CMS updated the original QSO-20-28-NH from April 24, 2020 on July 09, 2020 and again on March 10, 2021. A summary of the updates are below: CMS is committed to taking critical steps to ensure America’s nursing homes are prepared to respond to the threat of the COVID-19. Nursing Home Compare website and Nursing Home Five Star Quality Rating System: …
Healthcare workers face a number of serious occupational safety and health hazards. These include (but are not limited to) bloodborne pathogens and biological hazards, potential chemical and drug exposures, waste anesthetic gas exposures, respiratory hazards, ergonomic hazards from lifting and repetitive tasks, laser hazards, workplace violence, hazards associated with laboratories, and radioactive material and x-ray hazards. OSHA has been a …
Health care-associated infections (HAI) and the spread of antimicrobial resistance are major public health concerns that are largely avoidable in health care by effective implementation of infection prevention and control best practices. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that performing hand hygiene (HH) correctly (“How to Handrub”) at the correct time (“5 Moments”) is the most effective measure to prevent …
Have you been compliant with reporting requirements for your facility? If your facility is licensed for 13 or more individuals as a Home for the Aged (HFA) or Adult Foster Care (AFC), you must participate in weekly COVID-19 data reporting. Please read the statement from MCAL below for more information: HFA and AFC – Licensed for 13 or More, Required to …
Federal regulation 42 CFR 483.12(a)(3) provides beneficiaries who rely on long-term care services with protection from abuse, neglect, and theft by preventing prospective employees with disqualifying offenses from being employed by these care providers and facilities. The National Background Check Program was enacted by legislation in 2010 to assist states in developing and improving systems for conducting federal and state …
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reminds employers the agency is collecting the calendar year 2020 Form 300A data and is due by March 2, 2021. Per OSHA, employers have an obligation to report and record work-related COVID-19 cases. The collection of CY 2019 data and beyond will include the collection of establishments’ Employer Identification Numbers …
CMS has revised the criteria requiring states to conduct focused infection control surveys, effective January 4, 2021, due to the increased availability of resources for the testing of residents and staff and factors related to the quality of care. This revision affects previous guidance issued June 1, 2020 concerning “COVID-19 Survey Activities, CARES Act Funding, Enhanced Enforcement for Infection Control …
On November 2, 2020, the CDC posted recent changes to the collection and submission of post-mortem specimens from deceased persons with known or suspected COVID-19. Medical examiners, coroners, and pathologists should immediately notify their local or state health department in the event of the identification of a deceased person with known or suspected COVID-19. Per the CDC, the following recommendations …
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released updates today regarding residential care facility visitation guidelines. Please read these updates thoroughly to understand what they mean for your facility. Click here to read the order, effective immediately, in its entirety. Click here for a PDF version available for download of this infographic. Click here for a PDF version available …
If you are a Michigan provider, this information is for you! The state of Michigan has updated their testing reimbursement guidelines and issues a memo on November 2, 2020. Please be sure you are following the guidelines, maintaining the documentation and requesting reimbursement for testing on a timely basis. Download the information from Michigan.gov! Stay the course, stay strong, stay …
