STATE NEWS

Heads Up: Changes to State Testing Approach for Long-Term Care Announced
Effective 11/30/2021, KDHE will no longer pay for diagnostic or surveillance testing at the commercial labs that support LTCFs. KDHE will continue to work with LTCFs to provide testing through the state lab in response to outbreaks that occur in the facility.

What this means is that all state and federally regulated LTCFs must identify another source of funding to cover the costs of testing staff and residents in their facilities; we have no indication at this time that the federal government will stop sending rapid, point of care test kits to federally regulated facilities.

KDADS/KDHE sent this notification out to all long-term care providers today. Read the entire letter.

FEDERAL NEWS

Updated Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Approved or Authorized in the United States
CDC now recommends that certain people are eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster shot, including those who received Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines.

Key points related to the updated interim clinical considerations:

  • COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for everyone aged 12 years and older in the United States for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
  • COVID-19 vaccines currently approved or authorized by FDA are effective in preventing serious outcomes of COVID-19, including severe disease, hospitalization, and death.
  • Efforts to maximize the proportion of people in the United States who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 remain critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • ACIP and CDC have issued interim recommendations for the use of:
  • Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in persons aged ≥12years
  • Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in persons aged ≥18 years
  • Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine in persons aged ≥18 years
  • These clinical considerations provide additional information to healthcare professionals and public health officials on use of COVID-19 vaccines.

To learn more, please visit: Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines | CDC

LEADINGAGE KANSAS NEWS

Will You Join Us for Our Weekly Webinar This Friday?
If you haven’t already done so, register here for upcoming calls through the end of the year.

LEADINGAGE NATIONAL NEWS

Letter to HHS, CDC on NHSN Reporting
Last week, LeadingAge sent a letter to CDC and HHS advocating for a review of NHSN reporting to reduce burden on nursing homes. We specifically requested that NHSN reporting be reviewed to identify and revise or eliminate data elements that are no longer necessary, that can be obtained through alternative sources, and from which there is no direct impact or benefit to reporting for nursing homes. Read this letter here.

Letter to CMS on Making Certain Waivers Permanent
LeadingAge responded to a request from CMS Region V Chicago this week regarding 1135 waivers that should be made permanent after the expiration of the public health emergency. LeadingAge advocated for several waivers impacting members across provider settings including telehealth waivers, the 3-day stay waiver for nursing homes, in-person physician visits for nursing homes and hospice, initial assessments for home health, and more. Read this letter here. We note that the PHE remains in effect at this time and has been extended through mid-January 2022. As such, the 1135 and 1812(f) federal blanket waivers also remain in effect and can be reviewed here.

This Week’s Online Coronavirus Policy Updates
Join us today and Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET for our online policy updates. Today, Scott McCall from PHI will provide insights and lessons learned from their most recent study, Workforce Displacement and Reemployment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Direct Care Workforce Recruitment and Retention. On Wednesday, we’ll have a discussion on planning for Thanksgiving and the holidays with Beth Knoll from Rose Villa Senior Living, Marc Zirolli from Seabury Life, and Robin Garnett from Lutheran Senior Services. Register today. 

New Insights and Tools from LeadingAge
LeadingAge staff experts are developing essential advocacy, guidance, and tools, and curating the most relevant resources for aging services providers, including:​​​​

A complete timeline of insights, tools, and useful links is available here, so you’ll never miss an update.

RESOURCES

Project Firstline Celebrates One Year Anniversary
One year ago this month, CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion launched Project Firstline a national training collaborative to increase infection control knowledge and understanding among the frontline healthcare workforce. The program has released a variety of infection control resources specific to COVID-19, including a video series featuring CDC’s infectious disease expert Dr. Abby Carlson, explainer videos on infection control basics, and job aids for on-the-go access. This month, Project Firstline released 4 new training session plans on infection control for COVID-19. Individuals interested in hosting infection control trainings for healthcare now have access to a total of 14 session plans and accompanying PowerPoint decks on COVID-19 infection control topics. Bookmark the Project Firstline website, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter for product releases and program updates. 

Breakthrough Infections Occur in Those with Lower Antibody Levels, Israeli Study Shows
NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins posted a blog on an Israeli study providing insight into breakthrough infections . According to the study, data shows that those with a breakthrough infection had consistently lower levels of neutralizing antibodies circulating in their bloodstream to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. In general, higher levels of neutralizing antibodies are associated with greater protection and lower infectivity—though other aspects of the immune system (memory B cells and cell-mediated immunity) also contribute. Importantly, in all cases for which there were relevant data, the source of the breakthrough infection was thought to be an unvaccinated person.

Fireside Chat: What We Learned About Palliative Care During the Pandemic — And Why These Lessons Matter for Patients and Workforce as We Rebuild
COVID-19 placed immense strain on health care professionals, with unrelenting exposure to the suffering of patients and family caregivers, as well as to the stress about personal safety. During the pandemic, hospitalists, specialists, nurses and other clinicians turned to palliative care teams to relieve patient suffering and facilitate difficult conversations, co-manage complex patients and provide just-in-time education to enhance their own skills in communication and pain and symptom management. Read more here.

  • Hosts: American Hospital Association, Living Learning Network and Center to Advance Palliative Care
  • Overview: Presenters will discuss the lessons learned from the front lines of the pandemic across the country: How do we use the experience of collaboration with palliative care teams during COVID to model a more inclusive, sustainable workforce that is also more effective at addressing patient suffering? How can health systems further integrate palliative care principles and practices into clinical workflow and care models for people with serious illness as well as their families?
  • Date & Registration: November 2nd, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM CST Register here

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