TO: Ballad Health All
FROM: Ballad Health Corporate Emergency Operations Center
DATE: April 1, 2022
TITLE: Updates on COVID-19 policies and guidelines as COVID-19 numbers decrease
ACTION: Please cascade and share with team members.
Due to COVID-19 cases in our region subsiding, and to the substantial decrease in our COVID-19 inpatient census, we are loosening some restrictions and closing down certain COVID-related programs. This memo covers the following topics:
- Team member masking guidelines, optional badge buddies
- Eye protection requirements
- Visitation restrictions updated
- Second booster shots
- Safe at Home program standing down
Team member masking updates and optional badge buddies
- Masking is still required in all patient care areas.
- Masks will no longer be required for vaccinated team members in nonpatient-care areas.
- Unvaccinated team members in nonpatient-care areas are still required to wear a mask in order to comply with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) guidelines.
- Unvaccinated team members may remove their mask during eating and drinking only.
- Masks are still required in public areas for all team members where patients may be present such as in waiting rooms, public hallways and lobbies.
- Blue badge buddies may be worn to show vaccination status – but they are NOT required. Managers will be required to know the vaccination status of their team members. Those who would like an optional blue badge buddy, demonstrating fully vaccinated status, should contact human resources.
- Any team member observed by leadership outside patient-care areas without a mask on and without a blue badge buddy will be subject to inquiry into their vaccine status.
- If an unvaccinated team member is discovered outside a patient-care area without their mask on, they will receive a mandatory written warning on the first offense.
- A second offense will result in a mandatory termination of employment.
- Any unvaccinated team member who is discovered by state regulators or a surveyor from OSHA or CMS without a mask on, resulting in a citation and/or a fine, will be subject to mandatory termination.
- “Fully vaccinated” is defined as having received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – but a booster is not required to be considered fully vaccinated. We do, however, encourage receiving a booster, as it has been proven to make a difference in protection against COVID-19.
Eye protection requirements
- Universal eye protection is no longer required.
- Eye protection is still required for enhanced droplet isolation, however.
Visitation restrictions updated
We are removing restrictions to our visitation at Ballad Health. Team members may refer to the standard Ballad Health Visitation Policy for additional information.
A few points are included below that represent differences between the updated visitation policy and our visitation policy during Emergency Operations:
- Children
- Children over the age of 12 may visit hospitalized patients. The only exceptions to this practice are siblings of newborn patients and end of life situations, which will be permitted with approval from the appropriate facility leadership.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult to visit a hospitalized patient.
- Siblings of newborn patients may visit the hospitalized mother and newborn in the mother’s room. Siblings to the newborn may be under the age of 12 years.
- Children ages 2 and over are required to wear a mask when visiting patients in the hospital.
- Children who are visitors are not allowed in the nursery or the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
- Adult
- In accordance with the standard Ballad Health visitation policy, adult visitors are expected to be limited to two per patient at a time.
- Children over the age of 12 may visit hospitalized patients. The only exceptions to this practice are siblings of newborn patients and end of life situations, which will be permitted with approval from the appropriate facility leadership.
CDC recommendations for second booster shot
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends additional boosters for certain individuals:
- A second booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines is recommended for people ages 50 and older at least four months after receipt of a first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine.
- A second booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine may be administered to people 12 and older with certain kinds of immunocompromise at least four months after receipt of a first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine.
- These are people who have undergone solid organ transplantation, or who are living with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise.
- A second booster dose of the Moderna vaccine may be given at least four months after the first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine to people 18 and older with the same certain kinds of immunocompromise.
- Adults who received a primary vaccine and booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least four months ago may now receive a second booster dose using an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
Safe at Home program stands down
- The Safe at Home program was suspended on Thursday, March 31.
- We will continue to follow all patients in the program until they are past their active COVID-19 symptoms.
- As with the Helping Hands program, our Safe at Home program will be activated again if COVID-19 cases rise again.
- The program has been a great success, keeping hundreds of COVID-19 patients safe at home under Ballad Health medical supervision virtually or by phone. This prevented our COVID-19 inpatient census from rising even higher than it did.
More information
Have a question about vaccines, the Omicron variant, or a new policy? Contact the Ballad Health Corporate Emergency Operations Center at BalladHealthCorporateEOC@balladhealth.org.
