LANSING, Mich. — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan announced it is taking steps to protect its workforce from the coronavirus.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan said it will be closing 10 customer walk-in service centers on March 16 through March 31.
The company said the centers are in Detroit, two in Grand Rapids, Flint, Holland, Lansing, Marquette, Portage, Southfield and Traverse City.
“With the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Michigan, Blue Cross is quickly taking steps to protect our workforce while maintaining operations that are critical to the health of the people we serve,” said Daniel J. Loepp, BCBSM president and CEO. “We agree with Gov. Whitmer’s call for companies like ours to expand opportunities for employees to work remotely and virtually and cancel large meetings. We are putting those types of changes into effect immediately.”
The company said it will also be doing the following:
• BCBSM will require eligible employees not currently participating in its remote work program, “BlueSpace,” to work remotely 2 or 3 days per week. This will lower the daily number of employees at BCBSM facilities and lessen the potential threat of virus transmission.
• The company is suspending all but the most essential business air travel through April 30.
• Visitors to company facilities will be required to complete a questionnaire about their recent travel activity as a condition of entering.
• Facilities will be cleaned and sanitized on a more frequent schedule starting immediately, with emphasis placed on buildings and work areas where large numbers of employees work daily.
• Large, in-person meetings will be rescheduled or held virtually using online platforms.
“We are taking steps to lessen the potential impact of the virus spreading within our workforce, but we also have an obligation to continue critical operations,” Loepp said. “There are telephone customer service and claims processing functions that our members depend upon and that require our employees to report to our facilities. These operations will continue, but we will significantly enhance our cleaning and sanitizing efforts around our employees’ workspaces.”
Want to see more local news ? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Apple and Android
and
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
