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VETERINARY GENERAL, INC

COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan

JUNE 1, 2020

This plan is prepared to comply with Michigan Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-97 and OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19.

This plan is posted at the employee entrance of Veterinary General and on our website.

DESIGNATED WORKSITE SUPERVISORS

Your Veterinary General Management team will serve as worksite supervisors with responsibility to implement, monitor, and report on the COVID-19 control strategies. The supervisor will remain on-site when employees are present on site. After regular business hours or management

Time off, the last remaining on-site employee is designated to perform the supervisory role.

 

COVID-19 TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROVIDED TO EMPLOYEES

 The following materials have been presented to staff in preparation for offering services to our clients on June 9, 2020

  • Workplace infection-control practices – CDC Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility.PDF
  • The proper use of personal protective equipment
    1. CDC PPE-Sequence.PDF
    2. PPE use in specific situations.JPG
  • Steps the employee must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.
    1. Employees who have symptomsshould notify their supervisor and stay home.
    2. Sick employees should follow CDC-recommended steps. Employees should not return to work until the criteria to discontinue home isolationare met, in consultation with healthcare providers.
    3. Employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor and follow CDC recommended precautions.
  • How to report unsafe working conditions.
    1. Contact your worksite supervisor immediately
    2. If you do not receive satisfaction, you should file a complaint with MIOSHA
    3. You should not fear retaliation as it is illegal to retaliate against workers who report unsafe conditions during the pandemic

 

HEALTH ASSESSMENTS FOR STAFF

Employees will conduct a daily self-screening protocol before entering the workplace. If an employee exhibits fever, chills, sore throat, dry cough, difficulty breathing, digestive symptoms, vomiting, abdominal pain, exposure to Covid-19 – please advise your supervisors immediately.

 

ONSITE STAFF PROTOCAL: SOCIAL DISTANCING AND PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

  • Staff are encouraged to maintain least six feet from one another to the extent possible.
  • We will provide surgical and/or non-medical grade face coverings to our employees.
  • We require face coverings to be worn when employees cannot consistently maintain six feet of separation from other individuals in the workplace.
  • Employees may choose to use face shields (when they become available) when three feet of separation cannot be maintained from other individuals in the workplace.

 

 SERVICE DELIVERY PROTOCOL

We will utilize “curbside care” and telemedicine for a majority of our clients, but there have been situations where the presence of clients has been important to the proper care of our patients.

 

For situation where clients must be admitted into the clinic, the following protocol will be followed:

  • Clients will be admitted into the clinic at the discretion of the doctor.
  • Clients will be questioned regarding the following:
    • their current health status and any illness or quarantine
    • the health status of any person they have been in contact with over the past 7 days.
  • Clients will wait in their vehicle until approached and escorted in by staff.
  • Clients will use our hand sanitizer before entering.
  • Clients will not be admitted without a face mask.
  • All staff will be notified in advance of entry.
  • Clients will be immediately directed to a predetermined examination room.
  • Clients will maintain social distancing in the exam room as directed by the doctor and staff. (floor marking will not be utilized as their position depends on the procedure being performed)
  • All business will be conducted within the same room.
  • Clients will not have access to the restroom.
  • Clients will be escorted out of the building.
  • The all surfaces in the exam room will be cleaned and disinfected by wipes and/or UVC light.
  • The exam room will be ventilated for 10 minutes after the visit.

Protocols for “curbside care”:

  • Clients will wait in their vehicle until greeted by staff.
  • Clients are permitted to exit their vehicle and retrieve their pet from the vehicle.
  • Small dogs and cats should be in a carrier.
  • The carrier should be placed outside the vehicle, the client steps six feet away and staff will then retrieve the pet and enter the clinic.
  • For dogs on a leash:
    • Clients will exit the vehicle and retrieve their pet from the vehicle.
    • Clients will apply a slip leash supplied by staff.
    • Clients will then hand the leash to staff.
  • The same protocols will be followed when the pet is returned to the owner.
  • Communication with the client should be conducted with six feet social distance or by phone.
  • We encourage all financial transactions continue by credit card (any exception must be approved)

Check in and Check Out:

  • Clients are scheduled by appointment over the phone
  • Clients check in and check out by phone from the parking lot (contact-less sign-in)
  • Clients will wait in their vehicle and will not need waiting room access
  • Special provisions/time will be made for elderly or special needs clients.

Please note that if the owner is not the person bringing in the pet, that person will need to be able to answer questions about whether or not the pet has been in the home of a person with an illness.

 

PROTOCOL TO FOLLOW IN THE EVENT OF EXPOSURE TO A POSITIVE COVID-19 CASE

  • Cleaning will follow protocols in CDC Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility.PDF
  • Thorough cleaning and disinfection will occur at the end of every work shift.
  • Employees are responsible for cleaning and disinfecting workstation at end of shift.
  • In the event of a positive COVID-19 case follow protocols in CDC Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility.PDF
  • Cleaning supplies are available to employees upon entry.
  • Employees are encouraged to wash hands frequently or to use hand sanitizer.

 

PROTOCOL WHEN EMPLOYEE REPORTS CONFIRMED COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS

If an employee is identified with a confirmed case of COVID-19, within 24 hours, we will notify:

  • The local public health department at the Macomb County Health Department and
  • Any co-workers, contractors, or suppliers who may have come into contact with the person with a confirmed case of COVID-19.

In addition:

  • We will allow employees with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 to return to the workplace only after they are no longer infectious according to the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”).
  • We will follow Executive Order 2020-36, and any executive orders that follow it, that prohibit discharging, disciplining, or otherwise retaliating against employees who stay home or who leave work when they are at particular risk of infecting others with COVID-19.
  • We will immediately send home any employee with a confirmed infection in the workplace, temporarily close all or part of the worksite to allow for deep cleaning.

 

CLIENT NOTIFICATION OF BUSINESS PROTOCOLS

A sign will be posted at the front door with the following information:

  • STOP! DO NOT ENTER or No admittance without prior approval by Doctor

 

In the event a client is inside the building the following rules will be adhered to and signs will be posted:

  • You must wear a face mask
  • You will be escorted into and out of the building to an examination room
  • Your access will be limited to that examination room
  • Restrooms are not available for public use

 All questions should be referred to the Designated Worksite Supervisor.