Certain underlying medical conditions are associated with higher risks for severe morbidity and mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Prevalence of these underlying conditions among workers differs by industry and occupation. Many essential workers, who hold jobs critical to the continued function of infrastructure operations have high potential for exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 because their jobs …
The Kaiser Foundation recently published an article on the impact of coronavirus on long-term care facilities over time. The data shows that long-term care facilities make up 8% of all coronavirus cases however more than 40% of all COVID-19 deaths. The analysis evaluated trends of long-term care cases and deaths between April and August 2020 to determine where and when …
On September 21, 2020, the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs of Michigan posted a memo to licensed federally certified nursing homes. In the memo, they advised that they were seeking clarity between a conflicting order from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and guidance from CMS. Please read the full memo below:
2020 has been a year! The COVID-19 Pandemic has touched pretty much every aspect of life as we knew it and has changed it forever! Yes, we will return to a “new normal” but in a sense, we have lost our innocence. We have learned a hard lesson, there is risk with everything we do. As we continue our journey, …
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the lead agency for the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and on January 31, 2020, declared the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a public-health emergency for the United States. A key component of that response is rapidly expanding COVID-19 testing across America. Within HHS, the Office of the …
Today the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) received the final report from the independent Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes (Commission), which was facilitated by MITRE. The Commission’s findings align with the actions the Trump Administration and CMS have taken to contain the spread of the virus and to safeguard nursing home residents from the …
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) today released two documents outlining the Trump Administration’s detailed strategy to deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses to the American people as quickly and reliably as possible. The documents, developed by HHS in coordination with the DoD and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an urgent public health threat causing an estimated 2,868,700 infections and 35,900 deaths each year in the United States. Multi drug-resistant organisms (MDROs), including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and organisms related to antimicrobial drug use and resistance such as Clostridioides difficile, often are the causative agents in healthcare-associated infections. Studies show that these …
