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Please see new ISDH guidance below.
Note: for those of providers who have completed all three on-site pharmacy clinics; we would advise you to (1) review the new guidance below from ISDH relative to additional pharmacy options; (2) consider taking residents to an offsite clinic just as you would for an appointment with a specialist; advise staff to utilize ourshot.in.gov (3) reach out to your local health departments for additional locations (e.g. local hospital(s), health department offices, local pharmacies). Contact information for ISDH-Pharmacy partnership is Dave McCormick and Jill King; and for technical and enrollment questions, please contact Vijay Pathangi.
Please join us for the Monthly HUD Member Regional Meeting.
The April call is scheduled for Thursday, April 15.
The HUD Member Regional Meeting occurs every third Thursday from 12-1 p.m. CST, 1-2 p.m. EST. The meeting features updates from:
- Linda Couch, Vice President of Housing Policy and Juliana Bilowich, Director, Housing Operations at LeadingAge National.
- Gail Burks from HUD
- LeadingAge affiliates in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Missouri (HUD Region)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 892 8515 7012
Passcode: 2021
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Meeting ID: 892 8515 7012
Passcode: 2021
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May 10-11, 2021
Indianapolis Convention Center
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Don't Forget! Book a hotel room at the Conrad Indianapolis ASAP if you haven’t already – the deadline to reserve a room in the LeadingAge Indiana block is April 16! You can book a room using this link or call 800 CONRADS and mention the LeadingAge Indiana Block.
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Vaccines, vaccines. Update calls next week on Monday and Thursday. Join us on Monday, April 12 at 3:30 PM ET along with from Dr. Thomas Cornwell, Executive Chair of the Home Centered Care Institute as we tackle these questions. On Thursday, April 14 at 3:30 ET Ashley Kirzinger form the Kaiser Family Foundation will be here to talk about the findings from the Washington Post – KFF survey of frontline healthcare workers. According to the survey half of LTC frontline workers have had at least one dose and another 15% either have an appointment or are planning to be vaccinated. If you haven’t registered for Update Calls and wish to, you can do so here.
NOTE - that will be no update calls on Wednesday, April 14 and Wednesday, April 21 for LeadingAge Lobby Day activities.
SNF Open Door Forum. CMS announced an Open Door Forum to discuss the forthcoming SNF PPS rule. This call is scheduled for Thursday, April 15 at 2:00 PM Eastern time. Dial: 1-888-455-1397 & Conference Passcode: 8604468.
Home Health, Hospice and DMA Open Door Forum. CMS announced an Open Door Forum to discuss FY 2022 Hospice Proposed Rule Updates, issues related to claims processing, public reporting and Hospice Compare, and Hospice Quality Reporting Program updates. This call is scheduled for Tuesday, April 13 at 2:00 PM Eastern time. Dial 1-888-455-1397 & Conference Passcode: 8604468.
FCC Posts Emergency Broadband Benefit Resources. More info here.
HUD Posts Updated NSPIRE Standards, Seeks Feedback. More info here.
HUD Hosts Fair Housing Month Virtual Celebration. To view more information about HUD's Fair Housing Month celebrations, click here.
Please Take the LeadingAge Quarterly Housing Survey. It’s time for our quarterly affordable housing survey! Please fill out this 5-minute pulse check on a number of issues, including insurance rates at affordable housing communities, COVID-19 vaccines, and operational challenges. The information we collect helps our advocacy with HUD and Congress determine the kinds of materials to produce for our housing members, and helps you understand how your peers are doing during the pandemic. Please complete the survey by Friday, April 23.
Key Questions About Vaccine Mandates. Kaiser released these Key Questions About Vaccine Mandates. Top points are that it is unclear whether the federal government can issue a vaccine mandate, but state’s do have the authority to do so. Some healthcare employers require them as a condition of employment as do some universities for students and employees. We’ll cover this brief and some of the legal questions in the Update Call on Monday.
