Announcements
In order to comply with Executive Order 2020-114, Lincoln Behavioral Services has posted recommended guidelines within the premises and has included those specific portions of the order shown below that have guided our measures to ensure the safety of consumers, employees and visitors to Lincoln Behavioral Services facilities. These measures are included on our website to document our commitment to ensuring the health and safety of all concerned. We will continue to monitor and implement suggestions from the Governor, CDC, MDHHS, and OSHA as things are updated with new information and recommendations.
1. All businesses or operations that require their employees to leave the homes or residences for work must, at a minimum:
a. Develop a COVID-19 preparedness and response plan, consistent with recommendations in Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, developed by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) and available here. Within two weeks of resuming in-person activities, a business’s or operation’s plan must be made readily available to employees, labor unions, and customers, whether via website, internal network or by hard copy.
b. Designate one or more worksite supervisors to implement, monitor, and report on the COVID- 19 control strategies developed under subsection (a). The supervisor must remain on-site at all times when employees are present on site. An on-site employee may be designated to perform the supervisory role.
c. Provide COVID-19 training to employees that covers at a minimum:
1. Workplace infection-control practices.
2. The proper use of personal protective equipment.
3. Steps the employee must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.
d. Conduct a daily entry self-screening protocol for all employees or contractors entering the workplace, including, at a minimum, a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19.
e. Keep everyone on the worksite premises at least six feet from one another to the maximum extent possible, including through the use of ground markings, signs, and physical barriers, as appropriate to the worksite.
f. Provide non-medical grade face coverings to their employees, with supplies of N95 masks and surgical masks reserves, for now, for health care professionals, first responders (e.g., police officers, fire fighters, paramedics), and other critical workers.
g. Require face coverings to be worn when employees cannot consistently maintain six feet of separation from other individuals in the workplace, and consider face shields when employees cannot consistently maintain three feet of separation from other individuals in the workplace.
h. Increase facility cleaning and disinfection to limit exposure to COVID-19, especially on high- touch surfaces (e.g., door handles), paying special attention to parts, products, and shared equipment (e.g., tools, machinery, vehicles).
i. Adopt protocols to clean and disinfect the facility in the event of a positive COVID-19 case in the workplace.
j. Make cleaning supplies available to employees upon entry and at the worksite and provide time for employees to wash hands frequently or to use hand sanitizer.
k. When an employee is identified with a confirmed case of COVID-19:
1. Immediately notify the local public health department, and
2. Within 24 hours, notify any co-workers, contractors, or suppliers who may have come into contact with the person with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
l. An employer will allow employees with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 to return to the workplace only after they are no longer infectious according to the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and they are released from any quarantine or isolation by the local public health department.
m. Follow Executive Order 2020-36, and any executive orders that follow it, that prohibit discharging, disciplining, or otherwise retaliating against employees who stay home or who leave work when they are at particular risk of infecting others with COVID-19.
n. Establish a response plan for dealing with a confirmed infection in the workplace, including protocols for sending employees home and for temporary closures of all or part of the workplace to allow for deep cleaning.
o. Restrict business-related travel for employees to essential travel only.
p. Encourage employees to use personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer on public transportation.
q. Promote remote work to the fullest extent possible.
r. Adopt any additional infection-control measures that are reasonable in light of the work performed at the worksite and the rate of infection in the surrounding community.
2. Offices must: (originally item 7 from Executive Order 2020-1140)
a. Assign dedicated entry point(s) for all employees to reduce congestion at the main entrance.
b. Provide visual indicators of appropriate spacing for employees outside the building in case of congestion.
c. Take steps to reduce entry congestion and to ensure the effectiveness of screening (e.g., by staggering start times, adopting a rotational schedule in only half of employees are in the office at a particular time).
d. Require face coverings in shared spaces, including during in-person meetings and in restrooms and hallways.
e. Increase distancing between employees by spreading out workspaces, staggering workspace usage, restricting non-essential common space (e.g., cafeterias), providing visual cues to guide movement and activity (e.g., restricting elevator capacity with markings).
