PRESS RELEASE
SPRINGDALE, ARK. – May 8, 2020 – Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) announced today that it has partnered with Axiom Medical, a leading occupational health services and incident case management provider, to help support team members during the COVID-19 crisis.
Tyson Foods has already put in place a host of safeguards and guidelines to help ensure team member health and safety at all of its facilities that meet or exceed CDC and OSHA guidance. As an additional step to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, Axiom will help case manage affected team members and enhance communications with those impacted individuals and their families by providing:
- Health support, including medical monitoring of ill or exposed team members
- 24/7 telephone access to licensed medical professionals
- Facilitation of return to work clearances once team members have recovered
- Ongoing education and best practices to reduce the spread of illness in the workplace
“Our top priority is the health and safety of our team members, their loved ones, and our communities,” said Tom Brower, Senior Vice President of Health and Safety for Tyson Foods. “The additional services Axiom provides will help to ensure our team members receive appropriate medical attention when they need it and can return to work safely. We care deeply about the welfare of every team member and are committed to providing them the best support as they help us maintain a healthy and stable food supply for the nation.”
“I am delighted that we have been able to help Tyson and their team members with the challenges presented by COVID-19,” said Axiom Medical President and CEO Mark Robinson. “Tyson is an essential business-critical to feeding America, and it is a privilege to contribute to keeping Tyson team members safe in the workplace.”
Tyson Foods formed a coronavirus task force in January and has implemented numerous measures to protect workers. The company’s efforts have included:
- Taking worker temperatures before every shift and installing more than 150 infrared walk-through temperature scanners in its facilities to assist in this effort.
- Providing protective face masks to all team members and requiring that they use them while at work.
- Helping team members adhere to social distancing guidelines on the job by installing workstation and breakroom dividers, providing more breakroom space, erecting outdoor tents where possible for additional space for breaks, clearly marking appropriate 6-foot distances in common use areas, and staggering start times to avoid large gatherings as team members enter the facilities and designating monitors at each facility to help enforce social distancing.
- Partnering with Matrix Medical Network to help ensure the safety and health of team members and contractors as the company begins to reopen some facilities.
- Temporarily employing furloughed nurses and nursing students who will augment the current Tyson staff dedicated to managing the safe return to work process for team members.
The company has doubled its “thank you” bonus for its frontline workers. Team members who cannot come to work because of illness or childcare issues related to COVID-19 will continue to qualify. Tyson Foods has also increased short-term disability coverage to 90% of normal pay until June 30 to encourage team members to stay home when they are sick.
Holly is an ER nurse by trade, but loves content marketing. She was born outside the box and believes everything is better with “sprinkles and sparkles”. She is passionate about impacting lives and uses marketing as her platform for sharing practical solutions to address real life occupational health challenges.
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