Melinda Allen & Associates LLC

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Some great info for First Responders from: Alana C. Sulka, MPH, RN, CPH Director of Epidemiology & Infectious Diseases Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale County Health Departments Good afternoon. We are receiving a lot of calls with questions regarding appropriate PPE use and when first responders should be excluded from work and/or monitored following an exposure. I wanted to send you the most updated guidance and request that you send this out to all of your law enforcement, co...rrections, and first responder contacts. PPE recommendations for each setting are detailed in the guidance. Given the significant shortages of PPE, we need to ensure that it is only being utilized as appropriate. CDC has updated guidance for first responders including EMS, law enforcement, and jail/detention centers. I am copying that guidance in below. In efforts to conserve PPE, it is essential that our first responders are informed about appropriate PPE use and trained on effective PPE utilization to limit exposures. I also want to ensure that the message is received by all of our first responders that coming in contact with someone who is a contact of a case (i.e. someone that is being quarantined due to an exposure) does not represent an exposure and would not require exclusion or monitoring of staff. If a first responder has close contact with a confirmed (or highly suspected) case of COVID-19, that individual would be considered a contact and should be placed on a quarantine status for 14 days. Those individuals, however, can work while asymptomatic (i.e. have no symptoms of illness) as long as they are masked. They should also ensure that they are following home quarantine guidance while at home which includes staying away from other individuals in the households and not leaving the home unless there is a medical necessity or emergency. This information would be identified as a part of the Public Health case investigation and specific recommendations based on the exposure situation will be communicated by Public Health staff. Please refer to the guidance links below for guidance specific to different sectors: Resources for Correctional and Detention Facilities https://www.cdc.gov//commu/correction-detention/index.html What Law Enforcement Personnel Need to Know about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) https://www.cdc.gov//communi/guidance-law-enforcement.html Interim Guidance for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems and 911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for COVID-19 in the United States https://www.cdc.gov/coron/2019-ncov//guidance-for-ems.html Please share with First Responders

We are happy to announce the recipient of the Employee of the Quarter for Spring 2020. Despite one transgression of peeing in the closet rather than outside in the rain, she has been a great asset to the company this month providing love, attention and playtime for the staff.

Why pat searches are so important...for the thousandth time...