Weekly COVID-19 update February 4, 2021 A message from the Registrar "The measures that we have put in place to fight COVID-19 are unprecedented in Alberta's history, yet despite these steps, there have still been more than 122,000 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in the province so far. More than 5,300 Albertans have been hospitalized since the pandemic began, which is 4,000 more hospitalizations than we saw from influenza last year. Similarly, more than 850 have been admitted to the ICU from COVID-19. We haven't even had COVID in the province for a full year and yet that's still five times the total ICU number of the entire 2019-20 influenza season. And, in just 11 months, COVID-19 has taken more lives than 10 years of influenza cases combined.”
"All of which reminds us yet again that COVID-19 is unlike any virus that we have faced in Alberta in more than 100 years. It is highly contagious and if we had not put strong measures in place to limit spread, its impact on our health-care system and province could have been catastrophic." Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping the public safe by adhering to Public Health measures.
This week's COVID-19 update will cover:
Thank you, Dr. Todd Halowski ACAC Registrar
Health-care leadership in a pandemic As pandemic fatigue starts to set in, people are beginning to challenge public health measures. As health-care professionals, chiropractors must continue to be committed leaders in supporting Public Health and their efforts to protect all Albertans. You are required to follow the ACAC COVID-19 Pandemic Practice Directive and all Chief Medical Office of Health Orders and Orders from all Governments. Beyond this requirement, positively supporting Public Health through your attitude and communications demonstrates leadership and commitment to these efforts.
We know that the pandemic is exacting a toll on the mental health of all Albertans, including regulated members of the profession. We know that addictions are growing during the pandemic, and that some regulated members are finding themselves challenged. We are hearing of growing evidence and practitioner experience of stress and harm in pediatric populations as parents continue to languish in the pandemic stress. The press continues to publish stories of front-line workers who are overwhelmed, with some even taking their lives.
Your skills and training have prepared you to be a positive and supportive influence on your patients and their health. Beyond your assessment and the treatment you provide to patients, promoting positive health habits such as nutrition, exercise, positive mental health habits, and sleep hygiene is well within your skillset as a practitioner.
Listening and supporting patient's emotional health is part of any clinical experience. It is essential that you recognize and take action to refer patients who need mental health intervention. Refining your skills in these challenging conversations is a skill that can and must be practiced so you are prepared when they arise. The ACAC prepared clinical and communication tools to support these conversations and help you grow these skills. These clinical skills are just as important to the public health response as adherence to the practice directive.
Thank you for showing up each day and doing your best. Thank you for identifying areas where you need to refine your skills and taking action to augment your learning and competencies. And thank you for identifying when a patient’s challenge is beyond your skillset and promptly referring them to the appropriate practitioner.
Guidance and considerations regarding staff safety with mask-exempt patients On January 21, the ACAC issued a COVID-19 update that provided information on treating mask-exempt patients. It's come to our attention that there is still confusion from administrative and clinical staff regarding how to manage mask-exempt patients. You are advised to review the update from January 21, 2021, and ensure your staff feel prepared and ready to handle conversations regarding masking and mask exemptions. Keeping your staff well-informed means they can better support you in providing patient care.
Other concerns have been raised from administrative and clinical staff regarding decisions that their employers (chiropractors) have made in regards to treating mask-exempt patients.
When making decisions on the treatment of mask-exempt patients, you are advised to discuss safety concerns with your staff. You must discuss and allow your staff to raise personal safety concerns regarding the treatment of mask-exempt patients. All a staff members is required to tell you is that they have a safety concern being around unmasked patients. Employees are not required to disclose their personal health information to their employer, and employers are not allowed to ask about employee's health conditions.
We recognize that many of your staff are also patients in the clinic. However, being a patient is not the same as being an employee, and you are well advised to not conflate these two roles.
Once a safety concern is raised, your decision as an employer must be to either not treat mask-exempt patients, or to ensure that the staff that have safety concerns are not present when you treat mask-exempt patients.
Alberta announces criteria for easing health measures On January 29, the Government of Alberta released the criteria it will use to determine whether and how to ease existing health measures.
Each step in the process is based on the number of Albertans with COVID-19 in hospitals.
The first stage will begin on February 8, and decisions on moving to subsequent stages of reopening will be made at three-week intervals.
Indoor masking and distancing requirements will remain in place throughout the entire stepped approach, and some degree of restrictions will still apply to all activities within each step.
This weekly, Thursday morning COVID-19 update provides non-urgent, yet important, information and answers questions posed by members as part of the ACAC’s ongoing efforts to keep members informed about public health responses to the pandemic. If you have questions related to policy, procedures, control measures, safety, or any other topic pertaining to effectively responding to COVID-19 in your practice, please send them to registrar@albertachiro.com.
The next update will be February 11, 2021.
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