VACCINE NEWS

Vaccines for New Admits and New Employees After Pharmacy Partnership (CVS and Walgreens) Vaccine Clinics
KDHE advises that you should work with local providers. For example, the local health departments are all receiving vaccine weekly at this time and would be the first point of contact for assistance. They will also know of other providers who may assist based on where they are directing vaccine according to the county plan.

STATE NEWS

Time Sensitive, Non COVID State News About ANE Hotline
The Abuse Neglect and Exploitation Hotline has been repaired. To report abuse, neglect or exploitation occurring in an adult care facility, medical care facility or home health agency Phone 800-842-0078 M-F 8-5 or Fax 785-296-0256. Email: kdads.complainthotline@ks.gov

KDHE Update
KDHE’s Weekly COVID-19 Updates contain a lot of good information and time for Q&A.  We encourage you or one of your team members to tune in.

FEDERAL NEWS

CDC Updates Quarantine Guidance
The new guidance is located here. LeadingAge National’s review of the guidance is available here. This guidance explicitly does not apply to “residents in healthcare settings” (nursing homes, assisted living, hospice, and acute care hospitals.) With regard to other settings such as LPC independent living, adult day, senior housing, and home health, CDC noted that technically these settings would fall into “community” and could follow the new quarantine guidance, but CDC recommends considering a more conservative approach (a full 14-day quarantine) when these settings are serving higher risk adults with multiple comorbidities.

The guidance also states that one could consider using this guidance to determine work restrictions for vaccinated healthcare personnel with high-risk exposures as part of a plan to mitigate staffing shortages. Guidance for determining what constitutes a high-risk exposure is available here. Guidance for mitigating staffing shortages is available here. Note that decisions to employ contingency and crisis strategies to mitigate staffing shortages must be made in consultation with your local public health department.

On Double Masking
The CDC has not explicitly said they are recommending double masking at this time. The recommendations for what makes a good mask are two or more layers of a tightly woven fabric, so if you are using a surgical mask or procedure mask, using a cloth mask on top of it will likely offer more protection. (Source: KDHE)

December Nursing Home Infection Control Incentive Payments from Provider Relief
December incentive payments started arriving in bank accounts today, Feb. 12th. HHS finally posted a list of nursing homes receiving incentives for November and December at this point. However, if members receive PRF payments and are uncertain what they are for (e.g. Phase 3 vs. Incentive Payment), they can call the Provider Support Line at 866-569-3522 to obtain further information.

CMS Says Not Now, Not Yet for Relaxing Nursing Home Guidance
Evan Shulman, Director, Division of Nursing Homes at CMS, joined LeadingAge National’s Coronavirus Update Call last week. He discussed vaccines, Essential Caregiver programs, Phase 3 ROPs, and surveys. Read an article on the interview.

LEADINGAGE KANSAS NEWS

Here is the Recording from the Friday Webinar
If you missed our webinar on Friday, never fear. Here is the recording and here are the handouts.

Jump on each week for information and updates about the coronavirus, Fridays at 10 AM. This week we will feature LeadingAge’s Pandemic Playbook with guest speaker Nancy Hooks, VP. Register here.

Coping with COVID Mondays and Thursdays
Join us to work through the trauma of the impact of the pandemic on aging services providers.

LEADINGAGE NATIONAL NEWS

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