The Center for Medicare Advocacy released a new report – Geography Is Not Destiny: Protecting Nursing Home Residents from the Next Pandemic – which explores facilities’ responses to the coronavirus crisis and examines how residents’ deaths were not “inevitable”, as some have claimed. The report contends that COVID-19 exploited and exacerbated long-standing …
· CMS Takes Further Steps to Ensure Medicare Beneficiaries Have Wide Access to COVID-19 Antibody Treatment · COVID-19 Vaccines and Monoclonal Antibody Infusion: Enforcement Discretion Relating to SNF Consolidated Billing Medicare Monoclonal Antibody COVID-19 Infusion Program Instruction (PDF) (2/16/21)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers strategies for optimizing the supply of: N95 respirators Face masks Isolation gowns Eye Protection Gloves Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPRs) Elastomeric respirators Ventilators https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/index.html Also see: Summary for Healthcare Facilities: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/strategies-optimize-ppe-shortages.html Summary for Healthcare Facilities: Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators …
DATE: June 1, 2020 REVISED 01/04/2021 TO: State Survey Agency Directors FROM: Director Quality, Safety & Oversight Group SUBJECT: Revised COVID-19 Survey Activities, CARES Act Funding, Enhanced Enforcement for Infection Control deficiencies, and Quality Improvement Activities in Nursing Homes CMS is committed to taking critical steps to protect vulnerable Americans …
For more recent information about CMS survey priorities, also see QSO memo QSO-20-31-ALL-REVISED. ————————————————————– Background CMS is committed to taking critical steps to ensure America’s health care facilities and clinical laboratories are prepared to respond to the threat of the COVID-19 and other respiratory illness. Specifically, CMS is suspending non-emergency …
For some regions of the country, recent months have brought the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities since the start of the pandemic, a new KFF analysis of state-reported cases and death shows, underscoring the importance of current efforts to vaccinate this high priority group. A second, related analysis synthesizes the …
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) Laboratories Surveyor Guidance for New and Modified CLIA Requirements Related to SARS-CoV-2 Test Result Reporting Memo # QSO-21-10-CLIA Posting Date 2021-01-08 Fiscal Year 2021 Summary • CMS is committed to taking critical steps to ensure America’s healthcare facilities continue to be prepared to …
Long-Term Care Facility Toolkit: Preparing for COVID-19 Vaccination at Your Facility Answering Common Questions About COVID-19 Vaccines This toolkit provides long-term care facility (LTCF) administrators and clinical leadership with information and resources to help build vaccine confidence among healthcare personnel (HCP) and residents. You play a critical role in providing …
CDC provides information on COVID-19 vaccinations for residents and staff: Importance of COVID-19 Vaccination for Residents of Long-term Care Facilities The Importance of COVID-19 Vaccination for Healthcare Personnel
Infection prevention and control considerations for healthcare personnel with systemic signs and symptoms following COVID-19 vaccination Note: Strategies are needed for healthcare facilities to appropriately evaluate and manage post-vaccination signs and symptoms among healthcare personnel (HCP). The approach described in this document is intended to reduce the risks for disruptions in …
