COVID-19 Resources Update Employer Solutions

Advocate Aurora Health's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a confidential benefit providing services via telephone or video to employees, their household family members and leaders. These services can prove useful as employees and employers navigate workplace challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

EAP counselors can support employees with:

• Challenges from feeling anxious, stressed, depressed, worried or overwhelmed
• Difficulty adapting to virus-related lifestyle changes
• Concerns related to at-risk or infected family and friends
• Fears of going to work or panic attacks
• Evaluations of psychological difficulties and referrals for behavioral health providers

Work-Life Services

• Child and elder day care provider referrals
• Financial referrals for 30-minute consultations on debt, budgeting and planning
• Legal referrals for 30-minute consultations with an attorney

Services for Leaders

• Leader consultation on:
  • Providing support for employees who become infected with COVID-19
  • Inadequate staffing
  • General staff concerns
  • Feelings of isolation among staff
  • Employees refusing to come into work due to contagion fears
• Presentations on a variety of topics, including:
  • Resilience
  • Well-being
  • Stress management and coping
• Psychological First Aid Services for groups or individuals. Departments or individuals may experience trauma and grief from various potentially traumatic events. Contact EAP to discuss options.
• All other policy related EAP services remain available.

For more information, call 800-236-3231.

All patients will be screened for symptoms of COVID-19 at the time of scheduling and at the time of entry into our facilities. We are asking employers to have employees contact the occupational health clinics directly to schedule appointments so the screening can take place at that time.

Advocate Aurora Occupational Health is striving to provide the services you and your employees require during this pandemic. Our providers are seeing all work injuries at our clinics or as virtual visits using the LiveWell with Advocate Aurora Health mobile app or MyAdvocateAurora website. We also continue to provide your new hire annual physicals including but not limited to drug screens, DOT exams, TB screenings and vaccines and/or titers. 

At this time due to OSHA guidance and safety, we will be providing the following additional services as specified below:

• Audiology exams starting June 5
• Pre-placement functional tests (lifting tests) can be done if pre-arranged with your clinic
• No pulmonary function testing
• Fit testing for all masks. Employee must bring their own to the clinic.
• Breath alcohols will be replaced by DOT approved saliva tests for screening and confirmations, when needed, will be done on a breath alcohol device starting June 1

Our new Centralized Scheduling Call Center provides a single access point for scheduling, rescheduling or canceling appointments at most of our locations. You and your employees can call 833-986-2170 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to get answers to questions or manage appointments.

You still can contact a clinic directly for results or to speak with a provider or case manager.  You’ll also need to contact the following clinics directly to manage appointments: Aurora Manitowoc Clinic – Manitowoc, Aurora BayCare Health Center – West Mason, Aurora Health Center – Peshtigo, Aurora BayCare Health Center and Aurora Medical Center Bay Area Mobility Center. 

As of June 1, all Wisconsin Occupational Health sites are open. If you have any questions, email Occupational.Health@aah.org or call one of our clinics.

We have now reactivated all our services at the Illinois Occupational Health Sites:

• We have resumed all Drug and Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) for random and follow-up testing. While conducting BAT testing, our staff will be wearing proper protective equipment, which includes an N95 mask and face shield. Testing may be performed outside or in a separate room for added safety. Procedures will be conducted with social distancing in mind.
• We have resumed performance of all DOT medical re-certifications.
• We also have continued pulmonary function test spirometry testing. Provider recommendation is required for testing.

We’ve temporarily condensed occupational health services to our Advocate Condell Immediate Care Center in Gurnee. Any existing pre-employment appointments will be rescheduled to the Gurnee office. Our staff will remain at the Advocate Condell Immediate Care Center in Vernon Hills for any workers' compensation injuries and follow-up appointments.

Our remaining staff from the Vernon Hills office will be working out of the Gurnee office. Services will remain the same except for pulmonary function testing, which has been suspended due to respiratory precautions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For more information regarding services at the Gurnee or Vernon Hills offices, you can email Joseph.barbosa@advocatehealth.com or Kim.mann@advocatehealth.com.

For general questions regarding our Illinois occupational health sites, email AMG-OccupationalHealthShared@advocatehealth.com.

*Centers offering modified services

All Illinois on-site wellness services have been postponed through Sunday, May 31, 2020. Email our team at ahc-advocate-wellness@advocatehealth.com if you’re interested in remote or virtual programs such as coaching via telephone.

All Wisconsin on-site wellness services have been postponed through Sunday, May 31, 2020. Email our team at wellness@aah.org if you’re interested in remote or virtual programs, such as coaching via telephone.

Most of the Advocate Aurora Health Care Employer Clinics in Wisconsin are temporarily closed. For those that remain open, the employer clinic provider is seeing participants of the clinic during the agreed upon hours either face-to-face and virtually depending on the concern or solely virtually.

Employer clinics that are temporarily closed are not being billed for hours since care and services are not being provided at this time.

For more information, email janet.teske@aah.org.

The Health Management Resources (HMR) program for Weight Management continues to deliver weight and health management services to employers and participants.

Currently all in person classes offered across Advocate Aurora Health sites are being offered through Zoom video classes. Any medical supervision is provided virtually through telephone or video visits. All HMR products will be shipped directly to participants’ homes.

Now is a great time to take advantage of the fully nutritious pre-packaged meal replacements and connect with others through the digital support tools and in weekly group classes. Contact HMRWeightManagement@aah.org to learn more.