We continue to recommend the screening procedures that are below the horizontal line in this email, and are posted at http://gmvemsc.org/covid.html. We are putting everything we can that relates to COVID for LE, fire, EMS, and soon critical infrastructure on that page. Please share it with EVERYONE (along with the message: “CONSERVE PPE. NOW!”). I hope all of you will check it frequently. We’re working on a “What’s New” section to make it easier.
In addition to the procedures below which some agencies are putting in place for all departments, not just public safety, Dayton Fire has gone further. The DFD procedures are here and attached:
We will start screening all employees at the beginning and end of each shift beginning on March 18, 2020. This will be conducted as a two-part process. A self-screening assessment questionnaire will be posted on the front and back door at each facility. Before entering the building, please conduct the self-assessment. If you do not have any of those symptoms, then you may enter the facility but avoid any office areas or living quarters. Please stay in the bay area until part two of this process is completed.
The off-going shift company officer or night watch person will conduct the next step. They will take your temperature with a no-touch scanning thermometer and ask a few simple questions. The results will be recorded in the screening logs, which will be secured with the Health and Safety Officer.
The off-going shift will complete the same health assessment before leaving at the end of their shift. All documents that will be used for this procedure are attached to this email.
Because of the extraordinary circumstances and rapidly evolving situation, Dayton MMRS recommends each agency strongly consider implementing the screening process below as soon as feasible for all critical infrastructure facilities such as law enforcement, fire, water and other utilities, and city and county government, and other areas as you see fit.
This is especially important for EMS personnel, and not just to protect ourselves. We have had reports of long-term care facilities delaying entry of EMS because their LTC patients are at high risk for COVID-19. We are working to address that issue at the state level, but if all EMS personnel have been screened at the start of every shift, it will help alleviate those concerns.
This screening process was developed with Public Health.
Screening Process:
As personnel report for work, there will be screening station(s) set up at the designated entrance(s).
Screen all employees, students, vendors, and visitors for current illness before or immediately upon arrival to the facility.
· Does the person have fever, a new cough or a change in a chronic cough, or difficulty breathing/shortness of breath.
If yes to any of the above, deny entry, and recommend that the person call their supervisor to advise they are going home with an illness, and then contact their family physician as needed.
Screening stations should have supplies for cough etiquette and hygiene including 60%-95% alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS), tissues, and no-touch receptacles for disposal.
The same process applies to persons who call-in. Employees who have signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection must not report to work. They should be told to contact their personal physician as needed.
Any staff that develop signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection while on-the-job should immediately stop work, put on a facemask, inform their supervisor, and go home to self-isolate.
David N. Gerstner
MMRS/RMRS/EP Coordinator
Department of Fire I City of Dayton
300 N. Main St. I Dayton, Ohio 45402
Office 937.333.4551 I Fax 937.333.4561 I www.daytonohio.gov
24/7 Pager: 937-227-8705 or E-mail 9372278705@archwireless.net
Cell 937.776.4410
david.gerstner@daytonohio.gov I http://DaytonMMRS.org