Avoid Closures, Check Employee Health
- By Harri Insider Team | June 19, 2020
The restaurant and hospitality industry is at an economic turning point. Once the decision to reopen is made, operators must ensure that every aspect of the business is adjusted to accommodate a ‘COVID-19 Guest and Employee Model’. In recent news, a number of restaurants have had to re-close their doors due to an employee becoming sick after having worked on the premises. The CDC is advising restaurants to close all areas a person who is infected used for 24 hours before cleaning and disinfecting. Some states are requiring a systematic employee health check to identify and contain outbreaks,
In Jacksonville, Florida Lynch’s Irish Pub was forced to reclose after over a dozen customers claimed to have contracted COVID-19 there. Seven of the employees had tested positive. The pub was able to reopen after a brief shut down to deep clean the place. Another example comes from Seattle where Fremont Brewing was forced to close indefinitely 10 days after reopening its patio. Fremont Brewing was one of the first restaurants in Seattle to reopen. An employee tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. The brewery had this to say: “We are actively seeking medical counsel to make sure we’re taking the strongest measures possible to ensure the safety of our customers and employees. We’ll reopen when it is deemed completely safe and prudent to do so”.
Countless restaurants across the country are experiencing similar happenings and struggling with what to do. People have to work and people have to eat, but with the looming health crisis keeping businesses open is difficult. Proper solutions and preventative methods need to be in place for a successful and safe reopening.
Prevention methods
Properly screening employee health
This can be intimidating, and it should be. Right now, personal health and safety are priority above all else, but with a properly administered employee health check strategy, second shutdowns can be easily avoided. An effective screening is completed before employees enter the workplace. Once anyone who is sick or showing symptoms has entered the space, it is too late. At Harri, we have created a comprehensive employee health check platform designed to be as quick and efficient as possible. Our platform utilizes CDC guidelines to be certain that every employee is symptom-free before they enter the workplace. Employees are asked the essential screening questions upon arrival and expected to be transparent in their responses. Following the assessment, a contactless temperature is administered. Employees then put on their PPE and are able to start their shift knowing that they are not putting themselves or others at risk. Through our platform, you are able to:
- Utilize our mobile app to access the employee health check
- Quickly log employee symptoms at the touch of a button
- Efficiently capture temperatures before employees enter the workplace
- Audit your health checks across your enterprise
- Receive proactive alerts when an employee fails a screening
- Generate a Health Check summary to be displayed for customers or attached to your delivery orders for peace of mind
To prove compliance, Harri’s Health Check utilizes reporting and tracking capabilities to create an audit. This audit includes: when the check was administered, who performed it, and records the responses. By having all of this information recorded, it becomes easier to track anyone who may have come into contact with someone in the event they get sick. In regards to compliance, Harri has validated that the solution does not violate HIPPA, OSHA, Data Privacy & Storage laws, EOCC, and ADA guidelines. Although, we recommend you checking with your own legal council specific to the jurisdictions you operate in.
While the outlook may seem uneasy, there are thousands of employees, around the country, screening properly and keeping health and safety at the forefront via the Employee Health Check Platform. We are still not out of the woods, but the tools and practices we implement are putting us in the right direction. As the restaurant and hospitality industry continue to go through changes and reopenings, take time to properly evaluate the way you are health checking.
