St. Luke’s Occupational Medicine is providing COVID-19 screening services to protect the health and well-being of workers at Lehigh Valley region firms and to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Nestlé Waters and Samuel Adams Pennsylvania Brewery, both Breinigsville, and Piramal Critical Care, Bethlehem, are among companies that have teamed up with St. Luke’s to protect their workforce, helping to ensure their plants can remain open and operations continue in a safe environment.

“Currently, we are screening more than 6,000 employees daily from 15 businesses which are based in various counties throughout the region, including Lehigh, Northampton, and Montgomery counties,” said Kyra Dodson, St. Luke’s Worksite Injury Prevention Coordinator, who is spearheading the effort.

“More are coming on line. We expect to be screening over 10,000 employees from more than 25 businesses in coming weeks and expand our reach into Berks and Monroe counties,” Dodson said.

St. Luke’s Occupational Medicine has assembled health-care providers to combat COVID-19 in the workplace. St. Luke’s athletic trainers, who normally work in schools, have been redeployed to help provide the service.

“Our team is comprised of nurses, medical assistants and athletic trainers,” said Dodson. “These providers are onsite daily, during all shifts, to identify symptomatic employees using guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control.

“They also conduct temperature screenings on all employees every day. If an employee is identified as symptomatic, they follow their employer’s guidelines, which may include self-quarantine, contacting their doctor or testing for the virus,” Dodson said.

“At Nestlé Waters, we remain focused on how we can best support our employees and our communities during this public health crisis. We are especially grateful for the extraordinary efforts of our employees on the front lines,” said Bill Trackim, Vice President, Head of Technical & Production, Supply Chain and Procurement, Nestlé Waters.

“Partners like St. Luke’s Occupational Medicine, who are conducting a wellness screening process at our Allentown factories, play an important role in keeping our employees safe, as they work tirelessly to produce and deliver to our customers the water they need during this critical time,” Trackim said.

Piramal Critical Care’s Bethlehem Plant produces Sevoflurane, Isoflurane, and Desflurane, which are inhaled anesthesia products, for sale to hospitals and surgical centers around the world.

“Partnering with St. Luke’s for temperature screening has provided a sound approach for mitigating potential exposure of our employees to the COVID-19 virus,” said Keith Zimpfer, Vice President of Site Operations, Piramal Critical Care.

“It also provides a high level of reassurance to our employees, which allows them to focus on what they do best, supplying our critical care anesthesia products to patients all over the world,” Zimpfer said.

“We’ve been able to coordinate this effort in partnership with St. Luke’s Sports Medicine as more than 50 athletic trainers have been redeployed to support this effort. In normal times, our ATs [Athletic Trainers] would be providing essential care to student athletes as they trained and competed in spring sports, but the COVID-19 virus has given them a new playing field,” Dodson said.

“The ability to step in and assist our Occupational Medicine Department in safeguarding the workplace has been essential to keeping supply chains moving across the region,” said John Hauth, Senior Network Administrator, Sports Medicine Relationships, St. Luke’s University Health Network.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, certified athletic trainers from St. Luke’s Sports Medicine have been asked to utilize their diverse skill set to support this effort and also a number of other key initiatives,” Hauth said.

“If we can identify a symptomatic employee prior to them entering the facility, we’ve mitigated a potential exposure to several hundred people,” said Dodson, adding, “Our presence allows these essential businesses to operate in a safer manner and instills confidence in the employees.”

“This initiative has kept plants operating and many of their employees working, while having a direct impact on flattening the curve in our region,” said Jeff Kowalski, Senior Network Director, Urgent Care and Occupational Medicine, St. Luke’s University Health Network, adding, “I believe this model is unique to industry and I am proud St. Luke’s is part of the solution.”