The phones are no longer ringing off the hook in Employee Health, a welcome change from the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas when the department fielded about 4,500 calls a month, up from the typical 1,300 a month.
“We had four lines ringing all time,” said Pat Slokovitz, NP, coordinator of Employee Health Services (EHS).
The EHS office was open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to accommodate all the calls from employees who needed direction about an exposure to a COVID+ person in and outside of the hospital, feeling sick with COVID- 19 symptoms, and answers to questions about traveling.
“The most concerning call was when an employee was seriously sick with COVID and did not know what to do. A EHS Nurse Practitioner would call them every two to three days to make sure they were okay. This gave most employees comfort knowing that someone was watching over them,” Pat said. “Each and every employee who was sick was spoken to and we went over the protocol of what to do. Our main objective is to make the employees feel safe and if they have any problems or questions, they can always call Employee Health Office for direction.
“Everyone stepped up to the plate. I even had per diems that only worked a few days a month come in to help,” Pat said. “Everyone worked together to keep things together.”
“Our EHS did a remarkable job under difficult circumstances,” said Kevin McGeachy, senior vice president for administration. “We are very appreciative of what they accomplished.”
In December, Employee Health worked with other departments to set up and coordinate the distribution of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines to staff.
“The biggest challenge in setting up the POD (Point of Distribution) for the COVID vaccines was to stay organized, maintain social distancing and keeping everyone safe. It was also important to continuously communicate with other departments – Pharmacy, to make sure vaccines were not wasted; Security, to give Northwell employees directions to the site and maintain control; Environmental Services, to keep the area clean and provide extra chairs and sharps container when needed; Material Management, to keep up with the ordering of supplies; and Marie Mulligan, chief nursing officer, to discuss strategies and scheduling.”
As a team, Employee Health reassured the employees that getting the COVID vaccine is a positive experience by setting up a safe/comfortable environment that was extremely organized.
At its busiest the POD administered 230 vaccines in one day. Today, with the POD winding down, more than 63 percent of Mather employees have been vaccinated. About 30 employees in a day continue to receive their first or second doses. The days and hours the POD is open have recently been reduced to ensure that there are enough employees receiving their vaccine to complete a vaccine vial, so that no vaccines are wasted, Pat noted.
The POD will be completely winding down after February 27.
“My goal is to get all Northwell employees vaccinated safely,” said Pat. “We need to get this terrible pandemic behind us; it’s almost a year! It’s time we see the light at the end of this tunnel.”