Department of Medicine Weekly Roundup - September 28

As flu season approaches, staff are encouraged to review the Workplace Health Scenario Matrix for important steps to take when sick.

Sick leave absence reporting for employees:

1. Employees are required to notify their manager/department of a sick leave absence on a daily basis
2. Employees are required to contact Workplace Health, Safety and Wellness (WHSW) and provide medical documentation once they have met the threshold as indicated in their home sites’ sick leave absence policy (Providence, St. Michael’s, and St. Joseph’s).
3. All sites have moved towards a harmonized sick leave reporting process through an online form. More information is available on the Employee Absence Reporting page on UnityNet.

Staff COVID-19 testing requirements:

PCR testing is not required or available for staff, physicians and learners experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. Staff with symptoms that may be due to COVID-19 or to other transmissible infections should not come to work, but do not require a PCR or RAT test for COVID-19.

1. Staff can return to work using symptom-based criteria. They may return to work when:
   1. Their fever (38 degrees Celsius or higher) suggestive of an infectious disease such as influenza or COVID-19 has been gone for longer than 24 hours and other symptoms (e.g. cough) are getting better or,
   2. For staff with unexplained vomiting or severe diarrhea, they can return to work when their diarrhea or vomiting has stopped for 24 hours or 48 hours for symptoms suggestive of norovirus.
   3. If staff test positive on an at-home COVID-19 test, they are not required to report the positive test and can return to work when they are feeling better, as described above.

Masking reminders

Please take time to review Unity Health’s masking policies here which came into effect on June 27.

Masking is optional in the following spaces:

1. All public inpatient and outpatient areas such as lobbies, elevators and cafeterias EXCEPT patient waiting rooms
2. Inpatient and outpatient clinical areas that are off limits to patients, including nursing stations.
3. Hallways in most clinical areas as long as the time spent in the hallway is limited (e.g. walking through the hallway to get somewhere else) or will not involve patient care or close or prolonged patient contact (e.g. sitting at a workstation in the hallway)

A mask must be worn inside Unity Health sites everywhere patients spend prolonged periods or receive care including:

1. Waiting rooms
2. Patient, procedure or exam rooms, imaging suites and other rooms where patient care is provided (Note: inpatients are not required to wear a mask in their room)
3. When providing care to a patient regardless of the area, or when having a non-transient interaction with a patient (e.g. porter moving a patient between units, walking a patient in a stairwell, staff having a prolonged conversation with a patient in the hallway)
4. In hallways or common spaces within open concept units (e.g. open concept dialysis pods, ICUs, ED areas or medical day units)
5. Any hallways that also function as waiting rooms or hallways where patients spend prolonged periods or receive care

An update on the specific launch date for the flu campaign will be shared shortly. Thank you for your continued cooperation as we head into flu season.