As the outbreak of COVID-19 stabilizes in the months to come, many employees will begin to return to the workplace. Though this transition may bring increased risk to both workers and companies, there are several steps Eden Health recommends to our clients in managing that risk.
One essential process companies should adopt is Active Daily Monitoring, which would need to be combined with clinical follow up and appropriate testing for a comprehensive solution. Similar to our list of COVID-19 protocols for essential employees we shared in an earlier blog, Active Daily Monitoring benefits companies and their employees four ways.
- It helps protect employees’ physical health and emotional well-being.
- It reduces the risk of the avoidable spread of COVID-19.
- It seeks to preserve employees’ ability to perform business-critical functions.
- It bolsters the ability for your business to continue to operate.
To illustrate how businesses and care providers might approach the challenge of active daily monitoring, we’ll dig deeper into how Eden Health approaches the process.
Three Aspects of Active Daily Monitoring
The primary function of Active Daily Monitoring is to track and observe essential employees on a daily basis to ensure that risks are evaluated, flagged, and mitigated as quickly as possible. Eden Health’s monitoring program allows your employees to complete key preventive steps. Importantly, these steps can be taken at home in order to reduce the chance of infecting fellow co-workers.
1. Education
- Via the Eden Health mobile app, your employees are shown best practices for preventive measures to minimize exposure.
- Employees can refer general questions about COVID-19 and concerns related to risk and possible community exposures to the Eden Health clinical team.
2. Temperature verification, exposure risk and symptom screening
- Each employee receives an oral thermometer to use at home.
- Before coming to work each day, employees measure their temperature using the thermometer and can share a photo of the result electronically with the Eden Health clinical team. Employees also complete an electronic screener that evaluates risks via a few simple questions.
- Temperatures out of range or certain answers from the questionnaire will prompt the employee to stay home and await further investigation by an Eden Health clinician via virtual visit. The clinician would then discuss the employee’s answers and determine appropriate next steps, including whether or not additional medical attention or testing is needed, what to do and where to go for testing, and whether or not the employee should report to work.
3. Mental health support and screening
- Anxiety, stress, and worry due to COVID-19 can hinder employees’ productivity and even their health. Consequently, we advise our clients to encourage their employees to seek support for mental health concerns related to the outbreak.
- Employees can reach licensed Eden Health therapists via video visits.
- The Eden Health clinical team periodically assesses employees’ mental health via screenings such as the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) scale, a clinically validated assessment of anxiety.
Active Daily Monitoring is only one aspect of reducing health and safety risks for companies and their employees during the COVID-19 global pandemic. That’s why at Eden Health, we offer employers a comprehensive back-to-work program that includes COVID-19 screening, PCR testing, onsite antibody testing, immediate triage and patient consults, and a dedicated Medical Director to monitor the health of your entire employee population and provide your executive team with up-to-date recommendations on protocols and procedures.
