Axiom Medical is an occupational health services and incident case management provider for employers and also partners with Tomball-based BJ Services, a new partner of TISD as well for the Academy of Energy and International Business opening this fall, according to the release.
“Tomball ISD is excited about our new relationship with Axiom Medical,” Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora said in the release. “We believe this will be the first incidence in the state of Texas, and possibly the nation, where an educational entity will work with an occupational health services company to address a pandemic.”
TISD staff will submit a daily health attestation via Axiom's CheckIn2Work app to prescreen staff for potentially infectious or contagious conditions before allowing access to the workplace, according to the release.
"That is a screener based on the criteria of symptoms that we have to fill out every day to determine whether or not we should report to work or not. We would go in, take a few minutes, look at those symptoms, [and] if we don't have it, then we would indicate we don't have it, and then we would move on and we would get the green light to go to work," TISD Chief of Human Talent Jeff McCanna said during a July 9 board of trustees workshop meeting.
McCanna also said Axiom Medical's medical professionals would assist TISD employees who report COVID-19 symptoms to determine whether the employee has COVID-19 or is displaying symptoms of other illnesses.
"That [medical] staff would then work with each employee to ensure that they're OK to go to work, and if not, then we would be immediately notified, and then we could reallocate or put in place substitutes to support instruction that is necessary and needed at our campuses," McCanna said July 9. "If our employees have either symptoms or exposure [to COVID-19] ... [Axiom Medical] will begin to work through a case management process follow-up, provide us real-time reporting and then do all of the legwork that's necessary for contact tracing so that we can understand who we need to communicate with."
Axiom Medical will help TISD manage affected district staff members and enhance communications with those affected individuals and their families, according to the release, as an additional step to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This means Axiom Medical will provide health support—including medical monitoring of ill or exposed district staff—24/7 phone access to licensed medical professionals, and ongoing education and best practices to reduce the spread of illness in the workplace as well as facilitating return-to-work clearance for staff members who have recovered, the release states.
“Axiom gave us case management options, outlining how we would work through the best school-based solution if and when one of our staff members tests positive,” Salazar-Zamora said in the release. “It inspires confidence to know that we have fully HIPPA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act]-compliant experts in the field that can help us navigate from onset to leaving the workplace to returning to work.”
The partnership between TISD and Axiom Medical is the first of its kind for Axiom Medical, said Mark Robinson, the CEO and president of Axiom Medical, in the release.
“Working with Tomball ISD expands our reach into the educational sector, which is critical to the future of this country,” he said. “This is also our first time to partner with a nonprofit organization, which will serve as a future model for us. For Axiom, it was an easy call to allocate development resources and commercial bandwidth to make this relationship work.”
The partnership between the two entities will begin rolling out for staff members this fall.
“As an educational district, we strive for innovative practices and unique experiences. This alliance shows that Axiom is committed to the greater good in our community,” Salazar-Zamora said in the release. “I have peace of mind knowing we are working with these experts to ensure the health and safety of students and employees.”
