CRESCENT CONNECTED
12/2/2020 | CRESCENT COMMUNICATIONS
I Got Tested, Now What?
Open and honest communication is currently one of the most invaluable tools we have to slow the spread of Covid-19. Experts say: Promptly notifying those around you if you test positive or have tested helps others know if they need to quarantine, alter their social behaviors, and determine if they need to get tested. 

How do you know when to start notifying people — after you test positive, or if you get tested, or the second you have a scratchy throat? Who needs to know? 

If you test positive or have been tested and are awaiting results for Covid-19, it’s crucial to quickly inform your management team and those with whom you’ve had (masked or unmasked) contact. But should you wait for an official diagnosis to make those calls and send those texts? Or should you start even sooner, when you feel symptoms associated with Covid? While more disclosure is generally better than less, cold and flu season is complicating matters because it’s hard to tell which illness you may be coming down with. The best practice would is, if you are reaching a point where you are considering getting a test, then that’s when you should let your SPG or manager know.

Whether it’s Covid or the flu, it doesn’t matter. They’re both infectious, and you should act the same either way. The first thing to remember is not to panic and not to blame yourself or feel guilty. This is a contagious virus, and it spreads in ways that we just aren’t prepared for. 

As uncomfortable as these conversations may be, being transparent about your diagnosis is crucial not only to the health and well-being of those closest to you but to their loved ones as well. The more we communicate with each other openly and without public shaming or rejection, the better. You can’t predict what your friends will do, but you can do your best to protect any future contacts that your friends will have.

Know your bubble. Your exposure bubble is not as small as you think. You’re not just at risk of COVID-19 from people in your inner circle, but also from anyone else they have been in contact with. https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/responsible/signs/ohio-bubble-infographic.pdf 

What do I do if I am interested in a COVID-19 test?

Crescent offers COVID-19 testing. Let your SPG know or speak to a Healthy Measures Representative to learn if you should get tested and/or get tested here onsite.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and cannot access a COVID test at Crescent, let your SPG or Manager know and contact your doctor to discuss your situation and find out how to prepare for your appointment before seeking a COVID-19 test in person.

How can diagnostic and antibody testing help reduce the spread of COVID-19?

No COVID-19 test is 100% accurate. It’s possible to test negative yet be infected (false-negative result) or test positive and not be infected (false-positive result). So it’s vital to continue to follow COVID-19 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as social distancing and wearing a mask when appropriate, until further notice.

There are two kinds of tests available for COVID-19: viral tests and antibody tests.
  • viral test tells you if you have a current infection.
  • An antibody test might tell you if you had a past infection.

Mask Wearing + Social Distancing + Engineering Controls + Handwashing = A Safe Crescent.
COVID Social Stigmas...
What is it and are you guilty of it?
Social stigma in the context of health is the negative association between a person or group of people who share certain characteristics and a specific disease. In an outbreak, this may mean people are labeled, stereotyped, discriminated against, treated separately, and/or experience loss of status because of a perceived link with a disease. 

The current COVID-19 outbreak has provoked social stigma and discriminatory behaviors against people of specific ethnic backgrounds and anyone perceived to have been in contact with the virus.

The level of stigma associated with COVID-19 is based on three main factors:

  1. It is a disease that’s new and for which there are still many unknowns.
  2. We are often afraid of the unknown.
  3. It is easy to associate that fear with ‘others’.

Understandably, there is confusion, anxiety, and fear; unfortunately, these factors are also fueling harmful stereotypes around Crescent operations. This is not the Crescent Way and will not be tolerated.
Stigma can undermine social cohesion and prompt possible social isolation of groups, which might contribute to a situation where the virus is more, not less, likely to spread. This can result in more severe health problems and difficulties controlling a virus outbreak.

Stigma can: 

  • Drive people to hide the illness to avoid discrimination 
  • Prevent people from seeking health care immediately 
  • Discourage them from adopting healthy behaviors

Blaming and shaming groups in this way can be hurtful and dangerous. It makes people targets for misplaced anger and hostility. It also creates hardships and divisions that hamper the response to the pandemic. 

COVID-19 is a virus and doesn't discriminate, and neither should we.Those recently diagnosed are not more likely to catch or spread the virus than anyone in the general population.
What you can do to reduce the COVID-19 stigma

Education is one way to fight stigma. The evidence clearly shows that stigma and fear around communicable diseases hamper our defense in stopping the spread. What works is building trust, demonstrating empathy with those affected, understanding the disease itself, and adopting effective, practical measures so people can help keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

How we communicate about COVID-19 is critical in supporting people to take effective action to help combat the disease and avoid fuelling fear and stigma. An environment needs to be created in which the disease and its impact can be discussed and addressed openly, honestly, and effectively.
Here are some tips on how to handle and avoid compounding social stigma: 

1) Get the facts about COVID-19 from reputable sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Please share them with your leadership team, family, and friends

2) Reach out to people who may feel stigmatized. Ask how you can help, report any harassment.

