June 15th COVID-19 Update
New COVID-19-related updates for providers of long-term/post-acute care (LTPAC) and senior services continue to be shared on a regular basis by both state and federal authorities. The latest developments are described below.
As a reminder, LeadingAge NY continues to convene weekly webinars on Mondays at 11 a.m. to address emerging questions on COVID-19. A recording of our most recent webinar, held on June 14th, is available here. If you have questions for next week’s update, please send them to Ami Schnauber, and be sure to check your email for the access information, or contact Jeff Diamond.
Cross-Sector Updates
Save the Date: LeadingAge NY to Present Free Webinar on Successful Long Term Care Staff Vaccination Uptake
LeadingAge NY/Foundation for Long Term Care (FLTC) will present a FREE webinar entitled Successful Strategies to Promote Vaccination Among Long Term Care Staff on Tues., June 29th from 1 to 3 p.m. Join us to learn about strategies your facility can put into practice to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates of your long term care staff members. Save the date – registration will be opening soon! Click here for more details.
Vaccination Update
The latest vaccination information, including updates on LeadingAge NY’s upcoming webinar on successful staff vaccine uptake, new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance confirming that employers may mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for staff, and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent extension of the shelf life of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, is summarized here.
OSHA Releases COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for Health Care Workers
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for health care employers. It applies to most long term care providers, but some home care and hospice settings and off-site health care support services are exempt. The ETS will be effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register; it has been posted on the OSHA website, but has not yet been published. Compliance with most provisions will be required within 14 days of publication. However, employers will have 30 days to comply with provisions involving physical barriers, ventilation, and training. Click here for more information.
Crisis Conservation Strategies No Longer Needed for Surgical Masks and N-95 Respirators
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a “situational update” to announce that the availability of facemasks and respirators approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has increased significantly over the last several months. Health care facilities should no longer be using crisis or contingency capacity strategies for these items and should promptly resume conventional practices. Click here for more information.
Abbott BinaxNOW Test Expiration Update
Abbott recently announced that the expiration date of BinaxNOW rapid point-of-care (POC) tests has been extended. Members with questions regarding POC testing, including obtaining a Limited Service Laboratory license, reporting, testing considerations, etc., can click here for an updated POC testing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document from the Department of Health (DOH).
Test Positivity and Vaccination Rates
A document showing the most recent 14-day test positivity rates for each county in New York State based on both federal and state figures is available here. While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-computed test positivity rate for Lewis County remains above 5 percent, most county rates are well below 5 percent. The county positivity data posted by CMS are lagged by a week and are updated each Monday or Tuesday. They are available for download in raw format here. Even as we celebrate the new guidance regarding routine testing requirements for vaccinated health care personnel, we will continue to extract the CMS-calculated rates for New York State counties and post them here, along with positivity rates calculated on state data covering the same two-week period.
Current daily county-level data for New York State are here, 7- and 14-day regional data are here, and ZIP code-level data for New York City showing infection rates during the most recent four weeks are available here. The State’s regional COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard showing new infections, severity of infections, and hospitalization data is available here.
DOH posts daily COVID-19 vaccination rates for staff and residents of both nursing homes and assisted living facilities on their website. The site shows county and regional average vaccination rates and contains links to provider-specific listings. The statewide nursing home staff vaccination rate has reached 63 percent. The adult care facility (ACF) staff vaccination rate is at 70 percent, with 94 percent of ACF residents vaccinated. The nursing home resident vaccination rate is 86 percent. The rates are based on daily Health Emergency Response Data System (HERDS) reporting and can be accessed here.
Slight Reprieve, but New NHSN Reporting Is Now Mandatory
Nursing homes are required to report COVID-19 vaccination status for residents and staff on a weekly basis through the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Although CMS had announced that citations and penalties would start being assessed for providers failing to submit data during the June 7th-13th week, the agency is delaying enforcement by a week. Nursing home members should be sure to submit data at least once this week (prior to 11:59 p.m. on Sun., June 20th) to avoid penalties.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) posted some additional vaccination tracking materials that members may find helpful. These include an Excel template that allows the user to aggregate vaccination information in a way that dovetails with how it is reported through NHSN and includes analytic features including graphing. AHRQ also posted individual tracking sheets that may be helpful in documenting individual staff member or resident vaccination status. These are all available on the AHRQ page here.
Detailed reporting instructions and the list of reporting items are posted here in the “Data Collection Forms and Instructions” section. A recording of the educational session recently provided by the CDC is available here. Links to the training presentation slides as well as a helpful set of FAQs are available on the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination site.
Reporting weeks run from Monday through Sunday, and providers may submit the data on the day of their choice, as long as it is done at least once during each Monday through Sunday week. Reporting of COVID-19 therapeutics administered to residents for treatment of COVID-19 is also now mandatory. Instructions for that pathway are on the main LTCF COVID-19 Module page under “Therapeutics.”
HHS Updates, Revises Provider Relief Reporting Requirements
New reporting requirements issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on June 11th extend the timeframes for recipients of Provider Relief Funding (PRF) to both use and submit reports on the use of the funds they receive. While PRF recipients must spend funds received prior to July 1, 2020 by the end of this month (i.e., June 30, 2021), the new guidance sets out four “Payment Received Periods,” each with its own deadline for spending the funds received during the period and each with its own 90-day window to report use of the funding to HHS. Click here for more information.
HHS Creates Hotline to Improve COVID-19 Vaccine Access for People with Disabilities
On June 8th, HHS announced the creation of the Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL), a partnership between the CDC and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) aimed at assisting individuals with disabilities in finding COVID-19 vaccine appointments and connecting to local services to support successful vaccination.
More information is available here. DIAL is available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday at 888-677-1199.
Nursing Home and ACF/Assisted Living Updates
Nursing Home and ACF Members Are Reminded That Personal/Compassionate Caregiving Regulations Are in Effect
Nursing home and ACF members are reminded that the Emergency Personal/Compassionate Caregiving Regulations are in effect, and you must develop policies and procedures to implement them regardless of whether you are currently open for visitation. You must also, by today, June 15th, give your current residents the opportunity to designate at least two personal caregivers and at least two compassionate caregivers and document that in their records. Click here for more information.
DOH Issues Revised ACF and Nursing Home Staff Testing Guidance
ACF and nursing home members also received great news this past week when DOH announced that fully vaccinated staff no longer need to be tested weekly; click here for more information. LeadingAge NY had been pushing for the State to adopt this change consistent with federal guidance, and we are delighted. We are so pleased that your staff (and their noses) will get some relief from this change.
Free Project ECHO COVID-19 Trainings for Nursing Homes: A New Phase 2 Cohort Has Launched!
LeadingAge NY, in partnership with the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), has launched another free Project ECHO COVID-19 education series for nursing homes. In this interactive education model, nursing home leaders and clinical care providers meet weekly for short presentations, conversations with colleagues on challenges and solutions, and technical assistance. This new cohort meets on Tuesdays from 3 to 4 p.m.
There is no limit on the number of staff who may attend, and different individuals may attend each week. Please register here, and feel free to share this link with other interested staff on your teams. Project ECHO strives to be a resource for providers and a source of support in the context of rapidly changing guidance, outbreaks, and stresses on residents and staff.