5 Questions to Ask When Selecting a Partner to Implement AEA Safety Guidelines for Broadway's Big Return

Equal parts scary, but exhilarating, Broadway is back in business!

Like you, producers and theaters are finding themselves at a perplexing crossroad, wondering:

- What do the AEA regulations really mean?

- How can I effectively implement the regulations to prevent staining my heard-earned reputation if an error is made?

While true that returning to the stage now requires production expertise in all thing's infectious disease prevention, the good news is you do not have to climb the mountain alone! There's no need to recreate the wheel. You can trust the science-based protocols and risk mitigation strategies tested and perfected by infectious disease experts in like-minded industries.

What are the must-have processes known only by insiders? Get the answers in the FREE Webinar, featuring Axiom Medical's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Scott Cherry.

Health and Safety in Action - TV & Film Production

In what became the breakthrough LA-based production houses needed to successfully resume filming, unconventional partnerships developed between productions and third-party medical health providers.

Deemed an essential worker industry, the eyes of America were on TV and film. The ask was significant, and stakes had never been higher. Mass testing cadences, daily health assessments, and contact tracing would need to be deployed and designed to work in tangent with strict exposure and transmission mitigation practices on set. It was the ultimate Goliath!

Applauded then and likely to continue for years to come, productions did what they do best - source experienced experts and create something new!

Like AEA guidelines, the Safe Way Forward was the pathway to safely resuming TV and film production. Reliance on third-party preventive medicine and occupational health providers meant producers could feel confident of cast and crew safety. Reputation-damaging and career-ending outbreak mistakes didn't have to be feared and in true cinematic and serendipitous fashion, the two previously unassociated industries began making a difference together!

Top 5 Questions to Ask When Selecting a Health Partner to Implement AEA Guidelines

Your return to the stage can be just as successful as TV and film.

Bluntly stated, implementing AEA production guidelines will not be easy. However, the guidelines are easily manageable with the help and expertise of qualified health partners who navigate these challenges daily.

Remember, you're looking for effective communicators, honesty and transparency.

Consider asking the following questions when selecting a third-party health partner:

1. What medical credentials and qualifications do your infectious disease production teams have?

Theater industry employers will want to ensure the medical production team is experienced in occupational health, population health management and preventive medicine. Direct program oversight should be under the direction of a board-certified preventive medicine physician with knowledge, experience, and proficiency of effective infectious disease management.

Onsite program providers may include:

- Infection Control Specialists (ICS)

- Health Safety Supervisors (HSS)

- Test Administrators

- Nurse Case Managers

2. What health and safety infectious disease guidelines do you utilize?

Whether managing COVID-19 or other infectious diseases within the workplace, third-party health partners should closely monitor guidance to maintain compliance at the local, state, and federal levels.

Regulatory agencies developing guidelines may include but are not limited to:

- Actors' Equity Association (AEA)

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

- World Health Organization (WHO)

3. Can you provide onsite testing, disease management, contact tracing, daily health attestations, vaccinations and monitor preventive environmental controls?

You can't protect and intervene in something that cannot be seen onsite! Third-party health partners should have the resources to support your production to the unique degree needed, taking into consideration size of cast, crew, and patrons, production schedules, and varied zone-specific testing cadences.

Consider technology options utilized by the partner to schedule testing, provide secure testing results in a HIPAA compliant manner and streamlined processes for vaccine tracking and verification.

Should an exposure or positive test occur, an onsite presence by medical professionals will aid with prompt isolation, medical management and contact tracing until cleared to return to work.

4. What is unique about your risk mitigation strategy to prevent production illness outbreaks?

Word to the wise, never trust a single solution approach!

Illness screening technology continues to change and improve daily. However, it is merely a tool which can make false positive or negative errors.

For best practice outcomes, ensure the health partner utilizes a comprehensive layered approach.

5. What best practices will be vital for theatre production?

Great production outcomes come from best practice strategies, as outlined by AEA.

Ask about the AEA's guidelines, focusing on:

- Taking reasonable precautions at the workplace.

- Keeping the workforce up to date with information.

- Seeking professional support to implement a workplace-focused program.

- Adapting to a problem-solving approach.

- Shifting to an action-based mindset.

AEA principals include:

- Extensive Testing: The Actor's Equity Association currently recommends daily, bi-, and tri-weekly testing. Testing is the only way to identify infected individuals and quarantine them to cease the spread of this disease.

- Identify and Isolate: Once a positive case is identified, the ICS or COVID-19 Infection Control Specialist will work with the individual and help with the following steps, including quarantine, disinfection, and contact tracing. The ICS should ensure social distancing, reduced occupancy limits, testing, symptom monitoring, regular sanitation, and PPE training.

- Minimize Onsite Exposure: To minimize the onsite exposure on the theatrical venues, AEA suggests workplace setting modifications adhering to the social distance guidelines and indoor ventilation requirements.

- Collaborative Infection Control Plan: To control the spread of illness, AEA advises taking a collaborative approach. From working with an ICS to develop an infection-control program implementing production-specific risk mitigation action plans, theater-production employers must consider working together with stage actors, onsite officers, and managers to ensure the safety of their members.

Quick Tip: Don't forget to educate and reassure patrons of implemented safety measures for their health and wellness!

Axiom Medical Can Help!

Infection control and effective health management is our specialty. With a 20+ year history of being industry leaders in occupational health, population health and preventive medicine, productions now call on Axiom Medical to do the heavy production health and safety lifting across the globe.

We have the knowledge, experience and data, showcasing our successful track record with mitigating production illness risk.

We do the work; you take the credit!

For more information, download the FREE Broadway Stages Set for Safety Guide with easy to understand, step by step approaches for maintaining compliance with AEA guidelines.

Additional resources:

- OnSite Services (Rapid Testing, Antigen/Antibody Assay, PCR Testing, and At-home Test Kits)

- COVID-19 Vaccination Program (Vaccine scheduling and onsite administering)

- Infection Control (CheckIn2Work, CRIA, and risk assessment)

See you on the stage!

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