SPP COVID-19 Response Update - July 1, 2020
Dear stakeholders –
I hope this message finds you well. This week we notified our staff of our first confirmed case of COVID-19 among employees. Our human resources and emergency management teams were well prepared to support the employee and take action to protect others. Our contact-tracing protocols determined the employee had not been on the SPP campus throughout the pandemic, and no other employees were exposed.
We continue to see a dramatic rise in confirmed cases and hospitalizations in our community due to the pandemic. SPP’s minimal exposure to COVID-19 is a testament to the precautions our organization has taken and the dedication our staff have to each other’s safety and health. We began a work-from-home policy for the majority of employees in March of this year. Our staff have seamlessly transitioned to remote work and have maintained our services without disruption for nearly four months and counting.
The current target date for an initiation of our phased return to campus plan is still Sept. 8, 2020. Our return depends in part on measures of community health and safety. If our community meets those milestones, we will be ready for that date. We will continue best practices to keep our employees healthy and provide our essential services.
Our leadership team continues to prepare for a time when our staff can return to a new era of work and collaboration in our Little Rock office. Environmental consultants from the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health had a positive review of our campus and protocols and provided actionable steps for us to make an eventual return to campus even safer.
As previously announced, board and other committee meetings in July will continue to be hosted by web conference. If you haven’t already, you can register for them at www.spp.org/events. Looking further ahead, even once we can safely resume business travel to visit and work alongside you, we know that the world has likely changed permanently. We’re preparing for a new paradigm in which far more of our stakeholder process will involve both in-person and remote participation. We are developing innovative ways to make sure that no matter how you interact and participate with us and other stakeholders, your voice will be heard and you will be included.
As always, you can stay updated on our pandemic response at spp.org/covid-19. Please contact your customer relations representative or email communication@spp.org with questions.
Take good care,
Barbara Sugg
SPP President & CEO