Dear Member:
As of today, 52 lives in long term care have been lost to COVID-19; 316 residents are positive and residing in 80 centers. I know from these numbers that you and your staffs are heroically working to keep your residents, and each other, safe during this crisis.
If you have positives, an outbreak, drastic PPE shortages, and/or severe staffing problems that will jeopardize your operation within 96 hours,
please let us know
. It helps us a great deal if we can track where our long term care center cases are; but, more importantly, it allows us to offer you the support of our Emergency Operations Center and enables us to better communicate prioritization of center needs to the State Emergency Operations Center.
We too, are doing all we can to prioritize critical needs and advocate for the sector. Below you will find the new guidance from DOH regarding admissions and transfers and the masking of all persons in your center. Additionally, we are providing an interpretation of how to comply, but properly deny, COVID-19 admissions that cannot be safely handled.
PLEASE READ THIS GUIDANCE
.
Thank you for your tireless work keeping your residents and staff safe during this crisis. We are here for you if you need us.
Jon Dolan
President & CEO
dolan@hcanj.org
Cell: 314-540-4400
______________________________________________
Today, the state issued the revised directive,
Priority Actions for All Post-Acute Care Settings in Response to COVID-19
(Revised March 30, 2020)
. (
LINK HERE)
In summary it reads: All centers must implement universal masking of all persons, including staff members, visitors, clergy, etc., entering the center. Masks should be either surgical or isolation masks, not a respirator. Symptomatic residents should be masked during direct care. If the resident cannot tolerate a mask, use
a tissue to cover the resident’s nose and mouth.
______________________________________________
NJDOH also issued today a
Hospital Discharges and Admissions to Post-Acute Care Settings
directive
(
CLICK HERE
)
.
Guidance for
Accepting Patients/Residents Discharged from Hospital during COVID-19 Pandemic
is also linked (
CLICK HERE
).
At first glance, the directive seems to mandate COVID-19 positive admissions. However, if you carefully read both documents, you will see how the following exceptions provide affirmative statements for denial of such admissions.
The decision of whether a nursing center can follow this directive is dependent on the center being able to conduct a rapid review of the center’s resources necessary to provide adequate, safe care in the post-acute care setting. This includes:
- Are you accepting any admissions and can you do so safely?
- Do you have sufficient quantities of PPE to safely care for COVID-19 positive residents?
- Do you have sufficient staffing to provide dedicated personnel to safely care for COVID-19 positive residents?
- Do you have available beds, sufficient space, and the physical plant requirements, for proper isolation or cohorting of COVID-19 positives and PUIs?
- Did the hospital provide comprehensive discharge information PRIOR to the transport of the patient/resident to the post-acute setting?
- The hospital physician or designee MUST certify, and the discharge planners must confirm to you by telephone, that the patient/resident is medically stable for discharge.
- It is not acceptable for a hospital to send the information with the resident without prior submission to the center; and, any missing documentation is grounds for denial of admission.
Finally, we understand that many centers who do have COVID-19 positives may be ready and willing to safely accept COVID-19 positive residents in a specific unit or facility. Please let us know if that is your intent and we can assist you. If you read the guidance and understand these exceptions, you will see that no mandate exists unless the denial of admission of a COVID-19 positive patient is the sole reason for that denial.
Please know that we are pushing back against such unfair policies and continue to advocate for you every step of the way.
Please contact us with any questions.
