“During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care leaders are working to support staff who are experiencing anxiety, stress, and intense demands.” This guide — which builds on the IHI Framework for Improving Joy in Work — includes actionable ideas that leaders can quickly test during the coronavirus response, and which can build the longer-term foundation to sustain joy in work for the health care …
CMS Releases Pandemic Plan
CMS has posted CMS Pandemic Plan – v. 3.1 Public Release with an effective date of January 11, 2021. This is a 91-page document. Here’s the Executive Summary: “The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people and industries across the country, exacting a heavy toll on every American. The lives lost and the impact of the economic toll have touched every aspect …
Texas Adopts New COVID-19 Vaccination Data Reporting Emergency Rules for NF and ALF Providers
Effective Jan. 11, HHSC has adopted new COVID-19 vaccination data reporting emergency rules. The rules require nursing facilities and assisted living facilities to accurately report COVID-19 vaccination data for staff and residents to HHSC in the format established by HHSC within 24 hours of completing a round of vaccinations. The data will allow HHSC to accurately track vaccinations of staff …
Renewal of Determination That A Public Health Emergency Exists
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Alex Azar, officially renewed the Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19, effective January 21, 2021, for an additional 90 days. This renewal happened on Thursday, January 7, 2021. The current PHE declaration was set to expire on January 21, 2021. That expiration date has now been moved to April 21, …
COVID-19 News & Updates
States are working very hard to speed up COVID-19 vaccination rates. Here are some state plans and dashboards you may want to check out and bookmark for future reference: Texas COVID-19 Vaccination Information COVID-19 Vaccination in Texas dashboard Nebraska Nebraska COVID-19 Vaccination dashboard. On this same dashboard, you can access the COVID-19 cases in Nebraska. Click on the yellow navigation …
Recent COVID-19 Updates & Information
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has published an Infection Control Basics and Personal Protective Equipment for Essential Caregivers guide for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, intermediate care facilities, hospices and home and community-based services group homes. This is an 18-page guide with a date of November 9, 2020. Toolkit on State Actions to Mitigate COVID-19 Prevalence in Nursing …
New Codes for COVID-19
In an unprecedented move, the CDC has approved new codes for COVID-19 effective with dates of stay January 1, 2021 or later. Code changes are reserved for October 1 each year with April 1 as a date for emergency changes. April 1, 2020 was the effective date for the U07.1 code for COVID-19. New codes effective January 1 include J12.82, …
COVID-19 Updates for Thanksgiving Week 2020
I hope that everyone had a safe holiday week! I’m putting these updates into a digest form so you can see what happened last week regarding COVID information. Updated Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Facemasks (CDC) — This guidance has been updated to include the following: Added considerations for returning to conventional capacity practices Conventional Capacity Strategies Clarified healthcare …
NEW: CMS COVID-19 Nursing Home Resource Center
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new online platform – the Nursing Home Resource Center – to serve as a centralized hub bringing together the latest information, guidance and data on nursing homes that is important to facilities, frontline providers, residents and their families, especially as the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues. Previously, individuals …
Breaking News: Incentive Payments to Nursing Homes Curbing COVID-19 Deaths and Infections
Just a few minutes ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced it will distribute approximately $333 million in first round performance payments to over 10,000 nursing homes. These nursing homes are being recognized for demonstrating significant reductions in COVID-19 related infections and deaths between August and September. “These …