f. Prohibit social gatherings and meetings that do not allow for social distancing or that create unnecessary movement through the office. Use virtual meetings whenever possible.
g. Provide disinfecting supplies and require employees wipe down their work stations at least twice daily.
h. Post signs about the importance of personal hygiene.
i. Disinfect high-touch surfaces in offices (e.g., whiteboard markers, restrooms, handles) and minimize shared items when possible (e.g., pens, remotes, whiteboards).
j. Institute cleaning and communications protocols when employees are sent home with symptoms.
k. Notify employees if the employer learns that an individual (including a customer, supplier, or visitor) with a confirmed case of COVID-19 has visited the office.
l. Suspend all nonessential visitors.
m. Restrict all non-essential travel, including in-person conference events.
3. Outpatient health-care facilities, including clinics, primary care physician offices, or dental offices, and also including veterinary clinics must: (originally item 9 from Executive Order 2020-114).
a. Post signs at entrance(s) instructing patients to wear a face covering when inside.
b. Limit waiting-area occupancy to the number of individuals who can be present while staying six feet away from one another and ask patients, if possible, to wait in cars for their appointment to be called.
c. Mark waiting rooms to enable six feet of social distancing (e.g., by placing X’s on the ground and/or removing seats in the waiting room).
d. Enable contactless sign-in (e.g., sign in on phone app) as soon as practicable.
e. Add special hours for highly vulnerable patients including the elderly and those with chronic conditions.
f. Conduct a common screening protocol for all patients, including a temperature check and questions about COVID-19 symptoms.
g. Place hand sanitizer and face coverings at patient entrance(s).
h. Require employees to make proper use of personal protective equipment in accordance with guidance from the CDC and OSHA.
i. Require patients to wear a face covering when in the facility, except as necessary for identification or to facilitate an examination or procedure.
j. Install physical barriers at sign-in, temperature screening, or other service points that normally require personal interaction (e.g., plexiglass, cardboard, tables).
k. Employ telehealth and telemedicine to the greatest extent possible.
l. Limit the number of appointments to maintain social distancing and allow adequate time between appointments for cleaning.
m. Employ specialized procedures for patients with high temperatures or respiratory symptoms (e.g., special entrances, having them wait in their car) to avoid exposing other patients in the waiting room.
n. Deep clean examination rooms after patients with respiratory symptoms and clean rooms between all patients.
o. Establish procedures for building disinfection in accordance with CDC guidance if it is suspected that an employee or patient has COVID-19 or if there is a confirmed case.
4. All businesses or operations that provide in-home services, including cleaners, repair persons, painters, and the like, must: (originally item 10 from Executive Order 2020-114)
a. Require their employees (or, if a sole-owned business, the business owner) to perform a daily health screening prior to going to the job site.
b. Maintain accurate appointment record, including date and time of service, name of client, and contact information, to aid with contact tracing.
c. Limit direct interaction with customers by using electronic means of communication whenever possible.
d. Prior to entering the home, inquire with the customer (client) whether anyone in the household has been diagnosed with COVID-19, is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, or has had close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, or has had close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. If so, the business or operation must reschedule for a different time.
e. Limit the number of employees inside a home to the minimum umber necessary to perform the work in a timely fashion.
f. Gloves should be worn when practical and disposed of in accordance with guidance from the CDC.
5. The rules described above have the force and effect of regulations adopted by the departments and agencies with responsibility for overseeing compliance with workplace health-and-safety standards and are fully enforceable by such agencies. (originally item 15 from Executive Order 2020-114). Any challenge to penalties imposed by a department or agency for violating any of the rules described above in this order will proceed through the same administrative review process as any challenge to a penalty imposed by the department or agency for a violation of its rules.
6. Any business or operation that violates the rules outlined above has failed to provide a place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to an employee, within the meaning of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act, MCL 408.1011. (Originally item 16 from Executive Order 2020-114).
7. Nothing in this order shall be taken to limit or affect any rights or remedies otherwise available under law. (Originally item 18 from Executive Order 2020-114).
Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the State of Michigan
Gretchen Whitmer, Governor
June 5, 2020