FAQ #46: December 31, 2020 – Containing Answers from December 29th
Answers to Staff Questions on Employee Health and Safety, Patient Care and Clinical Questions, 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, December 29th.
Employee Health and Safety
Q. What is the estimated number of employees, field and home health aides that will receive the vaccine?
A. We have about 9000 field staff in total between our clinicians and our home health aides. A little bit more, but in that ballpark and we’re hopeful that we will receive adequate vaccines to vaccinate all of them. Again, it is voluntary. Staff may not choose to be vaccinated, but we hope that they will.
And again, remember each person needs to be vaccinated twice, 28 days apart.
Q. When will VNSNY staff who work remotely be notified when the vaccine will be available to them?
A. We first need to get the vaccine. Once we get the vaccine then in accordance with the prioritization, we will begin to notify staff who are being scheduled in priority order.
Andria Castellanos, Chief of Provider Services: As you know from watching the news, there’s very strict guidance from the governor’s office and from the state about who can get the vaccine right now and who can’t. And we must follow that guidance exactly.
Q. I remember hearing on a previous call that the managers will have staff on a list for the vaccine. And if you refuse when your name comes up, then you would fall to the bottom of the list. How much notice will be given when called and offered the vaccine?
A. Andria Castellanos, Chief of Provider Services: We will have a schedule and we will try to make the vaccine time for you as convenient as possible. We will most likely have a schedule for probably the next week to ten days, maybe even two weeks. We really hope that we’ll be able to accommodate a scheduled time for you during that time. Obviously, if there’s a problem with the schedule or you’re on vacation, et cetera, and we don’t have the schedule open say for the next three or four weeks, we will accommodate you with whatever issue you’re having associated with scheduling.
Q. Will any accommodation be provided to the Westchester nurses required to go to the 220 office to get vaccinated? It is expensive and time-consuming to travel to New York City and having to go twice in a month will be somewhat difficult.
A. Our vaccine is being provided by the City and is only able to be utilized in the five boroughs. If we get vaccine outside of the five boroughs, from the state, then we would be able to provide vaccination in another location.
Once we get the vaccine, we’re going to start vaccinating at our 220 office. This is a laborious process and once we are able to, we are hopeful to be able to start providing the vaccine in other of our regional offices. It may be that going to the Bronx office will be a bit more convenient for you, but right now we have to first receive the vaccine. And then once we get the vaccine, we need to work through the kinks utilizing our 220 location. But again, we do not have the ability to vaccinate in Westchester or Nassau and Suffolk at this time.
Andria Castellanos, Chief of Provider Services: Logistics around giving the Moderna vaccine are quite complicated and need to be monitored extremely carefully. And the storage requirements for the vaccine in terms of the refrigeration, once we take it out of the refrigerator, how we use it, how many doses we use within a certain period of time. It’s very, very strict and stringent. Our first priority is that we use the vaccine effectively and efficiently and safely for all of our employees.
Unlike the flu vaccine where we can easily distribute it through all the boroughs, we can’t do that with the Moderna vaccine. Because it’s highly operationally regulated and we need to really monitor all of these logistical issues. So we’re going to start out in Manhattan so we can ensure that we’re administering it effectively and safely for all of our field staff.
Q. Why are all the nurses that are trained to give the rapid test not set up on the (Navica) app? Yesterday, I had to go to the fifth floor to get my test which Marki is encouraging the staff to get and there were two nurses there. One of them is set up on the app and the other only does paper. This is not convenient as you have to return in 15 minutes to get your results. But if you have the app, not only do you receive the results on your phone, but you also have a history on your app because it keeps your results. If you’ve done it with paper, that’s not possible. Also, you have to then go and chase down your results. As we’re not coming into the office every day, and with the numbers going up, that’s not every convenient. Please encourage all nurses to be able to access the app.
