Greetings!

This message includes:

Sincerely,

April Payne, LNHA

Vice President of Quality Improvement | Director of VCAL

Virginia Health Care Association | Virginia Center for Assisted Living 

Important Information on the Roster Billings

for the $20 Per day Add-On

DMAS has asked us to inform you that when submitting the nursing facility supplemental invoices, please be sure to:

 

Failure to follow these submission instructions may result in a delay in payment.

 

DMAS Guidance and Templates

 

More information about the process for implementing the add-on is available in our April 27 update .

Gov. Northam Issues Liability Protections

Gov. Ralph Northam signed Executive Order Sixty , which reinforces certain existing statutory liability protections for Virginia healthcare workers. Due to COVID-19, public and private healthcare providers are operating with limited resources and may be forced to serve patients outside of conventional standards of care.

 

In a press release, Gov. Northam said, “Virginia’s healthcare workers are heroes. We must ensure that they can continue to provide high-quality and compassionate care during this tremendously challenging time.”

 

Virginia’s code offers protections for healthcare workers and first responders in cases of emergency. This order clarifies that these statues protect healthcare workers operating during the COVID-19 crisis. Nothing in this order prevents liability in the case of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

 

VHCA-VCAL was part of a coalition of health care provider groups that asked Gov. Northam to request legal protections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Hancock Daniel has prepared a memo (login required) outlining Virginia’s current immunity statutes and the scope of the executive order in providing interpretive guidance for the application of those statutes. O f note, we did request that Gov. Northam expand the applicability of the immunity in the statutes to entities beyond “health care providers.” As used in both statues, the definition of “health care providers” tracks that definition which is found in the Medical Malpractice Act and does not include assisted living facilities. VHCA-VCAL will continue to explore options for relief for assisted living.

CDC Webinar Trainings for LTCF COVID-19 Module:

New Mandatory Reporting

CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network has announced two upcoming webinar trainings for the new LTCF COVID-19 Module, which is expected to be a new requirement by CMS. The final rule from CMS on this requirement is still pending. However, CDC is making the module available to nursing homes now.

 

The training webinars will be recorded and posted to the LTCF COVID-19 Module webpage with a PDF of the slide presentation.

 

First Topic: COVID-19 Module Overview for Long-term Care Facilities

Thursday, April 30, 2020 | 1:30-3:00 pm

Second Topic: COVID-19 Enrollment Guidance for Long-term Care Facilities

Friday, May 1, 2020 | 1:30-3:00 pm

 

Learn how to join these webinars on the CDC website.

 

If you have any questions, please email CDC at [email protected] and include LTCF COVID-19 in the subject line.

CDC Updates COVID-19 Symptoms

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have updated their list of COVID-19 symptoms. The symptoms now include cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing or at least two of the following symptoms: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, and new loss of taste or smell.

With the addition of these symptoms, AHCA/NCAL has updated the relevant resources, including the screening checklist for essential personnel and visitors, as well as the sample daily log for personnel. If you created your own screening tools, you should update to include the additional symptoms.

CDC Increases Priority for COVID-19 Testing in

Long Term Care Residents

This week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) made changes to its priority classifications for COVID-19 testing. The CDC has now modified its priority classifications into two categories: high priority and priority, and both healthcare facility workers with symptoms and residents in long term care facilities with symptoms are classified as high priority.

In addition, the CDC states that healthcare workers with contact with a person with known or suspected COVID-19 should be considered for testing. Residents and health care workers in long term care facilities without symptoms may also be prioritized by state or local health departments or clinicians, for reasons including public health monitoring, sentinel surveillance, or screening of other asymptomatic individuals.

Previously, the CDC identified three priority levels for testing. Patients in long term care facilities with symptoms were identified as priority two for testing while healthcare workers with symptoms were identified as priority one and healthcare workers without symptoms as priority three.

This update represents a positive step in continuing the push for better access to testing for both long term care residents and staff. Providers should use this guidance when seeking testing from hospitals, physicians, labs and local officials and advocating for faster turnaround times.

For more information, please see AHCA/NCAL’s recent guidance on testing. Facilities can refer to AHCA/NCAL’s list of vendors who provide testing in nursing home setting and are FDA-approved.

CDC Launches LTC Frontline Staff Training Webinar

CDC has developed resources for frontline staff in long term care facilities. These short webinars are all published on the Key Strategies to Prepare for COVID-19 in Long Term Care Facilities (LTCFs) webpage at the bottom under a “Webinar Series” section. These new webinars are intended to be a training tool/resource for frontline long term care staff members. CDC has also listed three “Additional Resources” to this page, which have been updated previously.

Here are the direct links to each webinar:



And the new additional resources are