Protecting Our Essential Workers By David Zanze, President, Pinnacle Claims Management
Nothing means more to us than taking care of essential workers who ensure the continuity of our food supply. We are committed to helping businesses maintain their operations and keeping their employees safe and healthy. Many agricultural employers are implementing screening and testing protocols as part of their COVID-19 prevention program, and rest assured, Western Growers Assurance Trust (WGAT) is here to help every step of the way.
Pinnacle Claims Management, part of the Western Growers Family of Companies (WGFC), recently began offering onsite rapid COVID-19 testing services. When we created our testing solutions, our goal was threefold: • to ensure employers have a convenient and cost- effective way to test their employees • to enable employers to act quickly to prevent the spread of infection in their workplace • to help improve staff availability by making sure workers no longer have to stay at home and isolate while they wait for their COVID-19 test results Approved by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) to provide COVID-19 testing, our highly trained medical personnel use the diagnostic rapid testing devices to deliver accurate and automated COVID-19 results using direct nasal/nasopharyngeal swabs. These tests will provide employees with results in about 15 to 30 minutes and will also test for influenza. Onsite Testing at Employer Locations It’s of the utmost importance to offer employers the convenience of scheduling testing for their employees at their work sites. As most farm workers are likely to live in rural communities, our onsite testing solutions reduce the barriers to care for workers who may be more remote or have transportation issues.
Onsite rapid testing services also enable employers to act quickly to prevent the spread of infection in their workplace and limit unproductive time from staff who would otherwise be required to isolate at home while they wait for results. Oftentimes, it can take several days for third-party testing facilities to deliver results since they have to ship samples to offsite labs. Testing at our Cedar Health and Wellness Centers In addition to onsite rapid COVID-19 testing solutions at employer locations, we are offering testing at our Cedar Health and Wellness Centers throughout several locations in California—Oxnard, Watsonville, Salinas, and Santa Maria. For employers who want more information on our competitively priced testing solutions, you can reach out to Jenny Yun, manager of Clinical Services, at (949) 885-4792 or jyun@pinnacletpa.com. You can also visit our COVID-19 resources page, which contains a series of Western Growers-created guidance prepared by the experts on staff at https://www.wga.com/ covid-19-resources-page.
In addition to serving as president of Pinnacle Claims Management, Inc., David Zanze is the executive vice president of Western Growers Assurance Trust.
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MARCH | APRIL 2 021
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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