A. Tony Dawson, VP of Quality and Customer Experience: So my apologies for the inconvenience with us not being able to use the app on every single device. The app only works on an iPad and we have limited iPads for the nurses, especially for the per diem nurses who are doing the flu vaccinations. That’s why we also provide paper. You should get your results within 15 minutes and there’s nothing to stop you waiting for those results and give you that on a piece of paper.
The only advantage to the (Navica) app that we originally thought that we could use for was for the nursing homes and for the skilled nursing facilities. But they don’t always accept that app either. They want it in paper.
So, please be patient with us and we will give you paper results. You have to wait for 15 minutes for your test results anyway. It’s easy for us to fill in that piece of paper at the end of that result.
Q. I am a clinician that is on-site at an assisted living facility site and they continue to request the COVID testing results weekly. Is the rapid test that’s at 220 Manhattan office still considered not acceptable by DOH for acceptance? I spent almost 2-1/2 hours at the City MD during working hours just to get rapid tested and the lines are getting longer and longer. Is there a plan in place to assist clinicians that require testing regularly?
A. Tony Dawson, VP of Quality and Customer Experience: We continue to work with our government affairs staff and through the city to petition New York State to allow us to use the rapid test for our ALFs and SNFs. Unfortunately, they have not allowed us to do that up to this point. So most SNFs and ALFs require us to have the full PCR test in order to enter those facilities. As soon as we have that solved, and as soon as we get permission from the state, we will let you know. But unfortunately, they will not allow us to do that at this point.
The good news is, these are the staff that are going to be prioritized for receipt of a COVID vaccine. So hopefully once SNFs and ALFs get their staff vaccinated and our staff get vaccinated, that will reduce some of this confusion and some of this burden on our staff to get tested every single week. We’re hoping that’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks and in the next couple of months.
Patient Care and Clinical
Q. Patients are asking if there are any plans to vaccinate patients as well.
A. Right now the prioritization which is being set by the health commissioner and the governor’s office are to vaccinate healthcare workers first. We have not even received our vaccine. We’re hoping to get it soon. They’re starting with healthcare workers. Once healthcare workers are vaccinated, then they will continue to issue prioritization.
We are not sure if we will have a role in helping to vaccinate patients. We’ve made it known to the city health departments that we are prepared to support the city in vaccinating patients and the community, and we have a call with the city commissioner in two weeks. We may know more at that time.
Q. I’d like to know the status of the parking permits for field clinicians. Parking permits expire on December 31, 2020.
A. The good news is we received word last week that the parking permits have been extended to June 30, 2021! Please note that NYC DOT will not be issuing new permits with the new date, and instead has instructed us to use the permits that were originally issued. NYPD will not ticket and if they do, NYC Finance will not enforce tickets – if the permits are used properly. The permit must be completely filled out by the clinician to be valid, including the make and model of the vehicle.
Note: Your permit is to be used for medical employment purposes only and only in areas/rules allowed by the NYC COVID-19 Parking Privileges. It must be displayed only in the vehicle listed on the permit. If you believe you received a ticket erroneously, you should dispute the ticket, including sending a picture of your permit and the PDF (see below) and share a copy of the parking ticket with Government Affairs.
Q. We were informed that parking passes have been extended by the DOT for clinicians who already have passes. What are the plans for recent new hires?
A. They did not give us additional passes and it was quite a struggle to get these original passes renewed. Unfortunately, unless we receive additional passes, we’re not going to be able to provide them to those who do not have them.
Note: If a clinician leaves VNSNY, they must return the pass to their manager. New hires should connect with their manager to see if there are any remaining permits that are available or turned in.
Q. Where do we get the PDF/new rules to accompany the extended parking pass?
A. You can download the NYC COVID-19 Parking Permit Privileges here. Copies are also available in the supply rooms. You can also reach out directly to your manager for a copy. Please note that only the permit – not the permit rules – should be displayed in the vehicle.
Q. I changed my car recently to a different model. Please advise how to obtain a different permit because we aren’t allowed to make changes to the permit itself.
A. We are researching this question and awaiting further guidance from NYC DOT.