FAQ #34: October 8, 2020 — Containing Answers from October 6

Answers to Staff Questions on Employee Health and Safety, Patient Care, HR Policies, and Return to Work 

The following FAQs were adapted from questions submitted by VNSNY staff for the CEO       Conference Calls hosted by  Marki Flannery  on  Tuesday, October 6th.         

Employee Health and Safety 

What is the schedule for administering the flu shot? 

Right now, you can get vouchers for flu shots at CVS, Duane Reade, and Walgreens. You can make an appointment for mobile health. And shortly we will be announcing when we are providing flu shots at our regional offices. So, those are the options that we have available to get a flu shot.  

What is the fax number to fax a copy of my flu shot documentation? I have been faxing and receive error messages with no answer.  

So, there are two phone numbers this person has been calling and apparently is getting error messages. Marian, this is a person from VNSNY homecare that is trying to send in their documentation and apparently the phone number is not going through. Can you follow up with this individual and make sure that the correct number is listed on the site?  

Marian Haas, Chief Human Resources Officer: Yes, the fax number that this employee is using is the correct number. I would suggest that this individual call HR Connect at 212-609-7900 to speak directly to find out why the fax number isn’t going through.  

You can also attach your flu documentation to an Ask HR case and send it through that way, you don’t have to use a fax if you if you use the Ask HR function. But if the fax is not going through, I would suggest that you call HR Connect so they can troubleshoot the fax number with you directly. Thank you. 

I had a flu vaccine at CVS. How can I inform health services? CVS did not give me any form after the vaccine was given? 

So, they should have given you a form, which is what our health services department collects to show documentation that the flu vaccine was provided. Marian, any thoughts on what this person can do?  

Marian Haas: She has to contact CVS and request the documentation from the specific CVS where she got her flu shot. There should always be a record that the flu shot was administered and that should be available to anyone who got a flu shot. 

If you are having trouble trying that solution, please call HR Connect and maybe they can help troubleshoot it with you. But the source of that information about the flu shot should be held by the CVS store that she went to. In case that person is not on this call, I will email her back to let her know. 

Is flu shot documentation necessary for non-patient or member facing staff? I received a shot at my local CVS, but I’ve misplaced or tossed the documentation.  

Yes, the documentation is necessary for non-patient or member facing staff because that is the only way we have a record that you have received your flu shot.  

So again, as Marian indicated previously, you can go back to your CVS and they should be able to provide you with a copy of the documentation even if it’s a copy of their record as well. Is that correct, Marian? 

Marian Haas: Yes, that is correct. Thank you. And thanks for the question, because we want to ensure that all staff receive flu shots this year. Our focus, of course, is always on patient facing staff and protecting our patients and protecting our field workers, but this year, we are also extending it to all employees, particularly in light of the COVID- 19 pandemic that we face.  

Are there any plans for VNSNY to test staff for COVID-19?  

We have received some rapid COVID tests and we are evaluating getting all of the approvals in place to be able to start offering those tests to staff.  

We want to start carefully, and we will start with those staff that are mandated to be tested because they work in the skilled nursing facilities and adult homes, and then we expect to shortly thereafter make them available to staff. And we will share details to that effect as quickly as we can.  

Will VNSNY have access to the COVID-19 experimental vaccine for employees. My assumption is not at this time, and I don’t know if that is something that will be made available. Andria or Tony, have you heard anything about sharing of vaccine with home health care organizations?  

Andria Castellanos, Chief of Provider Services: We have received no information from any organization or pharmaceutical company regarding the experimental vaccine. The only information we have received regarding the vaccine is that the city is preparing for mass vaccinations. And they have asked us to think about ways we can help participate in that but not in experimental vaccination at all. 

Is the nasal swab or oral swab for the rapid test type?  

So, I know the answer, but I’ll let Andria provide that information.  

Andria Castellanos: This is a nasal swab. What it’s not is a nasopharyngeal swab. So, the nasal swab goes about one inch up into the nose, it is not painful at all. The way the test works is that you take a long swab, you swab each nostril, gently turning it around about an inch into the nostril five times. And then you insert it into a medium and wait 15 minutes and get a test result. So, that’s sort of a very quick description of how the test actually works. 

How often can you do a COVID swab exam?  

So the goal of these tests will be to administer them weekly for staff that are interested, and they will be provided on a voluntary basis for staff that are interested in getting this rapid COVID test. Those individuals who must get them because they work in specific facilities will be required to get them, but others can get them on a voluntary basis.  

Any office or field staff recently diagnosed with COVID?  

No, we have had no additional since the last time that I reported that information.  

HR Policies / Pay and PTO Policies  

If I’m sent home because of having two symptoms from the daily self-assessments, how do we chart it in Work Brain?  

If someone is sent home because they’re showing symptoms, do they document this as a sick day? How do they document their day? 

Marian Haas: The day should be documented using their PTO and then it will be reviewed to determine if the individual is eligible for the COVID sick time. If you are eligible for that, then the PTO will then be reversed to the COVID sick time.  

Would it be possible for employees to use their wage work commuter funds towards Uber or Lyft when they return to the office?  

So, I think this question was asked once before. Marian, can you reply to this?  

Marian Haas: Yes, the Uber and Lyft rides, when they are individual rides, cannot be reimbursed to your wage works commuter funds. Only the group rides qualify under the commuter funds. Unfortunately, this is the IRS determination and I understand that group rides have been suspended in New York City at this time. So, unfortunately, at this moment, you can’t use your wage works to reimburse yourself for rides on Uber and Lyft, but hopefully that will change as we go forward, and you will be able to use those funds for the group ride shares on Uber and Lyft. We will keep an eye on that and let you know if there’s anything that changes. I know, we have had this question a few times now, but our last check on it the IRS regulation on this has not changed. 

