Premise Health Supporting Clients and Members with Top Strategies to Reduce Workplace Transmission of the Coronavirus and Safely Reopen Campuses
With clients ranging from large manufacturing and mining operations to financial institutions and hospitals, Premise recognizes one solution won’t best serve every organization and workforce. Instead, it has developed a roadmap with a variety of decision points and corresponding strategies to best fit each individual employer. Strategies can be classified in three different categories – screening and testing; workplace policies and design; and health and healthcare access. When these strategies are combined and executed appropriately, they work together to enhance workplace safety.
“While the future is uncertain, our role as a partner to our clients is not,” said Premise Health CEO Stu Clark. “Employee health and safety is our number one priority, and we are committed to supporting our clients with fact-based strategies focused on quality and scientific rigor – and to adapting those strategies as new information and best practices become known.”
As the largest and most experienced direct healthcare company, Premise has keyed in on the strategies that have proven most effective to decrease the risk of transmission in the last two months of working with clients in New York City and across the country.
The company offers both questionnaire and temperature checks to screen employees before they enter the workplace, a strategy it is already executing for almost 30 large employers. As antibody testing becomes more available, Premise is partnering with clients to offer it alongside screening and diagnostic testing, with the goal of better understanding the prevalence of COVID-19 within populations. While the level of protection that antibodies provide remains unknown, testing is considered an effective tool for understanding risk on a population level and can be helpful for individuals who may want to donate convalescent plasma.
As employees go back to work, it is more difficult to maintain physical distancing. To combat that challenge, it is important for employers to implement new policies and redesign the workplace. Employers can phase in necessary employees, change work schedules, reduce gatherings, and redesign common areas to reduce interactions between employees. In accordance with CDC guidelines, employers can also require employees to wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Premise clinical and client teams serve as expert resources for making these changes, bringing their clinical experience to bear to help clients navigate which policies and strategies are the best fit for their workforces.
Healthcare access for employees is more important than ever as organizations consider how to reopen sites and campuses. Providing virtual care options has proven vital to help employees stay healthy while reducing the burden on the healthcare system. Virtual care has also been instrumental in supporting those in self-quarantine and those with chronic conditions, which can worsen when not managed properly. Premise also works with employers to focus on overall health in the workplace, such as through education on personal hygiene and advising employees to stay home if they feel sick.
Premise has taken several other steps in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
- Delivering nearly 20 products in a virtual first environment through its local virtual and national virtual platforms
- Driving value through care navigation for members with a positive or presumptive positive diagnosis of COVID-19
- Supporting members with chronic conditions who have a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis through daily outreach to ensure conditions are properly managed
- Providing access to a national test finder in partnership with Castlight Health
- Hosting webinars for over 259 clients to provide up-to-date information and answer any questions regarding COVID-19
For more information on how Premise Health is responding to COVID-19, visit its Coronavirus Information Center.