Please see the clarification below regarding COVID-19 testing for employees and families. Employees must complete the RedCap survey prior to going to a test site. We have also updated the information for household members and non-clinical School of Medicine employees.
Testing is key to limiting the spread of COVID-19. We encourage you to get tested if you or a family member has symptoms or a known exposure. As an employee of UW Medicine, you should use the RedCap survey before scheduling your test. Please do not go to a test site prior to completing RedCap and please do not use RedCap to schedule testing for household members. We recently added more slots to the employee scheduling system, so if you are already scheduled but need an earlier appointment, check again as there may be openings. If members of your household have symptoms or have been exposed, you can call the Contact Center family priority testing line at 206.520.5050, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or weekends, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you are a non-clinical employee in the School of Medicine, please refer to Husky Coronavirus Testing for scheduling instructions.
We are going to start this week’s message with two of the most important words we know: Thank You. In a week that has tested our operations in every conceivable way — from winter weather to staffing shortages to surging COVID-19 case counts — you’ve responded with patience, grace and determination. It’s that spirit that sustains our work and has us grateful to be a part of this community as we enter the new year.
With so much going on, we thought it was important to get one more message out before the end of the year. It’s becoming clearer by the day that we’ll enter 2022 facing another significant COVID-19 wave. If the global trends we’ve seen with the Omicron variant hold locally — and so far, they have — we can expect cases to continue to rise rapidly for the next several weeks. Since last week, in fact, we’ve seen a 213% increase in cases in King County. Fortunately, the high transmission rate has not yet translated into a dramatic increase in hospitalizations or deaths at UW Medicine though those numbers are increasing daily. We must be prepared for more activity. Looking ahead, we are taking several steps to mitigate the impact of this next wave on our healthcare system.
Today’s update includes:
- Local/National/Global Epidemiology
- Postponement of Non-Urgent Surgeries
- Staffing Adjustments
- Updated Visitor Policy
- Testing and Isolation
- Boosters and Masking
UW Medicine COVID-19 Activity Summary
Local/National/Global Epidemiology
King County: Public Health – Seattle & King County is reporting 196,623 total confirmed cases and 2,156 deaths as of Tuesday, Dec. 28. The number of new positive tests is currently at 615.3/7 days/100,000 people (community transmission level = high).
Washington: The Department of Health reports 737,652 confirmed cases and 9,822 deaths as of Dec. 27.
United States: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 441,278 new cases, 52,809,291 total cases and 816,239 deaths as of Dec. 28.
Global: The WHO COVID-19 Dashboard reports 281,808,270 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5,411,759 deaths as of Dec. 29.
Postponement of Non-Urgent Surgeries
To address staffing shortages and capacity challenges presented by the Omicron surge, UW Medicine is postponing non-urgent surgeries and procedures scheduled through Friday, Jan. 14. We will work with our physicians and operational teams to review all non-urgent surgeries and procedures and reschedule those that can safely be postponed for a later date. We understand such delays can be difficult for patients and their families but have found this tactic to be helpful during previous waves of the pandemic to address staffing and bed capacity challenges and believe it to be necessary to ensure we can continue to provide safe, quality care in the weeks ahead.
Staffing Adjustments
As case counts rise locally, more of our healthcare workers are being exposed and testing positive. Last week, our employee positivity rate was more than double the baseline. To accommodate the need for employees to isolate and to help cover staffing shortages in other areas of our system, leaders will be assessing their teams’ needs and looking for ways to balance patients and staff to maintain normal operations. Thank you in advance for remaining flexible and supportive of temporary adjustments that might be required. As many of you know, the CDC released new guidance for quarantine and isolation for healthcare workers (HCWs) and for the public. We are reviewing the guidance for HCWs now and will update you with any changes to our current approach.
Updated Visitor Policy
In response to higher rates of community transmission, we are in the process of updating our visitor policy. We’ll share more details in the coming days with updates likely taking effect on Monday, Jan. 3. The one exception is Harborview Medical Center, which today began restricting visiting hours to 2-6 p.m.
Testing and Isolation
Due to inclement weather, our UWMC – Northwest and Harborview testing sites will be opening at 9 a.m. through Wednesday, Jan. 5. You can find more information about our community testing sites, including closure updates, on our website.
Testing remains an important tool for limiting the spread of COVID-19. We encourage you to get tested if you or a family member has symptoms or a known exposure. As an employee of UW Medicine, you should use the RedCap survey before scheduling your test. Please do not go to a test site prior to completing RedCap and please do not use RedCap to schedule testing for household members. We recently added more slots to the employee scheduling system, so if you are already scheduled but need an earlier appointment, check again as there may be openings. If members of your household have symptoms or have been exposed, you can call the Contact Center family priority testing line at 206.520.5050, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or weekends, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you are a non-clinical employee in the School of Medicine, please refer to Husky Coronavirus Testing for scheduling instructions.
As mentioned above, we continue to evaluate the CDC quarantine and exposure policy for HCWs and evolve our employee policies to best protect staff and patients. We will update you if or when an update to our policies is needed. If you have had an exposure or a positive test for COVID-19, please contact your Employee Health Clinic. These teams are your best resources for advice, and they can also assess the need for additional testing.
Boosters and Masking
We continue to strongly recommend boosters as a protection against Omicron and severe COVID-19 illness. All individuals 16 or older are now eligible. If it has been at least six months since you completed your Moderna or Pfizer series or at least two months since you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you can schedule your booster dose now. Our vaccine team has done an incredible job administering boosters and recently cleared our wait list. Times are open and available.
Last week, we asked for everybody’s help in “leveling up” their workplace masking practices. The ask here is to use the highest-level mask or respirator that works for you unless a respirator is required. The supply chain teams are working very hard to get the various masks and respirators that we have out to all units. One important request is to reserve the fluid resistant N95s for direct patient care where exposures to blood and body fluid splashes are common. For non-patient care areas, there is no need for fluid resistance, and we can use our large supply of those respirators. Thank you to all who took that to heart and, again, to our supply chain team for obtaining and provisioning the masks we need to stay safe. These are small, daily steps that together can make a big difference.
For nearly two years, we have asked a lot of everyone. Unfortunately, those requests are going to continue. As we head into the final holiday of 2021, our last ask is to spread the word: the greatest risk for spreading COVID-19 is during indoor gatherings when people are not masked. If we want to slow this down, we have to let people know about this risk and to hold off on New Year’s Eve parties and similar events. It’s time to stick with our families and pods and to get through this together again.
May we all look forward to a happy and healthy 2022!
Lisa Brandenburg
President, UW Medicine Hospitals & Clinics
Timothy H. Dellit, MD
Chief Medical Officer, UW Medicine
President, UW Physicians
John Lynch, MD, MPH
Medical Director, Infection Prevention & Control
Associate Medical Director, Harborview Medical Center
Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, UW School of Medicine
