remember. One, that we screen all of our patients before we go to see them. So we should be asking those questions. You as an employee should be screening yourself each day before you go to work. And then we need to follow the protocols that we already have in place so that ifthe patient and/or family members are positive, you’re wearing the appropriate PPE. And last but not least, make sure that you are following good hand hygiene technique, that you are washing your hands and are using Purell or other hand sanitizer between patients, after patient contact and as you enter and leave the home.
There is a spike COVID cases in NYC. Do we think it’s a significant risk? Have we made any adjustments, and do you think it will impact us?
I think any spike is a concern. There really aren’t adjustments we need to make because we are being as careful as possible every single day. It will only impact us if there is a continued spike that results in our staff getting exposed or an increase in patients who are referred to us who are COVID positive. Hopefully this was a wake-up call, and we will keep this under control and we don’t have to worry.
Andria or Tony, anything you’d like to add about this spike in COVID cases and any thoughts on that?
Andria Castellanos: I would just reiterate everything you said. The city is really doing a very good job in understanding where the rates are increasing and what communities they’re increasing in. And they’re following that very, very closely. We watch those numbers every day and we are cautiously concerned about the increase. So I think everybody just needs to be very careful. Follow the protocols as Tony said that we’ve established for your safety and really pay attention to what you’re doing when you’re out there taking care of patients every day.
HR Policies / Pay and PTO Policies
Thank you in advance for all your efforts and communication during these difficult times. Is VNSNY considering giving employees the day off on Election Day? I understand the customary approach is to grant everyone two hours to vote on Election Day. However, this year due to many understandable reasons there was a shortage of poll workers which may cause increased disruption and longer lines at the polls. Additionally, many of us would like to volunteer to work at the polls or in other capacities on Election Day.
So I appreciate the suggestion and I like the creativity. But giving a day off to all of our staff, remembering that we have almost 13,000 staff, is a multimillion-dollar request. We can’t stop our operations. So in essence, what we’re doing when we give staff the day off is we’re paying staff who are working and they’re getting double pay for the day. And that is not something that we as an organization can take on and support financially. So it is not something that we are able to make available.
I would encourage that if you feel strongly about wanting to volunteer at the polls or do other things, if you have available PTOs, submit your vacation request form to your supervisor and if they are able to approve it, then you can utilize the PTO day for that day. Marian, anything you’d like to add related to that?
Marian Haas, Chief Human Resources Officer: I would add that the person who asked this question referenced two hours off on Election Day. There are regulations that VNSNY will be sharing shortly about what we call voting time, and it has to do with the opening times of the polls versus your work shift, on time off that you may be granted to ensure that you have sufficient time to vote.
So watch for that announcement from Human Resources and I hope that you do all go out and vote. Thank you.
This is a comment. Employees can vote early. If you need information about voting places and times, you can call 311 to get that information.
So thank you for sharing that.
I’ve referred an RN LPN to the virtual hiring event that was set up earlier this month. The individual went to the link, selected an appointment time as per instructions and got a confirmation time for the virtual interview. However, the individual was never called.
Marian Haas: We did receive this question earlier today and we did look into what happened with the individual that had expected a call from one of our recruitment staff. Unfortunately, there seemed to be some situation in which the person didn’t actually register for the virtual event. But we have received the names of the two nurses that this employee referred and we are in contact with them today to make sure that they get interviewed and considered for employment as quickly as possible.
Just to let everyone know our next virtual hiring event will be on October 21st. There are links on our career sites and various ways to sign up for the virtual event if people are interested. Anyone who wants to refer someone and is unsure how to do it, they can contact Ask HR for assistance on how to do that to make sure that your referral gets included in the virtual event.