(Disclosure: Rose Law Group Represents HealthyVerify Certification)
By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
Getting the economy reopened and people back to work is a priority. But those re-openings must be balanced with public health and building confidence with workers and customers.
HealthyVerify Certification — a new innovative venture based in Arizona — is working with medical and public health experts from the Barrow Neurological Institute and Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions and the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions to develop best practices and protocols as well as certifications for reopening businesses and event venues.
“The goal is to get America back to work,” said Court Rich who founded HealthyVerify Certification along with Jordan Rose. Rich is a partner and Rose is president and founder of Rose Law Group pc in Scottsdale.
HealthyVerify helps businesses and workplace develop best practices for health safety and addressing employee and customer concerns about the Coronavirus. Experts from HealthyVerify will visit and tour businesses, help them train employees and then certify best practices have been adopted.
The first organization certified by HealthyVerify is Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona—the nation’s largest Goodwill operation. Goodwill has gone through the certification process as part of the reopening of 41 stores and career centers in the Phoenix metro area.
Goodwill President and CEO Tim O’Neal said the health safety certification helped the nonprofit get its thrift stores and career centers reopened in a time with COVID-19 has cost scores of jobs and is stressing finances. O’Neal said Goodwill’s local career services have helped 11,000 residents the past 30 days. The nonprofit usually helps 400 people per month with job searches, O’Neal said during a Zoom forum on HealthyVerify yesterday.
He also expects to see even more displaced workers turn to Goodwill for career help with COVID-19 at least temporarily decimating jobs. “We think the numbers over the next month are going to double that,” O’Neal said.
Dr. Ana Moran is leading the development of HealthyVerify’s health safety programs and training protocols. She is an expert in infectious diseases with more than 20 years of experience in in the field including developing and managing hospital infection control and prevention programs. Moran is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the Barrow Neurological Institute.
She said Goodwill is perfect first business to roll out the health safety certification effort. “Goodwill was a great first project to start with because of the impact it has with the community,” Moran said.
Moran said the Scottsdale company will continue to update certified businesses and venues as more is learned about COVID-19 and how to protect public health. “These certified companies will be continually getting revised advice throughout the next 12 months,” Moran said.
Jordan Rose said HealthyVerify is also working with restaurants, resorts, casino, event and sporting venues and other businesses as they navigate reopening and build confidence in those efforts with employees and customers.
Mona Stone, general counsel and senior vice president for Goodwill, said HealthyVerify helped the nonprofit develop and establish new protocols for stores and donation centers for their reopening. That includes social distancing at donation drop-offs, plexiglass and personal protective gear at cashier stands and sanitizing door handles and counter tops multiple times each day.
The collaboration also includes training employees and managers on best practices.
“We want to make our employees and our customers are safe they are protected in coming back again,” Stone said.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey designated Goodwill an essential business earlier this month allowing stores and donation centers to reopen.
O’Neal said in addition to career help, the reopening allows Goodwill to bring back its own retail employees and the savings on items are essential for some households struggling economically during the Coronavirus.
“That’s a difference in somebody being able to to feed their family for a day or two,” he said
