Every resident and 36 staff members in a Kansas nursing home have tested positive for COVID-19, and 12 have died in a county with the state’s highest Coronavirus infection rate. The facility has been notified that after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an extremely critical report indicating that a lack of masks was the main cause for the nursing home outbreak, federal officials were in the process of excluding the nursing home as a participant in the Medicare program.
Along with the lack of masks, the report noted that residents who had contracted the virus remained in the same rooms as those without the disease. Also, the facility continued having communal dining after residents began displaying symptoms. The facility delayed testing all of the residents for a week after residents became symptomatic for the virus.
During the outbreak, it was reported that six staff members were seen not wearing a mask, and the report indicated that fact with other failures “placed all residents in immediate jeopardy” for contracting COVID-19.
CMS indicated that the facility is facing $14,860 in fines and is scheduled for termination from the Medicare and Medicaid programs on November 18.
A temporary manager has been brought in to help restore compliance by boosting testing and infection control precautions, proper wearing and an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), and restricting of visitors. Whether the temporary management can implement adequate changes to prevent the facility’s exclusion is unknown.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to follow CMS and CDC nursing home guidelines for responding to COVID-19 that particularly include effective infection control protocols, testing of residents and staff members, cohorting of residents who have tested positive for the Coronavirus, provision of adequate PPE, training on its appropriate wearing and disposal, distancing, and stopping of communal activities among residents and dining may result in citations and fines for placing residents and staff in immediate jeopardy. This could be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations, and may result in exclusion from participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to ensure implementation of CMS and CDC COVID-19 response guidelines and the effectiveness of the facility’s Infection Prevention and Control Program.
- Train staff regarding the facility’s Infection Prevention and Control Program’s protocols, wearing and disposal of PPE, proper hand hygiene, and the importance of periodic testing of both residents and staff for COVID-19 to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus by persons who are asymptomatic.
- Periodically audit to ensure that CMS and CDC guidelines are being carefully followed regarding the wearing of PPE and hand hygiene.
