COLLEAGUE ASSISTANCE INFORMATION DURING COVID - 19
RESOURCES TO ASSIST YOU AND YOUR FAMILY DURING THESE DIFFICULT TIMES.
Contents
EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE (SICKNESS BENEFITS)
HOUSING SUBSIDIES & ASSISTANCE (RENTAL & MORTGAGE)
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE & MEDICAL RESOURCES
COLLEAGUE ASSISTANCE & OFFICIAL RESOURCES
RESOURCES FROM OUR COLLEAGUE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Dear Colleagues,
Your SLMU/SLMH Human Resources Team has prepared this document to assist you during your absence from work. Wherever possible, weblinks have been embedded in the document to allow you to click to find the original resource.
We will continue to update you during your absence from work. If you require any assistance, please call our HR Hotline at 96787503 or 97673517 and we will do our best to assist you.
Stay Safe Team!!
Arshad and Stephanie
EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SICKNESS BENEFITS Level 3 -5: The Hotel clinic situated at the hotel premises would be the first point of reference. Once referred by the hotel clinic, further referrals would be only from Apollo hospital (or any other provider agreed by NLIC).
In-patient only covers trainees and the insurance coverage is 100% inside the network in Oman.
Annual Insurance limit: -
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Level 1 - 2: OMR 10000 Level 3 – 5: OMR 3000
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HOUSING SUBSIDIES AND ASSISTANCE
To support people and prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Government is introducing a new temporary rental supplement among other actions. • For Colleagues Living out: Locals and expats who are unable to pay their rent due to the economic impact of the novel coronavirus may be exempt from paying rent for their homes and shops, if the measures suggested by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) are approved. • Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on banks to postpone loan instalments on companies and private sector workers without accumulating interest.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
FOR THOSE WHO OWN THEIR HOMES AND HAVE MORTGAGES
When unforeseen financial circumstances impact your ability to make regular mortgage payments, it’s important for you to take quick action. With early intervention, cooperation, and a well executed plan, you can work together with your mortgage professional to find a solution to your financial difficulties. If you find yourself facing financial difficulties, as a result of temporary layoff, job loss, family income reduction, or for other reasons, it can be an overwhelming experience leaving you feeling uncomfortable and unsure of what to do. By following these three simple steps, you can make a big difference in resolving your financial difficulties. TALK TO YOUR MORTGAGE ADVISOR To increase the chance of successfully managing your financial situation through early intervention, call your professional mortgage advisor at the first sign of financial difficulty. Ask your mortgage advisor about information on the options available for managing your financial situation and keep your mortgage advisor informed as circumstances evolve. CLARIFY THE FINANCIAL PICTURE In order to help your mortgage professional fully understand your financial situation, before meeting with them, prepare a detailed list of financial obligations including any credit cards, loans, household bills with the amounts owing and their due dates. Be sure to include information about your current income, savings accounts, investments, and any other assets. STAY INFORMED The more information you have on managing your finances, the easier it will be to make the right decisions.
CAR LOAN & CREDIT CARD REPAYMENT PLANS
• Being sensitive to the current pandemic and its economic impact, many banks and financial institutions are willing to be flexible with arrangements for car loan repayments and credit card payments. • If you have a car payment that you are having a difficulty making, please reach out to your lender to make arrangements to defer all or a portion of your payments temporarily during COVID19. • If you have a credit card debt, we encourage you to reach out to your lender to make arrangements to defer all or a portion of your payments temporarily during COVID19.
DRIVER’S LICENSE AND CAR INSURANCE
• If you need to renew your driver’s license, please click the below link. • To defer your monthly insurance payments please contact your insurance company.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
PHARMACY & MEDICAL ASSISTANCE INFORMATION
PHARMACIES & MEDICAL CLINICS
• Pharmacies are an essential service and will remain open to fill prescriptions. • Medical Clinics and Doctor’s offices are also considered an essential service. • Our doctors are available in the Clinic as well as the nurses for any type of consultations before
PRESCRIPTION REFILLS
• During this crisis, pharmacists have the ability to refill prescriptions without the need for a medical note, to keep doctor’s offices available to focus on those in most need. • If you need to refill an existing prescription, please call your regular pharmacist or drug store that has your medical information on file to inquire about a refill. • If the pharmacist is not able to refill your prescription without approval from your physician, contact the clinic by telephone to inquire about obtaining a refill. In many cases, the clinic will have your doctor confirm the refill with you over the telephone. • Your doctor will then fax a prescription refill to your pharmacy of choice. • If you don’t need to visit a medical clinic or urgent care centre at this time – don’t. Leave the doctors to focus on those who need their medical assistance most and avoid exposing yourself to sick people.
