Knowledge that adults who are 60 and older with underlying medical conditions are the population group most vulnerable to COVID-19 is concerning, especially for people in that group who reside in long-term care (LTC) facilities across the nation. Even more concerning are the reports that 43% of all deaths (54,000) occurring in the United States are linked to LTC facilities. A recent report indicates that over 282,000 persons in 12,000 LTC facilities have contracted COVID-19.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently (June 25, 2020) updated its guidance for nursing homes in light of the different phases and core practices needed for response to COVID-19. Here is a summary of changes to the guidance:
- Tiered recommendations to address nursing homes in different phases of COVID-19 response
- Recommendation to assign an individual to manage the facilityās infection control program (IPC)
- Added guidance about new requirements for nursing homes to report to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)
- Recommendation to create a plan for testing residents and healthcare personnel for SARS-CoV-2
The updated guidance can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/long-term-care.html
Compliance Perspective
Failure by facilities to maintain the core practices outlined in the current CMS guidance while transitioning through the phases to normal conditions and activities as the number of reported COVID-19 cases continue to grow may be seen as provision of substandard quality of care, placing residents in jeopardy of contracting COVID-19, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to ensure that the core practices outlined in the CMS updated guidance for COVID-19 are implemented.
- Train staff regarding required core practices and the need to keep them in place until the outbreak is past and normal activities are resumed.
- Periodically audit to ensure that the core practices are followed, even as the facility goes through the various mandated phases for returning to normal activities.
