March 21, 2020

Quick Links:

COVID-19 Updates: March 21, 2020

This update includes:

As of March 21, there are 281 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin. Click HERE to view the latest outbreak information from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

As many of you may have seen there have been positive cases confirmed in at least one senior living facility in the state of Wisconsin. The National Guard was deployed to respond to the staffing situation.

PLEASE NOTE: WHCA/WiCAL is working closely with the State Emergency Operations Center to address the way in which facilities can communicate their concerns about staffing if the event of an emergency. WHCA/WiCAL will update members regarding a protocol as soon as we have one. WHCA/WiCAL President & CEO John Vander Meer has asked for a hotline to be established so that in the event of an emergency providers can raise their concerns about staffing.

PLEASE NOTE: DHS sent out an announcement on Friday to all contacts for facilities who may be receiving a limited shippment of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). The announcement said that if you are receiving equipment, we need your point of contact, as identified in your survey response, to be readily available to be in contact with DHS staff as the PPE is being shipped as soon as possible.

Today is Saturday - much of the workforce has the weekend off. Meanwhile, long-term care providers are working in overdrive to battle the spread of COVID-19 and protect residents and staff. Thank you for your commitment and care .

WHCA/WiCAL Submits Emergency LTC Funding Request to Legislature

WHCA/WiCAL has developed a one-pager joint funding request with LeadingAge Wisconsin that was sent to the Legislature late Friday. The request calls for a $347 per patient day increase in nursing homes, and a $301 per patient day increase for assisted living facilities.

Please review the document here:

www.whcawical.org/COVID-19-funding

 

This specific request follows a week of working directly with the Medicaid Director and his staff to communicate provider concerns and cost projections in anticipation of the $50 billion COVID-19 response legislation that the President signed into law this week. This specific request builds upon extensive information that we shared with the Evers Administration last week. WHCA/WiCAL communicated our concerns about funding challenges facing providers , and will continue to voice the significant challenges of provider community are understood loud and clear by Wisconsin policymakers.

 

On the regulatory front, WHCA/WiCAL staff are working closely with the Evers Administration and AHCA/NCAL to address necessary regulatory enforcement flexibilities so providers are able to more quickly adapt and respond to this crisis as it develops. We have submitted a 1135 waiver request, which DHS Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm sent a letter in support of . WHCA/WiCAL is also in regular communication with AHCA/NCAL staff and they will be pushing CMS to ensure that blanket waivers are available on staffing issues to respond to this crisis. We will also be pursuing state waivers for all providers in the long-term care continuum. We will provide members with more information about that next week.

Gov. Evers Issues Press Release on PPE

See the full release here.

Below is a segment of the release.

 Gov. Evers Works to Increase Wisconsin Medical Provider Access to Critical Supplies

...

As of today, the state has received only a small allocation of PPE from the federal government. It’s being distributed to direct healthcare providers in areas with known community spread, to include nursing homes, emergency medical services and hospitals. DHS is using bed count information and advice from its medical advisory group to determine where PPE is being sent.

“We know this shipment won’t get to every organization that needs it,” Gov. Evers said. “DHS is working with the state emergency command structure, including the National Guard and Wisconsin Emergency Management, to identify additional sources and obtain more from the stockpile.”

The state also continues to work with partners in the public and private sectors to identify additional sources of PPE that can be made available to medical facilities and other first responders.

“My hope is that we can quickly identify consistent supply lines to make sure this equipment is being delivered to those in the state who need it most,” Gov. Evers said. “We will continue to make this a priority, due to the importance of protecting those who are at risk of being exposed to this virus.”

Beware COVID-19 Scams Selling PPE or Other Supplies

Providers are receiving vendor emails or other contact offering PPE supplies, and some may not be legitimate vendors or businesses.

Please beware that some offers are scams and are not credible businesses. To help you spot the difference between legitimate businesses and scams, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has provided some general guidance on COVID-19-related scams. AHCA/NCAL has also compiled a list of helpful questions to ask yourself and the business in question.

Resident Laundry Guidance with COVID-19 and When Families Want to Do Residents’ Laundry

With the restriction around non-essential visitors to skilled nursing centers and assisted living communities to minimize the risk of spread of COVID-19, there have been many questions on handling residents’ personal laundry, including for those who may have previously had their laundry done by a family member.  

AHCA/NCAL has developed some additional guidance  on this. You can also follow CDC guidelines for environmental infection control in healthcare facilities . CDC states that “Infection has not been linked to laundry procedures in residential-care facilities, even when consumer versions of detergents and laundry additives are used.”

WHCA/WiCAL Staff

As a reminder, WHCA/WiCAL's staff team is ready to serve your facility. We are committed to providing members with the services you need to succeed in your mission to provide high-quality care to Wisconsin's most vulnerable residents.

John Vander Meer, MPA | President & CEO | [email protected]

Jim Stoa, J.D. | Director of Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations | [email protected]

Pat Boyer, MSM, RN, NHA | Director of Quality Advancement and Education | [email protected]

Kate Dickson, MPA | Director of Reimbursement | [email protected]

Allison Cramer | Communications and Government Relations Specialist | [email protected]

Jena Jackson | Director of Development | [email protected]

Jammie Moore | Director of Administrative Services | [email protected]