IN PERSON EXAMINATIONS (OUTSIDE COVID-19 TESTING OR ASSESSMENTS)
• Please call your doctor or medical clinic to arrange for a telephone appointment with your doctor.
• If you need to book an appointment an in - person examination is required the doctor’s o ffice will arrange for an appointment over the telephone.
IN PERSON EXAMINATIONS (COVID-19 RELATED SYMPTOMS)
The Government and Ministry of Health recommends you to avoid contact with others and self-isolate at home for at least 10 days if you have symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat or sneezing, avoid contact with others and self-isolate at home for at least 10 days. While at home, take care of yourself by drinking lots of water and getting plenty of rest. After 10 days, if your temperature is normal and you feel better, you can return to your routine activities. Coughing may persist for several weeks, so a cough alone does not mean you need to continue to self-isolate for more than 10 days.
If your symptoms worsen, for example you have mild shortness of breath, contact your health care provider or the Human Resources Team at any time. If you are going to visit your health care provider, call them ahead of time so they can arrange for you to be assessed safely. Wear a mask in order to protect others. If your symptoms are severe (difficulty breathing/chest pains etc) call 555.
CONTACT DETAILS OF PHARMACIES AND HOSPITALS
Apollo Hospital – 2478 8265 NMC Specialty Hospital – 2481 1706 Bader AL Sama Hospital – 2479 9760 Muscat Pharmacy Wadi Kabir – 2481 7331 Lulu Pharmacy – 2202 2942 Apollo Hospital Pharmacy – 2478 8265
SLV’S COLLEAGUE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Shangri-La Hotel Muscat values its team and recognizes that Colleagues may benefit from professional and confidential assistance in dealing with a variety of personal related issues. The goal of a CAP is to provide timely, accessible, neutral, professional and confidential assistance so that Colleagues get the help they need as quickly as possible, and ideally before their well being has been affected. Our CAP, currently administered by Arshad and Stephanie, is designed to assist employees with a variety of personal issues including depression, anxiety, stress, parenting, couples relationships, as well as financial issues and other concerns requiring specialized or long term services. Our CAP provides confidential and professional counselling. There is no cost to Colleagues or immediate family members. During this unsettling time, Arshad and Stephanie may be a fantastic resource to Colleagues, to aide in areas of mental health, anxiety and financial wellbeing. With coronavirus (COVID-19) now a global pandemic, anxiety and stress levels may be higher than normal for many people. If you already struggle with mental health problems, you may worry about the impact of COVID-19 on your condition. The team is respecting the Disease Control’s recommendations of social distanci ng, and although they are not able to offer face to face counselling at this time, they continue to provide services including:
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Virtual Counselling Sessions Sessions over the phone
OFFICIAL AND RELIABLE INFORMATION RESOURCES ON COVID-19 Recognizing that there is an abundance of information circulating online, it is recommended that Colleagues who seek to receive reliable information should avoid reviewing blogs, social media and subjective information that may appear to contradict and discredit official information.
Official and up-to-date information from the Government of Oman may be obtained by CLICKING HERE
Official information on Symptoms and Treatment can be obtained by CLICKING HERE
Official information on Preventing Coronavirus Infection can be obtained by CLICKING HERE
Official Information on the Transportation in Muscat during COVID – 19 by CLICKING HERE
CONTACT DETAILS OF SUPERMARKETS & MONEY EXCHANGE
Wadi Kabir Supermarket – 9300 4483 Abbas Coffee Shop – 9872 0123 Jaleel Coffee Shop – 9516 6016 Star Cafe – 9188 6601 Lulu Hypermarket, Wadi Kabir – 2482 1111
Oman United Exchange – 9923 6693
D on’t Let FEAR of COVID-19 TURN INTO STIGMA
Social Distance NOT Social Isolation
If you don’t already, you will soon know someone who has been ill with Covid-19 and survived. They will be our friends, our family, our neighbours and our colleagues. History will judge us by the way we treat them. Unfortunately, as my and others’ research makes clear, stigma has exacerbated the suffering from every major infectious disease epidemic in our history, and it will certainly play a role in the current Covid-19 pandemic. Stigma is an evolutionary response: We are hard-wired to physically distance ourselves from others who could infect us. We have an entire suite of evolved reactions, called “parasite avoidance,” to prevent us from maintaining contact with others who may carry communicable diseases. These reactions are what make us feel disgusted by signs of sickness, such as vomiting or skin lesions, whether these signs represent an actual threat to our own health.