3) Speak up if you hear or see inaccurate statements about COVID-19 and certain people or groups.

4) Your words matter; talk about the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by Don’t attach locations or ethnicity to the disease; this is not a “Wuhan Virus”, “Chinese Virus” or “Asian Virus”. The official name for the virus was deliberately chosen to avoid stigmatization.
5) DON'T say people are “transmitting COVID-19” “infecting others” or “spreading the virus” as it implies intentional transmission and assigns blame. Using criminalising or dehumanising terminology creates the impression that those with the disease have somehow done something wrong or are less human than the rest of us, feeding stigma, undermining empathy, and potentially fuelling wider reluctance to seek treatment or attend screening, testing and quarantine.

DO say, people have acquired or have contracted COVID-19 

6) DON'T - refer to people with the virus as “COVID-19 cases”, "COVID carriers" or “victims”.
DO - talk about “people who have COVID-19” as “people who are being treated for COVID-19”, “people who are recovering from COVID-19”.
Facts, not fear will stop the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

  • Share facts and accurate information about the disease.
  • Challenge myths and stereotypes.
  • Choose words carefully. The way we communicate can affect the attitudes of others (see do’s and don’ts above).

Remember, everyone is in this together. The COVID-19 pandemic will be over sooner if fears and rumors are replaced by facts, proper action, and a show of support for one another.
Crescent Wellbeing
Reminder! Crescent Retirement Administrator Change to Empower Retirement
November 28, 2020, the recordkeeping and administrative services for your retirement plan has transitioned to Empower Retirement, with these changes come new opportunities.

What you need to know
To access, bookmark, and review your plan, visit the new website at empowermyretirement.com. Also, download the Empower Retirement app. (Log in with the same username and password you used with Fifth Third.)

Use the new Customer Care number to get any help you may need
1-800-338-4015. TTY: 800-766-4952.
Paid Time Off is yours to use- not "take"
Hear me out! This may not sound like a “reason” to use your PTO, but it is an incredibly important word choice. Serious time and calculations went into determining the vacation days you are given; it’s a part of your job agreement, just as much as your salary and benefits are.

Would you turn down a bonus or negotiate your salary down in the name of being more valuable? Of course not. Not only does that not make sense, it demonstrates what you think your time and presence are worth and diminishes it. You’re not ‘taking’ PTO. You’re using what you have earned. December is here, and although COVID may have stopped many of your 2020 travel plans, we want to remind you that all Crescent PTO rollover rules will still apply. If you don't use them, you lose them!

Time off promotes healthy values and personal boundaries, It’s easy to romanticize being the non-stop and in-demand hustler. But not only is that not healthy, it’s not empathetic to you or your co-workers. When you use your PTO time, you promote a healthier work environment, and put others at ease around you to do the same. The result? A more supportive environment of happier, healthier people.

Thinking this all sounds nice, but idealistic, or even naive? Think again.
When we are out of the office, we rest and come back recharged. You focus on what matters- your priorities, goals, relationships, and interests. Being in tune with all those help you to be a better co-worker, person, supervisor, or manager much more than months of work without any break.

Convinced and ready to spend your PTO? Good. Here’s how to do it.
  1. Find out what you have available for PTO and make a plan. Kronos has all your balances listed on your main dashboard under MY TIME
  2. Let your supervisor/manager know at minimum seven days in advance what days you are planning on taking for PTO.
  3. Make a game plan, review your projects and anticipate what will be necessary for you to do, or who you need to bring in to keep items sailing while you are gone and create your automatic out-of-office reply.

Most importantly, when you're off, you're off.  
Saying you are going on vacation but are available by email does two things:
  1. it undermines you and your time, and
  2. feeds the culture of vacation shaming. Touch base on key projects before you leave, leave an action plan while you’re gone, set up a out-of-office, and be truly out of office when you’re out of the office.
 
Shake any feeling of guilt for using your vacation days and remember they’re not a luxury- they are a necessity that benefits who you are in and out of the the operation/office.

Get Ready, Get Set, Take PTO!

Learning and Development Insights
Progressive Leadership Clinic
The Progressive Leadership clinic provides an opportunity to explore self-growth, personal development and self-actualisation whilst continuing to expand business knowledge, understanding and growth.

Crescent's Progressive Leadership clinic enrollment is free to the participant and is offered to those in a supervisor, lead, or those pursuing a leadership role at Crescent! If you are interested in being a part of this program, please email tbell@crescentpark.com.

The Next Progressive Leadership Clinic will begin February 2021!
Step Back and Let Success...
or Failure... Happen
Creating engagement requires learning to step back and allow success or failure to happen. It’s a two-fold challenge. We find it difficult, if not impossible, to step back, because we are afraid to risk failure.

Clearly, engagement does not happen unless we first set the stage: start with trustworthy people, set clear expectations with timelines, provide training and resources, ask for commitment, and step back.