Guidance Issued Regarding Hospital Vaccination of Discharges to LTC Facilities
On April 4th, the Department of Health (DOH) issued guidance to hospitals regarding vaccinating long term care (LTC) patients before discharge to a LTC facility.
To ensure that residents of LTC facilities are vaccinated prior to discharge from a hospital, the guidance requires hospitals to offer vaccine to all such patients prior to discharge to a LTC facility. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require a second dose, while the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine requires only a single dose.
The guidance states that "if available and provided that a patient consents and is determined to be clinically appropriate for such vaccine, hospitals should offer the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine to such patients. Offering the Janssen vaccine will allow patients to receive the benefit of vaccination, enable hospitals to appropriately allocate and administer vaccine for this priority population, and eliminate the need for a second dose in the long-term care facility by offering the one dose shot for these circumstances."
Hospitals should provide clear documentation to nursing homes of the patients’ vaccination status as applicable, including, but not limited to, the specific vaccine administered, on what date, whether a second dose needs to be administered by the nursing home, and timeframe for the second dose.
LeadingAge NY is aware that a few regions in the state and New York City have already begun to practice this policy. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns regarding this matter.
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-929-9342