January 26, 2021

Rapid COVID-19 Testing Now Available

Pinnacle Claims Management, part of the Western Growers Family of Companies (WGFC), is now offering rapid COVID-19 testing at employer locations as well as our Cedar Clinic Health and Wellness Centers in Oxnard, Santa Maria, Salinas, and Watsonville.

Pinnacle has obtained approval by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) to provide COVID-19 testing. Our diagnostic rapid testing devices will allow our trained medical personnel to deliver highly accurate and automated COVID-19 results using direct nasal/nasopharyngeal swabs. These tests will provide employees with results in about 15 to 30 minutes and will also test for influenza.

Your Obligation to Employees

On November 20, 2020, Cal/OSHA approved emergency temporary standards for COVID-19 infection prevention. These new standards require affected employers to:

  • Establish, implement and maintain an effective written COVID-19 prevention program
  • Provide COVID-19 testing to exposed or potentially exposed employees
  • Investigate COVID-19 cases in the workplace and determine which employees may have been exposed
  • Notify employees of potential exposure within one business day
  • Offer COVID-19 testing at no cost during working hours
  • Inform all employees about how they can obtain testing and provide periodic, at least weekly or twice per week (depending on the magnitude of the outbreak) COVID-19 testing to all employees in an “exposed workplace” during an outbreak.

Please note, federal law requires insurers and health plans to cover medically necessary COVID-19 screening and testing with no cost sharing, but it does not require health insurers and health plans to cover work-related screening and testing (most, if not all carriers, exclude it).

By ensuring employees have access to convenient rapid COVID-19 testing, employers can make informed decisions about an employee’s return to work and help control the spread of the virus.

We are committed to providing these onsite services to your employees to help limit the spread of COVID-19 in your workforce and communities. For more information on our competitively priced testing solutions, please reach out to Jenny Yun, Manager of Clinical Services, at (949) 885-4792 or [email protected]. We consider it a privilege to serve you and look forward to continuing to be your partner on the path to better health for you and your employees.