I wanted to let you know that last week we had our first experience with a positive COVID-19 test for a staff member who had been working in an agency workspace and subsequent contact tracing. An agency staff member tested positive for COVID-19 after being in close proximity to someone who had also tested positive but is not a Heartland AEA employee. Our staff member is currently under quarantine, and except for those who needed to know, the identity of the staff member is kept confidential.
Our contact tracing protocols worked as planned during this event for a number of reasons.
- Contacting HR immediately: The employee who tested positive contacted our HR Department immediately and did not wait for the county health department to initiate contact tracing. This gave us a jump start on notifying all staff who would have potentially interacted with the employee the day they were in our facility.
- Knowing who is in our buildings: All staff who were present in the facility the same day as this person had signed into and out of the facility. This allowed us to immediately reach out to all those potentially exposed. This potential exposure took place at multiple buildings last week, and anyone listed on the sign-in/sign-out sheets for those buildings on those dates was notified immediately. I happened to be one of the people in one of the buildings that day and can personally attest to this immediate notification. (When you sign-in, remember to write your name so that HR can read it. It’s hard to contact you if they can’t read your name!)
- Knowing who you were in contact with: The employee who tested positive was able to immediately share names and information of people they had interactions with that enabled HR to determine who was considered a direct exposure or an indirect exposure and notify those people accordingly. Staff members who had direct exposure according to CDC guidelines were told to quarantine and others who did not have direct exposure but were in the building were told to monitor their symptoms in accordance with CDC guidelines.
- Practicing social distancing and wearing face coverings: Most of our staff do a great job of social distancing and using face coverings and this allowed for the vast majority of staff members, myself included, to know that even though we were in the same building on the same day, there was no significant risk of exposure.
I share this information with you to reinforce the importance of following our mitigation protocols, as noted in the Heartland AEA COVID-19 Return-to-Workplace Guide.
- Sign-in and sign-out: First and foremost, sign-in to any facility you enter. This is for your safety and would apply to all of our facilities as well as school buildings.
- Social distance as much as possible: This minimizes the number of people who might be exposed more than any other factor. It’s why we discourage staff from gathering in groups.
- Wear a face-covering: The fact that the person who tested positive was wearing a face covering significantly reduces the likelihood that any other staff will test positive.
- Communicate as soon as you can: Reach out immediately if you test positive or are told that you may have been exposed. Our Human Resources contact, Juliette Houseman, was able to notify all potentially-impacted staff immediately thanks to the quick communication she received from our staff member who tested positive.
We know this school year is going to be different than anything we’ve seen before. But by being caring, proactive and collaborative, we’ll move through it together.
I wish you all a great start to the school year!
Jon
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