Share
Preview
COVID-19 Weekly Huddle - Oct. 22, 2020
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
 
 
  Oct. 29, 2020
**Visit Inova’s COVID-19 Team Member Resource website at inova.org/tmCOVID19 for system-wide guidance on COVID-19. Check back often and visit the “What’s New” section for the latest updates.**
COVID-19 Patient Status
 
As of Oct. 29, 2020:

  • 4,255 COVID-19+ total inpatient admissions to date
  • 76 COVID-19+ currently hospitalized (up from 78 on Oct. 22)
  • 419 total deaths to date
    • 293 inpatient/ED
    • 126 hospice inpatient
  • 3,911 discharged patients to date
VIDEO | J. Stephen Jones, MD, President and CEO: Did I Ask You?
 
At Inova, safety is more than just a checklist. It’s the foundation of everything we do - every time, every touch- and we believe every patient deserves team members who are dedicated to safety. In this week’s video, Dr. Jones shares information about the new “Did I Ask You?” patient identification safety campaign. Always make sure you take those critical steps to introduce yourself to patients and your role on their care team, and confirm every patient’s identity at all points in their care process: “Did I Ask You Your Name and DOB?” Together as One Team, we can ensure our patients are Safe@Inova.

WATCH THE VIDEO >>
IMPORTANT CYBERSECURITY MESSAGE
The FBI has issued an alert about the imminent threat of cyberattacks against healthcare systems across the country. As of now, indications are a large number of health systems may have fallen victim to ransomware attacks just this week.

Due to this serious threat, we have decided to take some specific actions to address some of the more significant risks that could impact the integrity of our IT infrastructure.

Beginning tonight, we will be deactivating the ability to access non-Inova web-based email (e.g., gmail, Yahoo mail) and file sharing (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive) on all Inova devices. While we understand this action is inconvenient, disabling this capability greatly strengthens Inova’s resistance to ransomware attacks.

Additionally, our cybersecurity group will be continually monitoring, patching and reconfiguring systems as this threat continues to evolve. This work may result in periodic interruptions and downtimes today and tomorrow. We will work with impacted customers to ensure as much advanced notice as possible is given before any potential outages.

You play a very important role in retaining the integrity of our systems so that we can continue to provide uninterrupted care for our patients and teams during these unprecedented times. It is critical that all of us are even more diligent as the primary exposure to this threat comes in the form of email phishing. If you receive a suspicious e-mail, do not open any attachments or click any links in the message, and report the message to IT using the “Report Phishing” button on Outlook.

This is an ongoing attack of U.S. based hospitals, and now, more than ever, it is important to maintain diligence against potential cyber threats.

Thank you in advance for your increased awareness of these potential cyber threats. We will keep you updated with alerts, as more information is available.
Aerosol Generating Procedure FAQs
 
Inova is continually evaluating best practices and evidence from other health systems, professional societies, peer-reviewed journals, the World Health Organization and CDC for recommendations on PPE use during aerosol generating procedures (AGPs). As information is evolving, our recommendations may change over time.

Out of an abundance of caution, team members performing an AGP or who are in close proximity to a patient during a procedure that is likely to aerosolize disease particles, are required to wear an N-95, equivalent, or higher-level respirator to protect them from patients who may be pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic with COVID-19.

See What’s New for updated FAQs about team member safety and infection control during AGPs.
AMBULATORY: COVID-19 Screening on MyChart
 
In order to save time and improve efficiency, beginning Monday, Nov. 2, patients can complete COVID-19 screening on MyChart prior to their arrival at an Inova care site.
  • Screening questions from Epic will be loaded into MyChart.
  • Patients with a scheduled appointment will receive a message on MyChart 24 hours before their appointment time to complete the screening questionnaire.
  • If an appointment is scheduled within the 24-hour window, patients will receive a direct link to complete screening questions.
  • Please encourage patients to look for the MyChart message and to complete the questions prior to arriving for their appointment.
Countdown to Flu – Tomorrow, Oct. 30
 
If you haven’t already received your flu shot, don’t delay – we need 100 percent of our team members and medical staff to be vaccinated by tomorrow, Oct. 30. A variety of options remain to get your shot.

Medical staff who do not submit documentation of vaccination or approved exemption by Oct. 30, will face administrative suspension of access to the following until compliant:
  • Inova ID badge (i.e., building access)
  • Epic access (i.e., unable to admit, write orders, etc.)
  • Scheduling of new cases
  • On-call access

SEE YOUR OPTIONS AND DOCUMENTATION INSTRUCTIONS >>

As of today, 94 percent of our employed team members and Inova-employed medical staff have been vaccinated and an impressive 97 percent of our independent medical staff have been vaccinated.

Check out the leader board standings:
Epic Update
SlicerDicer Analytics Tool Access Expanded

Effective Tuesday, Oct. 27, Inova expanded access to SlicerDicer, Epic’s new analytics tool, to more clinical data enthusiasts. Additionally, we are introducing four new data models: Births, IP Pharmacy Medication Orders, Outpatient Prescriptions, and Surgeries and Invasive Procedures.

This tool provides easy access to investigate questions that were previously labor-intensive to address:
  • Find patients who had a particular procedure, diagnosis, medication or lab result since our initial Epic deployment.
  • Compare and visualize metrics such as throughput, turnaround times, etc., across large populations in seconds.

SlicerDicer doesn’t replace reporting workbench or clarity reports, but it empowers you to investigate your data questions.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SLICERDICER ANALYTIC CAPABILITIES >>

Navigating the Infodemic: Top Tips to Identify Misinformation or Disinformation
 
 
We are all being exposed to a huge amount of COVID-19 information on a daily basis, and not all of it is reliable. Misinformation and disinformation can spread quickly and add to confusion. The World Health Organization (WHO) offers tips for telling the difference and stopping the spread of misinformation:
    • Assess the source
    • Go beyond the headline
    • Identify the author
    • Check the date
    • Examine supporting evidence
    • Check your bias
    • Use fact checkers

REVIEW WHO'S GUIDANCE ABOUT NAVIGATING INFORMATION OVERLOAD >>

Daylight Saving Time Ends Nov. 1: Planned Epic Downtime
 
All team members who are working this weekend need to be aware that there will be a planned Epic downtime on Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1:50 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Saving Time) to 3 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) – a 130-minute** downtime for the time change. The Registration recovery window will run from 2:30 to 3 a.m., and the plan is to restore all users as soon as recovery of new patients is complete. Please be sure to follow our standard downtime procedures.
Well-Being Resources for Team Members
 
Wellness Tip of the Day – Healthy cooking with your kids: Join the Inova Healthy Plate Club on Tuesday, Nov. 3 for a free, virtual cooking class for your kids. We’ll make our two most popular recipes – cauliflower nuggets and kale chips – and your kids can cook along with us. Open to kids in grades K – 8.
*CHECK OUT THE DETAILS >>

Submit your wellness tips to MediaRelations@inova.org and use the Subject: My Wellness Tip.

Team Member Well-Being Resources – Inova cares about the well-being of all our team members. As a reminder, the Team Member Well-Being resource is frequently updated with videos, articles and activities to help you and yours manage stress, anxiety and communication.
 
See What’s New at inova.org/tmcovid19
NOTE: Links marked with * require network access to view on InovaNet.
 
Team Member Resources
Inova Newsroom
Safe@Inova
Continuing Medical Education


Email Marketing by ActiveCampaign