Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1299034
44 POPULATION HEALTH 44 CEO / STRATEGY Major companies are telling workers to conceal COVID-19 cases, complaints allege By Mackenzie Bean E mployees at many large companies in the U.S. said their employers told them to keep quiet about known COVID-19 cases or workplace outbreaks, citing federal privacy laws, Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg reviewed workplace complaints filed with the National Labor Re- lations Board and Occupational Safety and Health Administration over the last few months. The complaints allege that hundreds of employers have told employees not to share information about COVID-19 cases with other workers or have retaliated against them for disclosing this information. Many employers have used employee privacy to justify the gag orders on COVID-19 cases, workers said. But federal laws such as HIPAA don't permit companies to silence employees about safety concerns. Some experts say the move to conceal information about workplace COVID-19 cases could cause another wave of infections. "In many places, workplace exposures are driving the pandemic," epide- miologist David Michaels, PhD, a professor at Washington, D.C.-based George Washington University who ran OSHA under former President Barack Obama, told Bloomberg. "To stop this pandemic, workers need to be listened to rather than silenced." Companies cited in the complaints include Amazon, Target, McDonald's, Del- ta Airlines, Urban Outfitters and more. Amazon, Target and McDonald's dis- puted the allegations, while Delta told Bloomberg that it's never disciplined staff for sharing diagnoses. Urban Outfitters said it encourages workers to re- port concerns and said OSHA found no wrongdoing at the company. n Intermountain to make new hires as part of equity, diversity push By Kelly Gooch S alt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare began taking five new steps to address equity and diversity, including leadership appoint- ments, the health system announced Sept. 8. Intermountain said it will: 1. Establish equity as a fundamental and value. 2. Hire a chief equity officer, senior medical director of equity and inclu- sion, and senior nursing director of equity and inclusion. 3. Hire an equity advocate "to serve as an advocate and mediator, support- ing equity among caregivers and those served." 4. Invest in equity opportunities. This includes creating or building funding for scholarships, tuition reimbursement, fellowship stipends and impact investments. 5. Work with other organizations in the community to address economic and resource inequalities found throughout society, including clinical care, social determinants of health, healthcare access and career oppor- tunities. n Kaiser recognized as carbon-neutral health system By Kelly Gooch O akland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente has achieved carbon-neutral status, the health system said Sept. 14. e designation recognizes that Kaiser was certi- fied as carbon neutral by the CarbonNeutral Pro- tocol and has eliminated its 800,000-ton annual carbon footprint. It is the first U.S. health system to achieve this status, according to Health Care Without Harm. "As wildfires rage across the Western U.S., we can all see that the health impacts of climate change are not abstract or far in the future — they are here today, and they disproportionately impact the most vulnerable among us," Greg Adams, chair and CEO of Kaiser, said in a news release. "We must recognize, for example, that the pol- lution that leads to respiratory illnesses and is linked to higher mortality rates from COVID-19 disproportionately impacts Black and low-in- come communities. In order to create a healthier, more sustainable path forward, we must address the inseparable issues of climate and human health as one." Kaiser's carbon-neutral certification applies to di- rect carbon emissions from sources the organiza- tion owns or controls as well as carbon emissions attributable to the electricity used by Kaiser, the organization said. e certification also applies to select carbon emissions from sources Kaiser does not directly own or control, including corporate travel. To achieve carbon-neutral status, Kaiser said it improved energy efficiency in its facilities, in- stalled on-site solar power and bought new re- newable energy generation. e organization said it subsequently invested in carbon offsets to counter unavoidable emissions from the natural gas power used at Kaiser hospitals. Kaiser is targeting an additional emissions reduc- tions goal in 2021. n