Do any of your organizations allow exemptions for your employees who do not want to work on site due to autoimmune disease, etc.  Below is the TGH allowable exemptions for COVID-19.  However, since Delta is surging in FL, we are getting many accommodation requests from our employees who do not want to work in any setting on campus.   For example, we have a care  coordinator who has to round two days a week on non-COVID units with the providers and does not have to enter patient rooms.   She has an autoimmune condition and is asking to be exempt from rounding or going to any patieint care area  due to the Delta variant    We provided her with N95 masks and face shields and declined the accommodation request.   We do not exempt clinical nurses from care if they are on Humira or other immunosuppressive drugs. 

We do try to allow remote work if possible, but it is not feasible in all situations.   Thank you. 

Exemptions for High Risk or Pregnant Team Members

Although PPE and isolation guidelines provides adequate protection for TGH team members in the care of COVID-19 patients, TGH supports excluding our most vulnerable team members, upon request, from providing care to CONFIRMED OR SUSPECTED COVID-19 patients as an added precaution.

Eligible Team Members

· Pregnant

· Age 65 or older

· Immunocompromised (TMH Clinic will review and approve)

o HIV/AIDS

o Prednisone ≥ 20 mg/day or equivalent

o Organ/bone marrow transplant recipient

o Receipt of cytotoxic chemotherapy

· Team member must request an exemption by emailing TMHCOVID19@tgh.org and leave name and contact number.  A TMH nurse will contact the team member to review the request and will email the manager, if approved.

Exemptions

· Care of patients with diagnosed or suspected COVID-19 infection

· Exemption DOES NOT include:

o Providing care to patients awaiting results of COVID-19 tests

o Contact with patient, visitors, healthcare workers with unknown COVID-19 status

o Providing care for COVID-19 patients who have been removed from isolation and are no longer considered infectious.

o Performing surveillance COVID-19 PCR test on a patient who is not suspected of having COVID-19.

· Team member is expected to perform patient care responsibilities for other patients and/or alternate duties as assigned by the manager/supervisor.

· Email TMHCOVID19@tgh.org for any questions about exemptions.

JoAnn Shea, APRN, MS, COHN-S

Director, Team Member Health and Wellness

Tampa General Hospital

Office: 813-844-7692

Cell:      813-789-3441

jshea@tgh.org

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