The good news is that scientists working in diverse disease contexts have identified tools that can be leveraged to address stigma during Covid-19, including strategies for both reducing stigma and strengthening resilience, so that even if people are exposed to stigma they may not be as negatively affected by it. Education is one of the most popular tools to deconstruct stigma. It can dispel harmful stereotypes, such as that Asian Americans are more likely to have Covid-19. Local and national leaders who fall ill to Covid-19 should be open about their diagnosis to help normalize the disease. When NBA star Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive, HIV testing rates increased dramatically across the nation. In this regard, social media posts from celebrities who have the disease are also likely to help lift the taboo. I’ve been reminding colleag ues and friends: If Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson can get Covid-19, we all can. Corporate leaders can clarify that organizational values of inclusion, acceptance, and diversity extend to people who are affected by Covid- 19. In some instances, enforcing anti-discrimination policies may be necessary. A patient who is fully recovered from Covid-19 is no longer infectious and should not be treated any differently from his or her colleagues. Corporate leaders can also create clear and confidential guidelines for reporting and responding to COvid-19 cases among employees, so that employees feel safe reporting if they become sick and secure that they will have a job when they have recovered. Organizations should also invest in wellness programs that promote resilience to stigma and other stressors. For example, mindfulness activities help to improve resilience to a wide range of stressors and there are a variety of platforms facilitating access to them. While leadership is important, we all play a vital role in removing stigma during a pandemic. Indeed, one of our best reduction and resilience tools is simple social support. Employees can schedule virtual coffee hours, lunches, and happy hours with their co-workers to check in on them. We can call and send texts to our neighbours, especially those who have been sick, to update them on our lives and express hope of re- connection after social-distancing measures are lifted. We should also talk openly about the mental health struggles we are all facing — opportunities to talk with others about stressors including stigma can promote positive coping and mental well-being. Although stigma is an evolved reaction to disease, it is not an inevitable one. Stigma divides and turns us against each other, but pandemics remind us of how connected we all are. Our shared vulnerability to this virus is a source of solidarity. We must remember that the virus — not people with Covid-19 or affected by Covid-19 — is the enemy.
The Toll of STIGMA
My decades of research show that stigma harms the mental and physical health of people with disease. This stigma can take the forms of social rejection, gossip, physical violence, and denial of services. Experiencing stigma from others can lead to elevated depressive symptoms, stress, and substance use. Alarmingly, people don’t have to experience stigma from others to be negatively affected by it. Just anticipating Stigma from other people — perhaps because you’ve already seen sick people be ostracized or judged for their illness — can lead to anxiety and stress. Infected people may also internalize stigma, believing that they did something wrong or are a bad person because they became infected with a disease. The fact that many Covid-19 patients are medically isolated compounds the problem — patients under such separation orders have been shown to be at greater risk of distress.
Coronavirus: Savvy Strategies for the Supermarket Staying healthy is on everyone’s mind right now, and while there is no food or supplement that can prevent the transmission of COVID-19, eating well supports our immune system and is a pillar of physical and mental health. If trips to the supermarket are stressful in the current context, there are strategies you can implement to limit your visits and still enjoy a healthy, nutrient rich diet. Stock piling food is neither necessary nor recommended, but grabbing some healthy, budget friendly staples is a smart way to make sure you always have healthy options on hand.
5 Savvy supermarket strategies to navigate the outbreak:
1. Healthy frozen fare: Skip the frozen dinners and head for the fruits and veggies in the freezer aisle! Did you know that frozen fruits and veggies are as nutritious as fresh? Think beyond the classic corn, peas and carrots. Avocados, squash, edamame, berries, mango and pineapple are all available in the freezer section – best of all, they come washed, peeled and chopped, ready to throw in a recipe. 2. Prioritize produce: Some vegetables and fruit last longer than others. Pick your fresh leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes and berries for use in the short term, and choose fruits and veggies with a longer shelf life for later in the week or month. Carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, squash, apples and citrus can all last weeks and some even months. Store them uncut and unwashed in the pantry or fridge. 3. Rejoice for jars: Vegetables like olives, marinated artichoke or roasted red peppers are easily found in jars and make excellent additions to soups, stews and salads. Look for options with little or no added sugar. 4. Culinary canned goods: Rather than shop for canned soup or spaghetti loaded with salt and sugar, choose canned ingredients that you can cook with like diced tomatoes, tuna or legumes. 5. Safe shopping: Be cautious and considerate by sending one person in the household to do the grocery shopping for everyone. Some supermarkets also offer delivery – check the policy at your local store. A healthy diet is important to our physical and mental well-being. Choosing nutrient rich foods is a good way to practice self-care, support your immune system and feel your best in stressful times. Your Employee Assistance Program can help. Nutrition Counselling Services provides over-the- phone consultation with our Hygiene and Gym Colleagues who can assist you in planning and preparing meals that keep you and your family nourished and feeling comforted during these challenging times.
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