Values Rally!• Introduction • Your Health & Safety • Safety Standards • Hand Hygiene • Social Distancing • Masks • When You Are Sick • If You May Have Been Exposed • Cleaning & Disinfecting • Summary • Resources
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• It is thought to spread from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
• The virus originated in China in 2019 and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020.
The organization has taken a number of measures in order to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 at MSPCA-Angell for employees, clients, volunteers, and patients.
These include numerous and significant changes to the way we operate, establishing a COVID-19 Task Force (CTF), and establishing COVID-19 Safety Standards that all employees and volunteers are required to follow.
The purpose of this training is to ensure that you understand the standards that have been put in place, the importance of following the practices associated with these standards, and how to properly carry them out.
• Hand Sanitizer is placed throughout the building.
• Masks are available to all employees and volunteers, and additionally, Face Shields and Gloves are available for all hospital employees.
MSPCA-Angell Safety Standards are based on the following: • CDC Guidelines • Massachusetts Mandatory Safety Standards
for Workplaces • MA Department of Public Health • MSPCA-Angell CTF Guidelines (based on the
above agency guidelines, but may exceed in some cases).
• Hand Hygiene • Social Distance • Wear A Mask • Stay At Home When You Are Sick • Cleaning & Disinfecting
• Wash your hands frequently throughout the day.
• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (a good rule of thumb is to sing Happy Birthday twice) or disinfect with an alcohol based hand sanitizer.
• Hand sanitizer is available to each employee and is placed throughout the building. (Use of soap and water is mandatory if hands are visibly dirty).
• Avoid touching faucets and doorknobs after washing your hands: Use a paper towel to turn off faucets and open doors.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue if you cough or sneeze and then discard in the trash.
If you don’t have a tissue handy, be sure to cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve and not your hand – then you won’t spread germs by touching other objects with your hands.
Try to train yourself not to touch your face to avoid potentially contaminating yourself.
It is important to wash your hands thoroughly. Click on the video below to view proper technique.
If the above video doesn’t load try clicking here.
The organization has taken a number of measures to support social distancing whenever possible.
Everyone - including employees, volunteers, clients, and vendors should remain at least six feet apart to the extent possible, both inside and outside the building.
• Signage and markings for social distancing. • Restricting building access, and conducting
health screenings, for visitors, clients and vendors.
• Reorganizing office assignments and desk arrangements.
• Instituting working from home with minimal administrative staff present to reduce the number of people in the building.
Additional steps you can take:
• When in the building, administrative staff and volunteers should visit only those areas requiring their presence.
• If you absolutely cannot wear a mask (such as when eating or drinking), you MUST socially distance!
All employees, volunteers, and any approved visitors must wear a mask while in the building or on the grounds.
If you are in an office, and able to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet, not wearing a mask is permissible if there are 3 or fewer individuals and they are all in agreement about doing so.
There are protocols in place to address varied situations an employee may experience when they are not feeling well. Please take the following steps if you are feeling ill:
• Stay at home if you are feeling sick or exhibiting any symptoms of an illness even if they are mild enough that you feel that you could work.
• If you are feeling ill for any reason, please report your symptoms to your manager immediately.
• If you are a manager and one of your team is ill, or becomes ill after they report to work, confirm their symptoms, and send them home.
• If you are advised to self-quarantine due to your
situation or illness, please keep your manager
updated about your condition while you are out.
• Once you are due back to work and feel well enough
to return to work, you will be asked to answer a
health screening questionnaire and must be cleared
to return to work by the COVID-19 Task Force.
• If you have been identified as a close contact of someone at work who has tested positive, or is presumed positive, for the virus, you will be notified by a member of the COVID-19 Task Force and provided with guidance.
• If you learn that you have had close contact with someone who has COVID-19-like symptoms or has tested positive, please report this to your manager immediately so that you can be provided with proper guidance for your situation.
Note: The current definition of “close contact” at MSPCA- Angell is closer than 6’ for more than 5 minutes.
• All areas are cleaned throughout the entire facility daily with most hospital areas being cleaned multiple times per day.
• High touch surfaces are cleaned (including door knobs) multiple times each day, and the cleaners have been trained on proper procedures by a member of the Infection Control Committee.
• The protocol, should an individual in the building test positive for the virus, is for a deep cleaning of that work area to be performed.
Employees should check with their manager regarding cleaning protocols specific to their work area.
Don’t forget to clean your laptop on a frequent basis. Click the link below to view recommended best practices.
• We can all help to reduce the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus by following established safety standards and protocols.
• We all need to look out for each other! If you see someone not following a protocol – kindly remind them! It’s okay to say something. Check the next slide for some suggestions about what to say – or, if you are not comfortable speaking up, let your manager know.
If you see someone not wearing a mask when they should be, keep it simple and conversational. Depending how well you know the person, you might say:
“Hey Mary – you forgot to wear your mask”!
If it’s someone you don’t know very well, you might say:
“Hi Mary – I just want to remind you that we need to wear a mask when we’re in the hallway”.
In most cases, the person likely just forgot but if you are met with resistance, don’t let it escalate, just let your manager know.
If are the person being reminded about not following a safety protocol, please assume good intentions and take measures to remedy the situation!
If you or someone you live with is feeling ill or are experiencing any of these symptoms: – a cough – fever (100 degrees or greater) – chills – shortness of breath – muscle pain – headache – sore throat – repeated shaking with chills – any new loss of taste or smell
If you or someone you live with traveled by plane in the last 14 days
If you have a pending test for COVID-19, have tested positive in the last two weeks OR have had close contact (less than 6 feet for >15 minutes) with a COVID-19 positive or suspect individual.
If you have been asked to self-isolate or quarantine by your doctor or a local public health official
If any of these apply, please do not come to the MSPCA. Please alert Kristie at knardini@mspca.org and do not return to volunteer until further direction is received.
STAY AT HOME WHEN SICK
STAY AT HOME WHEN SICK
IF YOU MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED
CLEANING & DISINFECTING
CLEANING & DISINFECTING