Changes announced for universal masking guidelines
Updates to new universal masking guidelines for USA Health employees, patients and caregivers further define acceptable masks for vaccinated individuals.
To more clearly define the types of masks USA Health employees may and may not wear, revisions to the new universal masking guidelines were noted this week, as our healthcare providers and staff continue to face an unprecedented surge of COVID-positive cases.
To help protect our staff and our patients, USA Health now requires all employees to wear an N95 mask. Each employee will receive an N95 mask from their manager/director. Exemptions are being granted for employees who provide documentation demonstrating they have been fully vaccinated. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. Employees who have been fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask in all USA Health facilities.
The following revisions were made this week to our universal masking guidelines:
- Employees who have been fully vaccinated may wear a mask from home, unless otherwise noted in the policy.
- Patients and family members or essential caregivers will be issued masks when they enter USA Health facilities if they don’t already have them.
Employees are responsible for providing proof of vaccination to their manager/director. Fully vaccinated employees will receive a USA Health vaccination badge buddy from their manager/director after providing proof of being fully vaccinated. The badge buddy will serve as visual clearance to exempt you from the N95 mask requirement. Proof of vaccination includes a valid vaccination card completed by a healthcare provider or printed documentation from your medical record, which usually can be obtained through a patient portal.
If you were vaccinated by USA Health and no longer have proof of vaccination, please register for the Athena Patient Portal, and download your proof of documentation. Instructions on how to sign up for the portal are available, and instructions on how to access your vaccine records are at https://usahealth.mobi/vaccination-documentation.
Employees can receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Mobile Civic Center. Visit usahealthvaccines.com to make an appointment. Vaccines also are available without an appointment from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. in Mastin Internal Medicine today through this Thursday, Aug. 12. Please bring your driver’s license with you to receive the vaccine.