NEW LPC Advisory Group (formerly called Tactical and Operations Group). Tomorrow, Friday, the Life Plan Community Advisory Group (formerly the Tactical and Operations Group) meeting is cancelled. Sorry for the late notice but the content of the meeting was related to a CDC meeting that was postponed. We will reset it after the soon to be rescheduled CDC meeting.
CDC Travel Guidance REVISED!!!! CDC has revised guidance on travel to state that fully-vaccinated individuals can now travel safely within the US and CDC does not recommend quarantine or testing upon return. CDC notes that individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days are also not recommended to quarantine following travel. So what does this mean for long-term care staff and residents?
Fully vaccinated individuals: Those who are at least 2 weeks past the final dose in their vaccine series are considered fully vaccinated and can safely travel within the US while continuing to practice mitigation measures including masking, social distancing, avoiding crowds, and practicing hand hygiene. Fully vaccinated healthcare personnel do not need to be restricted from work. Fully vaccinated residents do not need to quarantine upon return to the nursing home.
Unvaccinated individuals: Those who received the final dose in their vaccine series less than 2 weeks ago, who have received only one shot in a 2-shot series, or have received no vaccination at all must all follow the guidance for unvaccinated individuals. This means getting a viral test 1-3 days prior to traveling, another viral test 3-5 days after returning from travel, and self-quarantining for 7 days after returning from travel.
- CDC recommends that unvaccinated individuals avoid being around people who are at increased risk for serious illness for 14 days after travel. This would mean that healthcare personnel in our settings would be restricted from work for 14 days, even if they are only quarantining in the community for 7 days. (E.g. you can go to the grocery store after Day 7 but cannot return to work until after Day 14).
- CDC recommends that unvaccinated residents quarantine for 14 days following readmission (returning to the nursing home when being out for more than 24 hours).
Everyone must follow state guidelines. The CDC has created this search tool, also linked in the travel guidance, to help identify specific state guidance.
Clarification from CDC on residents’ mitigation measures: CDC provided clarification on what mitigation measures fully vaccinated residents should be practicing. In the long-term care setting, fully vaccinated residents should continue to follow CDC guidance for healthcare settings to practice universal source control, meaning masking, social distancing, hand hygiene, etc. When a fully vaccinated resident leaves the nursing home for a social excursion, such as going out to visit family, residents should follow CDC’s interim public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people. That means that a fully vaccinated resident can visit with her fully-vaccinated son and his family in his home in the community and will not need to wear a mask or social distance during the visit.
Provider Relief Fund: Nicole wrote an article on the recent updates to the PRF FAQs.
Life Safety and Emergency Prep Post Pandemic. The LeadingAge Learning Hub is offering a one hour webinar, Life Safety and Emergency Preparedness: Post-COVID Compliance, on Thursday, April 8 from 2:00 – 3:00 Eastern time. In the webinar, experts David Hood and Colin McKay of RPA – a Jensen Hughes Company, will discuss approaches to sunsetting 1135 waivers for alarm and fire suppression system testing, emergency storage, emergency preparedness for staff, and other changes that will expire after the national public health emergency ends.
PPP Application Period Extended. President Biden signed legislation today extending the PPP deadline to May 31 for borrower applications and June 30 for banks to process applications. The program was set to expire tomorrow, but prospective borrowers now have until the end of May to get applications in. See more here: https://leadingage.org/legislation/ppp-loan-application-period-extended-may-31
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Recent publications:
- Long-term Care Facilities Guidelines in Response to COVID-19 Vaccination
- Travel Guidance for Health Care Personnel
- Note - we might see additional revisions by ISDH subsequent to yesterday’s LTC call
Other notable guidance:
Note: - the daily requirements HAVE BEEN modified to read “weekly”; updated guidance is found in the March 19, 2021 Toolkit (it was not published as a separate document).
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Forward This Update to Co-Workers |
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