STATE NEWS
COVID-19 Rapid Response Staffing Support
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has partnered with KFMC Health Improvement Partners (KFMC) to assist long-term care facilities and state licensed homes, impacted by COVID-19, with emergency temporary staffing services. KFMC has developed a Rapid Response Staffing Support Center (RRSSC) to manage the intake and fulfillment of the staffing support requests.
The RRSSC rolled out in April 2022 and continues today with funds still available to support our Kansas care providers. This funding supports long term care, assisted living and home plus providers who are experiencing staffing shortages directly related to an active COVID-19 outbreak. These funds can be used to dedicate staff to COVID cares or to cover hours for a staff member who is out with COVID. Requests are submitted via a designated intake form, is limited to short term assistance, and is not intended to be a long-term staffing solution.
To date, per the hours reconciled, the RRSSC has provided 36,048.87 hours of support with current cost savings to Kansas homes of $2,088,649.65.
If your home is experiencing a staffing shortage due to COVID-19 and would like to request assistance through this program, please complete the request form located here.
For questions, contact Brenda Groves at bgroves@kfmc.org or at 785-271-4150
FEDERAL NEWS
PHE Will Continue Past January
HHS has promised that they will give states 60 days notice before ending the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). That 60 day marker to end the PHE in January passed over the weekend; so the PHE will continue past January. It is currently slated to end on January 11. The lack of action this weekend means it will be extended beyond that point but we do not know for how long. HHS has previously done 90 day extensions which would bring us to April. HHS is not required to do 90 days extensions but given their promise regarding 60 day notice to states, the January extension will be for at least 60 days.
White House Requests $9.25 Billion COVID Funding
In a November 1TH5 briefing with the media, the White House shared it has asked Congress to approve $9.25 billion in emergency COVID funding during the lame duck session to help prepare for a possible winter surge in cases. Of the $9.25 billion, $2.5 billion would go to vaccine access and replenishing the Strategic National Stockpile, $5 billion would go to further vaccine development, $750 million for long COVID research, and $1 billion to international aid combatting COVID.
LEADINGAGE KANSAS NEWS
Friday Webinar
Join us this Friday for an update on what is going on with COVID, updates on the association front, and much more.
If you haven’t registered already, you can do so here. You can also see archived webinars and get handouts here.
LEADINGAGE NATIONAL NEWS
New Employee Retention Credit Explainer
LeadingAge has put together a one-pager explaining the Employee Retention Credit in consultation, with Attorney Chris Moran from the Venable law firm. This complements the FAQs and ERC webinar recording that were previously available. The one-page explainer can help members assess whether the tax credit may be an option for their organization. While the tax credit expired after 2021, eligible members can still take advantage of the credit by filing an amended payroll tax return by April 15, 2024 for the 2020 tax year and April 18, 2025 for the 2021 tax year.
LeadingAge Coronavirus Update Call – Monday, November 21ST, 2:30 PM Central
Topic: what to expect in the fall and will unpack the idea of the “Tripledemic” of Flu, COVID and RSV. Speaker: Monica Gandhi MD. If you haven’t registered for LeadingAge Update Calls, you can do so here. You can also find previous call recordings here.
RESOURCES
“Tripledemic” Toolkit
Five major medical societies have teamed up to create a toolkit for clinicians addressing public health concerns related to the “tripledemic” of COVID-19, flu, and RSV anticipated this winter. The toolkit from the Society for Post-Acute and Long-term Care Medicine (AMDA), American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American Society of Physician Associates, and Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association will help increase awareness of the importance, effectiveness, and accessibility of therapeutics and vaccination in post-acute and long-term care settings. Check out the toolkit here.
Using Machine Learning to Identify People With Long COVID
NIH published a news story on how machine learning could lead to identify people with Long COVID . Researchers supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute are developing models that can potentially find people who have Long COVID based on their medical records. Researchers started by examining the records of patients at three of the 59 sites that N3C gathered data from — about 100,000 people who had COVID-19. Nearly 600 of those patients had visited a Long COVID clinic. By comparing these patients with patients who had COVID-19 but did not go to a Long COVID clinic, the researchers-built machine learning models that could identify the differences between the groups of patients, such as differences in the medications they were taking, how often they saw other doctors, and other conditions the patients had been diagnosed with. The researchers then tested the models on health records from a fourth N3C site. In total, the researchers created three models — one for identifying potential Long COVID patients across the whole dataset and two that focused more specifically on people who had or had not been hospitalized for COVID-19. After testing, the researchers found that each model was highly effective at identifying people who likely had Long COVID. With more refinement, models like these could help researchers determine whether a person with a positive COVID-19 test may be likely to develop Long COVID. Once they can identify those people, researchers can determine what they have in common and what differentiates them from those who do not have Long COVID, paving the way for better and faster treatment of patients with Long COVID.
Inflammation Pattern in the Brain May Cause Many Long COVID Symptoms
NIH published a news story on how inflammation pattern in the brain may cause many Long COVID symptoms . In a study supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, researchers looked at the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in animal models to understand potential causes of Long COVID. Their findings suggest that in addition to causing long-lasting organ damage, SARS-CoV-2 can set off a pattern of brain inflammation that may be linked to Long COVID symptoms. Researchers at New York University Grossman School of Medicine and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai used hamsters as models for SARS-CoV-2 infection, since their infection duration and symptoms are similar to those of humans. The researchers compared these models to hamster models of influenza infection, which produces a similar antiviral response. On average, the animal models recovered from their SARS-CoV-2 infections in two weeks — the same as humans — and developed similar symptoms. This told the researchers that the models were an appropriate comparison to the human immune response. When compared to the influenza models, models that recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection had greater levels of lung and kidney damage, and the damage healed more slowly. This study provides more evidence for the theory that some Long COVID symptoms, such as mood changes, dizziness, and brain fog, may be caused by brain inflammation triggered by — but not directly fighting — SARS-CoV-2. Future research can use the same kind of model to look at potential treatments for that inflammation, as well as treatments for the longer-lasting damage done to other organs.
Poor Immune Response After Treatment Likely Not Responsible for “COVID Rebound”
NIH published a news story on how poor immune response after treatment is not likely responsible for “COVID Rebound.” People who get COVID-19 can be treated with a five-day course of an antiviral drug called Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), which drastically reduces a person’s chance of being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19. But about 5% of people who take the medicine get symptoms or test positive a week or so later in what some call “COVID rebound.” There is concern that the five-day treatment course is not long enough to wipe out the virus and that people experiencing a rebound may have an inadequate immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In a small study supported by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, researchers found that Paxlovid did not hinder the immune response. In fact, people who experienced COVID rebound seemed to have more active immunity, suggesting the symptoms could be partly due to an overactive immune system sweeping up the last bits of the virus. Whether they took Paxlovid or not, the people who experienced COVID rebound made antibodies against COVID-19 equally fast. This suggests that Paxlovid was not stifling the immune response of those who took it, allowing researchers to rule out a poor immune response allowing the virus to linger and cause COVID rebound. This research suggests that Paxlovid is working as expected, even though symptoms may come back or people may test positive for the virus afterward. Additionally, small studies like this help researchers figure out what’s going on in the body or in the cells, providing leads for other studies.
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