Investigators from Connecticut’s Department of Public Health (DPH) recently found that two nursing homes had failed to test all employees for COVID-19 on a weekly basis as a state executive order requires. The two facilities were each fined $1,140.
Records indicated that one of the two facilities was cited for failure to test 39 employees over a two-week period between July 29 and August 10. The other facility had 37 employees, ranging from nurses to housekeepers, that had not been tested between July 23 and August 16.
The DPH is now investigating other nursing homes to determine if they have been compliant with the executive testing order requiring weekly testing of all employees in a facility.
The state’s acting DPH commissioner said this in a recent press briefing: “We will continue to do these inspections to make sure that nursing homes are in compliance with the Governor’s order. Testing employees is a key part of our strategy, so it is important to monitor that policy and enforce it.”
The commissioner also said that DPH plans to implement a new surveillance testing strategy extending the testing cutoff from the current 14-day period for no positive tests to requiring weekly tests on one-fourth of a facility’s staff. Currently, the state pays for all testing in nursing homes until Oct. 1, 2020.
DPH concerns regarding testing may also be the result of a recent outbreak in another facility, where more than 18 persons, including staff members, tested positive for COVID-19, and one resident died after an employee with the virus returned to work from a vacation and spread the virus. Investigators are reviewing to determine if that facility was properly co-horting newly infected residents. Also in question is whether the facility was following DPH guidelines regarding temperature checks for every employee shift and completion of a questionnaire about out-of-state travel.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to comply with all state and federally required guidelines regarding COVID-19 testing and other required actions may result in placing residents and employees in jeopardy for contracting and dying from the Coronavirus, resulting in fines, citations, and being deemed as providing substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding compliance with all state and federal COVID-19 testing requisites for employees and residents, the facility’s protocols for following DPH guidelines regarding temperature and symptom checks of every employee prior to each shift, and completion of a questionnaire regarding out-of-state travel, especially for employees returning from vacations.
- Train staff regarding the importance of reporting if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, and if they have been out-of-state. Also, staff should report to their supervisor or through the facility’s Hotline any observance of other employees who may have symptoms or may have traveled to out-of-state locations. Staff should also receive training on co-horting of any residents who test positive for COVID-19 and the staff caring for COVID-19 positive residents to prevent the spread of the virus.
- Periodically audit to determine if all COVID-19 guidelines are being followed regarding employee and resident testing and checks at each shift change to determine if employees are infected or were exposed to COVID-19.