I am a home health aide. This is my first time on the call due to this new crazy life we all have. I would like to know what the company is doing to incentivize us. We’ve been working hard in this moment. Personally, I got sick from COVID in April. It was very hard for me because I got really sick, but after my quarantine, I could stay home and stop working, but I decided to go back to work and keep going. We need an incentive. We are not in the frontline like the nurses, but we are working, taking the train and buses every day, and we did not stop. Many of us including me got the virus and we kept going. The company should work on our benefits too just like many companies did with their workers. Every time I ask my coordinator if we are going to get an incentive, she says the company is working on that. But my question is: how long will the company be working on this, because since April I am hearing the same thing. Thanks for taking the time to read this email and have a great and safe day. 

So, thank you for your email and I’m glad that you are better. I’m sorry that you were exposed to COVID, but I’m glad that you are better and appreciate that you have continued to work. Our ability to provide incentives to staff is based on our ability to get the funding to offset that expense. Other organizations, like hospitals, have received funding to be able to make those incentive payments. We have not. We have not received enough funding, frankly, to cover the cost that we’ve incurred in our personal protective equipment, as well as what we’ve had to pay for any expenses associated with staff who became ill.  

So, we don’t have the ability at this time. We do continue to work on this, but unless we receive funding, we are not able to provide any kind of incentive to the staff. So, you’re not getting information that’s incorrect from your supervisor. We are working it, but we have not received any commitments to be able to provide any incentives.  

Patient  Care and  Clinical      

Now that the CDC today acknowledged that the virus is airborne, will VNSNY be looking at possible new protocols for their staff? Being that the virus is airborne, are we protected with regular surgical masks when we’re in apartments that aren’t well ventilated with sometimes many family members who are in and out and about in the community?  

Tony Dawson, Vice President for Quality and Customer Experience: So we are going to continue with our regular protocols, the protocols A through C. We encourage you to make sure that you’re wearing a surgical face mask, plus a face shield and/or goggles when you’re in the home.  

And if you read back through that CDC latest update, it’s all about “may be more transmittable”, but there is no definitive change in the protocols associated with that. So again, please, please make sure that you’re doing your daily your daily screening and make sure that you’re screening the patient before you go into the home. Make sure that you’re wearing your face covering and that the patient is wearing a face covering or face mask. And then you should be protected as well with goggles and/or a face shield.  

This question is from someone in our certified homecare agency. Good morning, I have a managed care case that was given authorization for home health aide services, plotted in the calendar template, everything sent in advance. When the day came for the patient to have services, patient was unplaced, because Partners in Care did not have availability. I understand that we have business with other vendors. My patient should have been referred to another agency because Partners in Care did not have availability. She was calling the office for two days inquiring about her services that she knew were approved. She lost two days of services all because of a technicality. This makes the nurse and VNSNY look bad. What explanation can the nurse give when everything was done in advance? I believe that if Partners in Care cannot provide services, instead of holding the case, it should be given to an agency that has availability and staff.  

Andria Castellanos: The person that wrote this is absolutely correct. When Partners in Care can’t service a case, we have other vendors that we contract out with. So, I will have somebody follow up with this person to see where this went wrong. There are a number of different processes that happen where things can go wrong, and we have to get better at that. So, I will ask somebody to follow up with this person directly on this so we can learn more about where our process failed.  

Marki Flannery: And if in fact the Partners in Care team did not notify Contract Administration to be able to notify other licensed agencies, that’s something that would be part of the process. If they did, then I would expect that Contract Administration would have reached out to another licensed agency. So, I agree that we need to tighten this up. Thank you.  

Is there a new policy at VNSNY where one of the home health aides leaves a message for the care manager assigned to the case, and the follow up call comes to the client or their family member and not back to the home health aide? 

So, I don’t know of any policy to that effect. So, we will follow up with our health plan to find out why this is happening, and we will get back to the individual that sent this message directly. 

Administrative 

Is there a follow-up on voter information from last week’s call? 

Marian Haas: We have been sending out information to everyone regarding registering to vote and finding about out about your options to vote. So, please watch those announcements and we will clarify the time off policies for voting as well there. 

Marki Flannery: There was some detail provided from the assemblyman’s office.  

Michael Bernstein, Chief Administrative Officer: The information is that any New Yorker can get an absentee ballot and it provides the link NYCabsentee.com, which is where you can request an absentee ballot, and I think that was in response to the notion that our essential staff can’t easily take time off for work on election day, so you can get an absentee ballot.   

Marki Flannery: And I think that that information has also been shared through the work that our government affairs team has been doing encouraging staff to vote as well. 

I’m a poll worker and would like to add that voters can also go to their early voting sites between Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, November 1, if they wish to vote in person or if they were unable to receive an absentee ballot.  

Thank you. 

I heard Michelle Huff’s name mentioned as being a winner for the Esprit Award. Can you send me the information so I can send it to her because she is not on the call today? She is my coworker. So, if you can call her to let her know.  

So, I’m sure her supervisor will be sharing that information with her as we are moving forward on announcing the Esprit Awards and inviting those individuals to the celebration. Am I correct on that, Marian? 

Marian Haas: Yes, that’s correct. Supervisors were advised prior to the announcement being sent out yesterday. I don’t know specifically if Michelle has been contacted, but certainly her supervisor will be in touch with her and maybe if you can check with her that she has found out. Certainly, congratulations are in order from her colleagues and it’s nice for you to acknowledge her.