Businesses large and small across Michigan’s Great Southwest are being encouraged to take advantage of a new tool being pressed into action by the Berrien County Health Department designed to ensure health and safety for both members of their staff and the people they serve as clients and customers. 
The newly launched “Back2WorkSafe” Employer and Organization Wellness Tracking Tool is an online system from the Berrien County Health Department to help employers with maintaining safe operations and keeping their employees’ health as a top priority, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
With many businesses, organizations, and facilities now open across Berrien County, employers are focused on ensuring health and safety for their patrons and staff as well as complying with all Executive Orders in Michigan with worker safety precautions and COVID-19 reporting requirements.
The newly launched “Back2WorkSafe” Tracking Tool is an online platform that provides employers with an easy way to track of the number of employee illnesses in aggregate across multiple worksites to make informed decisions about operations, as well as to report any COVID-19 positive cases among staff to the Berrien County Health Department through the secure platform. The web-based tool is secure, easy to navigate, and free for any Berrien County employer or organization to use.
Nicki Britten, Health Officer for the Berrien County Health Department, says, “We know employers are finding their ‘new normal’ in operating despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; the Back2WorkSafe online platform provides an easy way for employers to monitor and manage employee illness in their worksites and allows for direct reporting of the number of COVID-19- positive staff to the Berrien County Health Department without having to add another phone call to the to-do list.” She adds, “Collectively, we all must keep doing our part to keep virus transmission low and support a healthy, safe work environment for our whole community.”
Employers who use the Back2WorkSafe platform will be able to create a secure log-in with a personalized dashboard showing aggregate, de-identified information about employee illnesses over time for multiple worksites to aid in making smart decisions about operations. Additionally, the platform provides a direct link for reporting the number of employees who test positive for COVID-19 directly to the Berrien County Health Department, which will help employers fulfill Executive Order requirements of reporting COVID-19 positive employees within 24 hours of notification to the local health department.
The Berrien County Health Department will receive the collected aggregate, de-identified information regarding all illnesses across the many county workplaces to monitor areas where people are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. This information will greatly assist public health efforts for syndromic surveillance and allows for resources, testing, and education to be targeted to potential COVID-19 ‘hot spots’ that could develop in any particular area.
Employers, businesses, and organizations are encouraged to create a free account today at this link: http://www.back2worksafe.com or email healthyworksites@bchdmi.org with questions or for technical assistance.
