As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, our thoughts are with everyone impacted. We know our role as your TPA has never been more important, and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that you and your employees receive the support and quality service needed throughout this evolving situation. The priority at Vault Health Workforce Screening remains to protect the safety of our clients and their employees, along with the health and well-being of our team members during this trying and difficult time. We’ve operationalized our business continuity plan to provide rapid response to safeguard our workforce. Our IT department worked swiftly and diligently to set each staff member up with all of the resources and equipment needed to work from home. These actions have allowed us to continue to provide services to our clients safely.
We’ve received many inquiries from our clients regarding regulations and service availability, we address some of these concerns below. We will continue to keep you updated as this situation evolves.
Vault Health Workforce Screening is closely monitoring any potential closures of Government agencies, courts, schools, and various business that would affect the delivery of our Background Screening Services. We continually update our clients within our Background screening portal of any closures or court delays. At this time, you should expect delays with regards to previous employer verifications and education verifications, as well as some limited court delays.
Vault Health Workforce Screening’s operations team remains in contact with our lab partners and can report that all are running at normal operational levels. Our team is also monitoring the operations of our clinic and collection site partners and are keeping our provider network up to date as we receive potential service interruption notifications. During this emergency, we recommend that clients, their employees/applicants, and program participants contact the sites directly to make an appointment and to confirm hours of operations. Should you require additional support, you can always call us during regular business hours, and we can assist you.
Clinics and collection sites have initiated rigorous safety procedures to protect their employees and others, and they are diligently following all best practices set by the CDC. Our clinic networks are working closely with local health officials and monitoring CDC, WHO, OSHA, and other organizations to remain abreast of current guidelines.
Vault Health Workforce Screening has prepared the following information to keep you up to date on procedures and processes.
Sites have implemented strict cleaning regimens that include frequent disinfection of door handles and other hard surfaces to help reduce and mitigate possible contamination. Hand sanitizer is available, and frequent hand washing is encouraged.
Many sites are screening donors for any active symptoms before entry – Quest, for example, is taking temperature checks at many of their locations.
Sites are now requiring patients to wear a face-covering or mask (cloth is fine, but a T-shirt pulled up is not) when visiting their sites to help protect other patients and staff from exposure to COVID-19. Patients who refuse to wear a face-covering or mask without presenting a valid reason may be asked to leave the clinic.
If you are 60 years of age, pregnant, or have a medical condition that puts you at higher risk for COVID-19, some sites are offering the first hour of every day for VIP care. It is also recommended that you contact the sites directly to make an appointment and follow all social distancing guidelines.
ACOEM Advises Suspension of Routine Occupational Spirometry Testing During COVID-19 Pandemic
The Department of Transportation and its sub-agencies have not waived any drug and alcohol testing or background screening requirements at this time. Therefore, we recommend that you continue with those programs as required by regulation for all testing reasons. Please note that Emergency Declaration No 2020-002 does not exempt any driver or employer from the controlled substance and alcohol use testing requirements of 49CFR Part 382
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/emergency/emergency-declaration-under-49-cfr-ss-39023-no-2020-002
The Department of Transportation plays an active part in the United States Government’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19). As a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, DOT helps support the Administration’s efforts to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus, and ensure the continuation of critical infrastructure support and relief for the American people.