Health care system Kaiser Permanente has released a 98-page “playbook” for businesses returning to the office, with insight from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as state and county health departments. “Planning for the Next Normal at Work,” a booklet made in response to business customers’ request for guidance, takes into account the health system’s 12.4 million members nationally, which includes employees at 14,400 large and 74,000 small businesses. “The playbook aims to prevent a resurgence of the virus while acknowledging that professional life and productivity will look different than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kaiser Permanente said in a statement. Recommendations in the playbook, echoed in the state’s checklists for reopening businesses, include: reconfiguring office space to allow “at least two arms’ length of space” between workstations; providing hand sanitizer in multiple locations; limiting meetings to 10 or fewer people; having a process in place if an employee is diagnosed with COVID-19; evaluating leave-of-absence policies; and reinforcing a “psychologically healthy workplace where employees feel safe, respected and empowered.” The online business resource will be updated as guidance evolves to best protect the workforce against the pandemic. It can be downloaded as a PDF from the website https://business.kaiserpermanente.org. In the Valley region, nonprofit Kaiser Permanente has major operations in Woodland Hills, Panorama City, Santa Clarita and Lancaster.
Kaiser Permanente Releases ‘Playbook’ for Businesses on Coronavirus Compliance
