COVID-19
What You Need to Know
AGD Initiatives
- AGD continues to update its Coronavirus Resource page.
- AGD currently has three new free webinars in production. The first webinar, covering Employment and HR Issues will launch on Tuesday, March 31.
- AGD's This Week for Monday, March 22 has new valuable COVID information and resources.
- Keep an eye out on Thursday, March 26 for a new free AGD Benefit with a communication vendor that will allow you to continue to communicate with your patients during office shutdowns.
Advocacy
- All AGD members are encouraged to respond to both AGD Advocacy and ADA Advocacy Calls to Action by sending emails to their representatives in Congress for future COVID-19 legislative issues.
Business Concerns
- The Georgia Academy of General Dentistry hosted a Town Hall on Facebook on Friday, March 20 covering topics relating to legal, cashflow, and HR questions. You can view the Town Hall recording here.
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(from a letter written by ADA President Chad P. Gehani, DDS): The Department of Labor (DOL) has released summary overviews of what the law will require of employers (and employees) for emergency paid sick leave and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Please keep in mind that we anticipate further guidance from the Department of Labor to clarify these provisions. Once we receive the additional guidance, we will send an update that may assist you with your business decisions. The summary outlines can be found here:
As you read the DOL guidance (above), please keep in mind that the ADA is still awaiting a response from the Department of Labor on our request that dental offices as small businesses (50 or fewer employees) be exempt from the emergency sick leave and FMLA, which would alter the requirements and impact of these provisions.
N-95 Masks
In a news release posted in 2006, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota had this to say about the reuse of masks:
N95 respirators, in contrast, are used in both medical and industrial settings to protect wearers from inhaling harmful microscopic particles, the IOM said. They are designed to fit snugly around the mouth and nose. When properly fitted, they should filter out 95% of aerosol particles.
The committee stressed that neither type of device has been tested for its ability to protect people from flu viruses.
The IOM says that little is known about the effectiveness of masks and respirators or even about how flu viruses spread.
"Even the best respirator or surgical mask will do little to protect a person who uses it incorrectly, and we know relatively little about how effective these devices will be against flu even when they are used correctly," said Donald S. Burke, professor of international health and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and co-chair of the IOM committee.
Teledentistry
- Here are a number of links and resources related to teledentistry
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