We’ve heard a lot about social media in recent days. Here’s a good use of social media – get the word out about vaccinations, particularly for LTC residents and staff. CDC has provided a social media toolkit to provide education for this group (and others) on the benefits of receiving … Read More
CMS posts county positivity rates – January 11, 2021
CMS has posted the most recent – January 11, 2021 – county positivity rates for COVID-19. This data is used by LTC facilities to determine the frequency of staff testing. QSO-20-38-NH guidelines include testing staff on a certain frequency based on the COVID-19 positivity rate for the county the nursing … Read More
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. … Read More
COVID-19 nursing home data updated
CMS has posted nursing home data regarding COVID-19 for week ending December 27, 2020. The dataset carries a date of January 7, 2021. The above charts can be found here.
NHSN tracking of COVID-19 vaccination for residents and staff
CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) now allows long term care facilities to report weekly COVID-19 vaccination data for residents and healthcare personnel. Weekly reporting is currently optional. CDC is promoting weekly reporting through NHSN as the COVID-19 Vaccination Module allows for reporting of vaccination percentages that are consistent over … Read More