DOH Revises DAL Regarding Annual Health Assessments for Home Care and Hospice
The Department of Health (DOH) issued a revised Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) this week making a few changes to its April 10th DAL which lifted the suspension of annual health assessments for all personnel of Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs), Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs), Long Term Home Health Care Programs (LTHHCPs), AIDS home care programs, and Hospices. Personnel are advised to obtain annual health assessments no later than Dec. 31, 2020.
The DAL notes that pre-employment health assessments for all personnel, including tuberculosis screening, documentation of immunity to measles, rubeola, and influenza vaccination status, were not waived. Flu vaccine or wearing a mask is required under regulation, and pre-employment health assessments may be completed by a Registered Nurse (RN).
The revision to the DAL emphasizes that the agency must find the RN to be qualified to conduct the assessments and that policies and procedures must be in place to identify whether an RN is appropriate to carry out the health assessments.
The DAL advises agencies to closely monitor the Health Commerce System (HCS) and DOH for additional guidance regarding the prevalence of influenza based on surveillance data, and agencies will be responsible for verifying the immunization status of personnel.
Any COVID-19-related questions may be posed to covidhomecareinfo@health.ny.gov, and questions regarding immunizations may be directed to immunize@health.ny.gov.
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-929-9342