Entering a full year since Covid-19 changed our community, and our organization, Sound continues to focus on ensuring the safety of our clients and team members and committing ourselves to adapting to new challenges the pandemic presents. Below is a report on some of the significant things we’ve been up to:
Covid Protocol – Sound continues to actively promote its policy of hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing for team members. A few months into the pandemic, we implemented a process where each team member who does come on site is required to answer a standard questionnaire, receive a temperature check and wear a surgical mask. The organization is still requiring only essential team members onsite, who are supporting clients, to ensure that there is safe distancing within our buildings. Because Covid cases in King County are still relatively high, though trending downward, Sound continues to require team members to wear masks, socially distance and observe all other CDC mandated steps for the foreseeable future. Until more people get vaccinated and the numbers of positive cases in King County drop, this will be an ongoing procedure.
Vaccinations – We are pleased to report that, as essential healthcare workers, our team members have been getting vaccinated, both at external vaccination sites and through our own Capitol Hill facility. Our onsite pharmacy partner, Genoa, hosted a vaccination event on Feb. 26 (with another completed on Mar. 26), vaccinating 130 team members to date with the Moderna vaccine. Approximately 450 team members total have been vaccinated. Though we do not mandate the vaccine for team members, we strongly encourage them to take advantage of the opportunity, both onsite or at one of the many locations where the vaccine is available.
Sound is currently working to get within the national distribution chain so that we can offer vaccinations to our clients. We obtained the storage equipment and it is onsite at our facilities, but we are awaiting an approved application. This will take a few months, so we will offer updates in the months to come.
Cleaning Protocol – Sound added additional environmental specialists to our team and invested in electro-static cleaning equipment. Sites are immediately cleaned if an individual there has, or is suspected of having, Covid. We also electrostatically clean all of our facilities on a rotational basis. Additional hand sanitizer dispensers were installed at all locations. All sites can order weekly shipments of hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, wipes and Personal Protective Equipment gear as required. In addition, where applicable, all HVAC system filters were upgraded to MERV-13 filters and replacement of filters was increased.
Weekly Covid Meetings – Launched since the pandemic began, Sound continues to hold weekly, multi-disciplinary meetings via Web ex, to offer a platform to share updates from around Sound locations, share relevant information and make adjustments to policy if necessary. We anticipate continuing these meetings for the foreseeable future.
Telehealth – Sound continues to provide telehealth services to maintain service to our clients, while ensuring their safety. To date, this platform has proved to be very effective in supporting clients and keeping our team members safe, with more than 13,375 client engagements in the month of February (the last month for which data is available). We look forward to continuing to use this platform, even when the pandemic passes, but for now, it is proving to be beneficial to our clients.