GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The City of Grand Rapids along with Meijer, Michigan State University and the Kent County Health Department launched a plan for area businesses to reenter the workforce safely following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program is called Kent County: Back to Work Safely. It will use the health screening and data capturing process developed by Meijer.
During the screenings, no individual employee information is captured to maintain personal confidentiality.
“We began this journey looking for the most safe and efficient way to help our employees gain confidence as they come back to work,” said Doug DeVos, Co-Chairman, Amway.
As of today’s launch there are more than 150 Kent County employers who have signed up to participate in the program.
MSU and the Kent County Health Department collaborated on all of the backroom management needs of the program and worked with Meijer leaders to field test all aspects of the data collection.
Organizers hope to get widespread participation across the county, to provide as much data as possible to health officials and to help employees and employers return to work in a safe manner.
Employers of any size may register their site (for free) at Kent County Health’s micro-site www.kentcountybacktowork.com. This site provides all information and the option for employers to purchase a thermometer.
"We're all trying to move forward, we all understand it's a new world but we all want to move forward, we don't want to be stuck, being stuck is no fun," says DeVos.
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