By Randy Van Straten, VP, Business & Community Health Bellin Health
Little did I know that picking up the phone in mid-April would lead to responding to one of Wisconsin’s largest COVID-19 clusters. Our mantra, which begins with listening, became the foundation for understanding and developing the specifications for the solution, followed by co-designing strategies with local health officials and employers, and finally delivering solutions that brought the outbreaks under control.
What was not realized at the time, but now fully appreciated, is the collective learnings across the employers, health officials, and health systems that led to the development of Bellin’s new Safe at Work Program, now assisting hundreds of employers in returning to work safely. By utilizing our mantra of “Listen, Co-design, and Deliver,” Bellin Health assisted the front lines with responding to multiple large COVID-19 employer outbreaks and is now at the forefront of developing exciting programs to assist employers and grow our business.
Listening first was how this process began. After picking up the phone and establishing a relationship with the local Incident Command Center, we began collaborating with multiple employers affected by the COVID-19 cluster. We listened to understand what they were successfully doing and where help was still needed to contain the outbreak. This included absorbing the latest guidance and consulting with the CDC, local and state Departments of Health, and our healthcare professionals in order to create the COVID-19 Response Plan.
The second step was co-designing the plan. The Bellin team, the employers, and the public health officials worked admirably and collaboratively on the COVID-19 Response Plan. This plan provides guidance and structure to public health, regional health partners, and employers, including the following key elements:
- Description of overall project and agency roles
- Screening and testing procedures
- Safe transportation of symptomatic individuals
- Aerial diagrams
- Process flow diagrams
- Contact, leadership, hours, and facility detail
The third step was delivering on the plan, through partnerships and finding new, creative ways to bring solutions out to the field. This involved the quick mobilization of testing facilities in multiple locations, oftentimes working out of tents, trailers, and parking lots with creative drive-through facilities. Building new IT interfaces and developing enhanced tracing questionnaires were also involved to give our public health officials a head start with tracing and expediting containment. The work also involved onsite employee entrance screening, temperature checks, and return-to-work coordination. Oftentimes, we were onsite as early as 2 am and running 20-hour shifts, through rain, flooding, and severe wind (you really can’t make this stuff up). One day, over 1,000 people were tested at multiple sites. The most rewarding part of this venture was partnering with multiple public agencies and employers to deliver a successful containment strategy in seven different languages to assist with equity in our community.
Not only were we screening and testing but also listening, learning, understanding, and advising on the different elements of Safe at Work. Active communication created and tailored responsive screening questions, temperature check processes, masking procedures, spatial barriers, cleaning, lunchroom setups, and return to work options, including the policies and communications surrounding these components.
Together, much has been learned. Most importantly, we have learned how we can support our employer customers’ safe working environment while protecting the productivity of their operations. We have heard these employers – loud and clear; employers want to get back to work as soon as possible while protecting the safety of their employees. We actively listen to these employers’ ongoing needs through our COVID-19 surveys and our weekly (now bi-weekly) Employer Town Hall Meetings where we are featuring key employers getting back to work. In fact, our early-June Town Hall featured the CEO of the Green Bay Packers and their return-to-work strategies we are also assisting them with (Go Pack!).
All of these experiences and conversations have culminated in the launch of our new program, Bellin Safe-at-Work. Our goal is to help our employers accelerate returning to work and keeping their teams safe. Our program goals are to:
- Accelerate safe return to work opportunities
- Accelerate employer’s return to full business operations
- Increase employee confidence in the safety of the work environment, reducing employee anxiety
- Reduce the risk of at-work infection
- Mitigate the risk of spread, If an infection is identified.
The key elements of Bellin’s Safe-at-Work services are:
- Assisting employers in the assessment of the current work environment and establishing a baseline per the CDC, DHS, and OSHA guidelines for safe return to work
- Developing/implementing a plan for a safe return to work.
- Launching a new website to connect employers with the latest information, resources, and our team of experts.
The website includes:
- Overview area of key links and updates
- Education and communication materials in multiple languages for employees
- Sample COVID-19 workplace policy templates
- Links to connect with, ask questions of and request assistance from the Bellin team including our medical director
- An opportunity to share what is working for them and be direct on what is still missing. Please consider doing so as well, since this is a work in progress for us all. The website’s quick link is www.bellin.org/employercovid.
By listening, co-designing, and delivering on the front lines, Bellin Health was prepared to shift its focus to the forefront of delivering a safe return to work and prevention strategy for COVID-19. As a provider of occupational health, you may have some of the same experiences and opportunities. As a professional community, we can share our experiences, learnings, and best practices…..and together, figure it out. By focusing on what we can do, rather than what we can’t do, we can all beat COVID-19 for our employer customers and our communities. Now more than ever is the time when leaders lead, and we are all leaders as members of the NAOHP. Let’s help our employers get back to work, and most importantly, keep their employees, our community, healthy and safe!
