Wellness Workdays, a leading provider of corporate wellness programs, and OccMed Consulting & Injury Care, , are offering employers customized testing solutions to prevent widespread business shutdowns and get employees back to work safely amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID testing services include a PCR SARS-COVID-2 test from self-collected saliva, protocol and procedure recommendations, medical oversight and contact tracing. Saliva testing for COVID-19 has been proven by Yale researchers as a high sensitivity, low-false positive test. This testing process allows employers to assess for asymptomatic positives, provide accessible testing for those with symptoms, and facilitate clearance when travel is necessary. Ready access to reliable testing coupled with timely contact tracing and medical oversight provides greater confidence in safe business operations.
“The tests are accessible at the worksite, inexpensive and offer fast results. This gives employers the ability to monitor the spread of the virus and keep employees working safely,” said Debra Wein, CEO of Wellness Workdays.
The test process includes a self-collection kit that can be utilized to administer a testing program in the workplace or be sent home with employees to be used as directed (e.g., on a specified date to shorten a quarantine or as a repeat test to rule out COVID). Employees are required to register the test and spit into a collection tube. The testing kit includes a labeled overnight FedEx shipping envelope. The lab notifies the employee via text when the specimen has been received and sends a second text with results, typically within 24-48 hours. This saliva testing methodology is being used by universities and sports organizations, including the NBA.
“Saliva testing obviates the discomfort, inconvenience and inconsistencies of nasopharyngeal swab specimen collection. Self-collection is safer for those administering a workplace program, affords independence from local testing venues, and allows for standardization of approach across geographies to achieve efficient return to work without compromising safety,” said John Burress, MD, MPH, FACOEM, Principal of OccMed Consulting & Injury Care.
In a recent study, a team from Yale identified 70 hospital patients with COVID-19 whose infections had been confirmed with the traditional nasopharyngeal swabs. Each time a healthcare worker carried out additional nasal swab tests, the researchers asked the patients to collect a saliva specimen as well. In the first five days after diagnosis, 81% of the saliva tests came back positive, compared with 71% of the nasopharyngeal tests. A similar gap remained through the 10 days after diagnosis.
About Wellness Workdays
Wellness Workdays is a Massachusetts company with offices in New York, Florida and Texas that designs and delivers corporate wellness programs to promote employee health, productivity and a culture of well-being. Our subsidiary, OMC Wellness, based in Portland, Maine, provides population health management solutions utilizing onsite health coaching and proprietary technology to sustain measurable outcomes. A Certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise, we have earned industry recognition and best practices awards for our clients, which include New Balance, Columbia Construction, EMD Millipore, Putnam Investments, Cape Cod Healthcare, Brown University, the Maine Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rockland Trust, Titan America, Norway Savings Bank and Harvard Business School. Visit us at www.wellnessworkdays.com
About OccMed Consulting & Injury Care
OccMedCIC provides acute injury care to roughly $8 billion in ongoing construction in the Boston area via a value proposition practice model. We also service transportation, hospitality, and utility companies. We provide regional and national consultative assistance to client companies and organizations including disability management. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, OccMedCIC has supported existing and new clients with contact tracing and RTW assessments and recently with an innovative approach to testing. Clients include Vicinity Energy, Engie Energy, Turner Construction, John Moriarity & Associates, Suffolk Construction, Skanska Construction, Lee Kennedy, Consigli, AIM Mutual, New Hampshire Retirement System, PERAC of MA, WB Mason, Marriott, and ExpressMed of NH. Visit us at www.OccMedCIC.com
