Important Employee Information and Links

Asymptomatic Employee COVID-19 Testing Information

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Coronavirus Announcements for Employees

COVID Employee Resources COVID Employee Resources

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January 17, 2022

Revised Guidelines for Monoclonal Antibody Treatment
With products used in the development of monoclonal antibody treatment becoming increasingly difficult to source, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued additional guidelines for prioritizing access to this treatment.

The Infusion Center has implemented these new guidelines and an updated order form has been distributed to the Medical Staff.

Blood Shortage
As reported Friday, the national blood shortage is having an impact on the Hospital. All eligible employees are encouraged to donate blood.

To find a blood drive that fits your schedule, visit: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive.

The Miller Center is working with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive. Details on that drive will be posted to EvanNet when they are finalized.

Home Test Kits
Coverage for FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) approved COVID-19 over the counter (OTC) antigen test kits began January 15, 2022 for employees and their dependents enrolled in Evangelical’s medical/Rx plan.

Initially, Walmart pharmacies will be the Retail Preferred Partner Network for this benefit. The network will expand as other retailers become operationally ready.

A quantity limit of eight units per covered member per calendar month will be applied across the entire list of approved test kits included in the benefit.

Currently this benefit is limited to the EUA-approved test kits listed here (test kit name, product ID number):

Flowflex Kit Home test, 82607066026 and 82607066027.
Quickvue Home Kit COVID-19, 14613033968 and 14613033972.
Ellume Cov19 Kit Home Test, 56964000000 and 50021086001.
Binaxnow Cov Kit, 11877001140.
Inteliswab, 08337000158.
On/Go Covid Kit Antigen, 60006019166.

The list will be updated as additional kits receive EUA approval.

Members will not require a prescription or prior authorization to obtain test kits. Cost of test kits will not apply to member deductibles. Members will be responsible for any shipping costs if they place orders for home delivery.

For questions about your pharmacy benefits, contact OptumRx at 1-855-524-0381 or www.optumrx.com.

Kendra Aucker,
President and CEO

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January 14, 2022

Update on Vaccine Mandates
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the federal vaccine mandate for employers with more than 100 employees but upheld the vaccine mandate for healthcare organizations who receive funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Medicare and Medicaid are important funding sources for the Hospital, accounting for approximately 60% of our gross revenue. Without that revenue, we would have to close our doors.

With that in mind, we have been moving toward compliance since the healthcare worker mandate was announced. Approximately 81% of our workforce is fully vaccinated and around 250 employees have been granted religious or medical exemptions and are testing once or twice a week. Plus, all new employees who have joined or will join the organization after December 12, 2021 must be fully vaccinated or have an approved religious or medical exemption.

Only a tiny fraction of employees who were with the organization prior to December 12, 2021 remain noncompliant with the mandate.

In the wake of Thursday’s decision, all employees must be fully vaccinated or have an approved religious or medical exemption by February 28, 2022. In order to meet that deadline, all employees must have completed a first dose of the vaccine or have an approved exemption by January 27, 2022. Failure to meet the first dose or exemption requirement by January 27, 2022 may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

People and Culture will be reaching out to employees who remain noncompliant with specific instructions.

It’s important to note that all previously approved exemptions remain valid. The only exception would be temporary medical exemptions that have expired.

There are no additional employee vaccination clinics planned. To schedule a vaccination appointment, visit the Hospital website and complete the form (evanhospital.com/virus) or call the hotline at 570-522-4530, option 1 between 9 am and 3 pm Monday through Friday.

Home COVID-19 Tests
The Biden Administration recently announced that individuals covered by a health insurance plan who purchase an over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic test that has been authorized, cleared, or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be able to have those test costs covered by their insurance beginning this Saturday, January 15, 2022.

Insurance companies and health plans will be required to cover eight free over-the-counter, at-home tests per covered individual per month. For example, a family of four all on the same plan would be able to get up to 32 of these tests covered by their health plan per month.

Guidance from OptumRx—the Hospital’s pharmacy benefit manager—on how to obtain test kits for covered members through an in-network pharmacy without a prescription will be posted on EvanNet as soon as it is available.

National Blood Shortage Impacting Evangelical
With fewer staff to work blood drives and fewer donors showing up at drives, the pandemic is impacting national blood supplies. That impact is being felt here at Evangelical. We normally have 67 units on hand; as of this morning, we had 27 units available.

All eligible employees are encouraged to donate blood. All types are needed with a critical need for O negative and O positive. To find a blood drive, visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive.

Kendra Aucker,
President and CEO

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Previous COVID-19 Updates

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