CLEVELAND — As the world continues dealing with coronavirus, the Cleveland Clinic has its own plan of action.
Among the highlights: A change to the hospital's absence policy.
“Effective immediately and until further notice, Cleveland Clinic is suspending the application of absence occurrences related to Cleveland Clinic-approved time away from work due to COVID-19,” according to a letter sent to workers from the Clinic’s CEO and President Tom Mihaljevic.
3News obtained a copy of that letter, which you can read in full below:
Dear caregivers,
Our primary concern remains the safety and well-being of our patients and caregivers.
Following up on my communication yesterday, I want to share some additional precautions we are putting in place to ensure your safety.
Here are the additional steps we are taking as of March 10, 2020.
- Absences: Effective immediately and until further notice, Cleveland Clinic is suspending the application of absence occurrences related to Cleveland Clinic-approved time away from work due to COVID-19. More information will be shared in the coming days.
- Business travel: We are now restricting all international and domestic business travel until further notice. Please postpone requests to book business travel until we lift this restriction.
- In-person meetings: We are asking caregivers to replace in-person meetings with a virtual option (Skype).
- Cleveland Clinic events: We are in the process of reviewing all upcoming Cleveland Clinic-hosted events, including Continuing Medical Education (CME), to determine which should be canceled or postponed.
These apply to all Cleveland Clinic locations nationally and internationally.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we implement these new precautions. We will continue to keep you informed.
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Last week, the Cleveland Clinic suspended all nonessential international business travel amid the coronavirus concerns.
As of Wednesday morning, March 10, there are only three confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ohio -- all of which are in Cuyahoga County.