7 BEST PRACTICES FOR PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF COVID-19
1. Ensure appropriate spacing between desks as a transmission control protocol. Physical distancing, or social distancing, is one of the most well known best practices to stop viruses from spreading. Distancing is recommended for seats at desks, in meeting rooms, the lunchroom and other places where people sit during the day. Maintaining a minimum of 6-feet is ideal.
Organizations can promote social distancing by putting up signs to designate where employees and visitors should stand or sit. Removing or covering up seating, where appropriate, can keep a 6-foot space between sitting areas to encourage physical distancing.
2. Offer hand sanitizer and masks. Universal masking is still recommended and is mandatory in some healthcare provider environments. Organizations can promote usage by making masks readily available for all staff and visitors to wear. Setting up a stand with complimentary masks near the entrances reminds staff to strap on a mask, and this makes masks accessible to any person who doesn’t have one.
Likewise, frequent hand washing and using a hand sanitizer are recommended to mitigate the spread of viruses. Offering hand sanitizer at stations set up in prominent locations, especially near entryways and bathrooms, lets people sanitize their hands throughout the day.
3. Limit the number of people in small spaces like elevators. Although elevator rides are typically very quick, the best practice is to restrict the number of people who ride at one time. Limiting capacity to one family or two people is recommended. This is due to the inability for several people to socially distance in such a confined space. The same should go for any other constricted space, like office kitchens, small conference rooms and common areas like breakrooms.
One way to remind people of this best practice is to place COVID-19 office signs stating the policy in highly visible areas where the number of people is restricted. This includes placing signs on elevator doors and lunch room tables.
4. Put up sneeze guards. A combination of precautions offers a comprehensive approach to safeguard against the spread of viruses. That’s why even with social distancing and universal masking, sneeze guards are recommended to provide an additional layer of protection. Many sneeze guards are available with a slip-on base, making them easy to put together and set up without any tools or requiring any structural changes to the work area.
Employees should clean the sneeze guards throughout the day, including at the beginning and end of every shift.
5. Tell anyone who is feeling unwell to stay home. Staying home when you’re sick has always been highly recommended to keep any sickness or virus from spreading. This seems like common sense, but not every employee follows this good advice. With COVID-19 and its highly contagious variants, staying out of the office when you’re sick is essential, even if you’re not showing typical COVID-19 symptoms.
Organizations should tell anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 to stay home for the recommended period after their symptoms started. For additional protections against viruses, facilities can also provide temperature checks and COVID-19 tests for staff.
6. Communicate policies to all staff on a regular basis. Best practices can evolve and new ones sometimes emerge, and they need to be shared with staff immediately. Even if there are no changes, current policies and office protocols should be shared routinely so they are top of mind for all employees.
Posting the policies in visible, high traffic areas where people can easily see them is recommended. This serves as an ongoing reminder of the current policies.
7. Encourage everyone to get the COVID-19 booster and the flu vaccine. Healthcare experts say getting the vaccine is the single most effective way to stop COVID-19 from spreading. Facilities already know this, which is why many have made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for employment.
To encourage those who haven’t gotten it, organizations can provide information from credible sources about the effectiveness of the vaccine and make it readily available for staff. If the facility isn’t offering it, then the next best option is to make scheduling an appointment fast and easy. Companies should do the same with the booster shot and the flu vaccine.
PAY LESS FOR ITEMS THAT HELP MITIGATE COVID-19
Organizations can protect their healthcare employees against COVID-19 and the flu by following basic safety procedures. While these steps may cause slight inconveniences, enacting them and following through is cost-efficient and can have a significant impact on employees’ health.
Healthcare providers can ensure they are buying the items needed to fight the COVID-19 and flu viruses, like hand sanitizer, masks and sneeze guards, at competitive prices by purchasing through a group purchasing organization (GPO). GPOs have the contracts and supply chain expertise to enable members to procure the products and services they need to protect their healthcare workers.
