STATE NEWS
Important Survey on Staffing Shortages in Kansas
As we approach the 2023 Legislative Session we are gathering new data to tell the story of how staffing shortages in long term care affect the lives of older Kansans and their families. It has never been more important for the legislature to fully fund our nursing homes, support increased workforce in the health care sector, and enact important reforms for health care staffing agencies.
Please take a few minutes to fill out our “Admissions Survey” for nursing facilities and assisted living. If you operate both, please fill out a survey on each setting. Thank you!
Assisted Living Facility Survey
FEDERAL NEWS
HHS-LeadingAge and AHCA Partnership to Increase Bivalent Booster Uptake by Nursing Home Residents
In the fast moving “All Hands on Deck” HHS-LeadingAge/AHCA partnership to increase nursing home resident uptake of bivalent boosters, the LeadingAge team submitted a report to HHS on progress this week. While nursing homes nationwide are seeing just under 45% of residents accepting the bivalent booster, more than 58% of LeadingAge nursing home residents have accepted it. The HHS team is still working hard on the requests the two Associations made. First, the Secretary and his representatives are engaged in conversations with hospitals to promote hospital staff to offer bivalent boosters to anyone they care for (including in the emergency department), particularly critical for those leaving the hospital to transfer to a nursing home. In addition, HHS hopes to be able to report back next week on results of their analysis about how to enable more nursing home providers to become vaccinators – as soon as we learn more, we will share with members.
HHS Single Dose Vials of COVID Vaccine Now Available
On November 1th4, HHS’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response announced that single dose vials of COVID vaccines would soon be available. These will offer greater flexibility in vaccine distribution and expand the number of sites where vaccines can be administered. LeadingAge has learned that some state health departments have begun to let providers know that these single dose vials are now available in limited supply. State partners and providers may want to check with their public health departments about availability.
LEADINGAGE KANSAS NEWS
Friday Webinar
Join us each Friday for an update on what is going on pertaining to 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
Upcoming LeadingAge Coronavirus Calls: All calls are at 2:30 PM CT
On Monday, December 12th, Alex Goldstein will join us to talk about @FacesofCOVID, an online initiative that has been cataloging the faces and names of those who died from coronavirus. Goldstein started this forum “…as a way to affirm that these people were are more than a statistic and their lives mattered and they had dignity, and that it meant something.”
On Wednesday, December 14th, Erin Vigne, Director, of Clinical Affairs at AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine will join us to talk about their new “Tripledemic Toolkit”.
If you haven’t registered for LeadingAge Update Calls, you can do so here. You can also find previous call recordings here. Note that to access recordings of the calls you need a LeadingAge password. Any staff member of any LeadingAge member organization can set up a password to access previous calls and other “members only” content.
Develop Your COVID Personal Action Plan Now
With COVID cases on the rise again during the fall and winter months, it’s more important than ever to have a personal action plan in place for you and your family. Don’t wait until you get sick before deciding what to do. This template has been developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) so everyone has the tools and information necessary to put a plan together now. Check out the COVID Personal Action Plan here. The template can be shared with residents, clients, patients, anyone served or cared for by LeadingAge members, too.
RESOURCES
Session on Indoor Air Quality in Long-Term Care, December 16th at 10:00 AM CT
Experts identified by the White House COVID team, Joe Allen and Linsey Marr of Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health, will present a session on indoor air quality in long-term care settings, specifically for members of LeadingAge and AHCA. Additional info will be shared as soon as they are available.
COCA Call: COVID-19 Update: Clinical Guidance and Patient Education for Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines
The Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) will hold a call Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CT. During this COCA Call, presenters will discuss updates on bivalent vaccines including the most recent vaccine effectiveness data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s clinical guidance for bivalent vaccines, and strategies for communicating with patients about COVID-19 vaccination. For more information, please visit: COCA Calls/Webinars
THANKS TO OUR BRONZE PARTNER
