FEDERAL NEWS
Promoting Bivalent Vaccinations for Older Adults: State Perspectives and Partnerships
On December 15th at 2:00 – 3:00 PM CT, the CDC will host a webinar to highlight successful strategies for public health programs to engage older adults in both community and LTC settings and increase awareness and acceptance of bivalent vaccines through outreach and partnerships. The webinar will feature representatives from the North Dakota Immunization Services Program, the Ohio Department of Aging Services, Minnesota Care Providers, and the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Jackson County, Wisconsin. Join the zoom webinar using this link or by calling into (646) 828-7666 and using Meeting ID: 161 148 9877 and Passcode: 6662500.
OSHA Submits Final Rule for OMB Review Concerning Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Dec. 7th sent a final rule on Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Members will recall that in June 2021, OSHA adopted a Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) intended to protect workers by mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in settings that provide healthcare or healthcare support services. OSHA withdrew the Healthcare ETS in Dec. 2021 (with the exception of record keeping provisions) but indicated that it intended to continue work on a permanent standard – informed by comments it had received from the public while the ETS was in effect. We don’t know when the final rule will be published, but OMB review is the final step in the process before publication occurs. We will monitor closely for release of the final rule.
HRSA Begins Issuing Final Repayment Notices for Non-Compliance with PRF Terms and Conditions
HRSA notified LeadingAge on Friday, December 9 that it has begun issuing final repayment notices to providers who are out of compliance with the terms and conditions for Provider Relief Fund payments. Reasons providers might be deemed out of compliance could include failure to report on Targeted Distributions such as the Nursing Home Infection control incentive payments. Providers who receive these notices can contact the Provider Support Line at 1-866-569-3522 if it is not clear why the provider is out of compliance or if they don’t agree with the determination. HRSA said it will be publishing additional resources on its website early this week regarding these notices. LeadingAge will share the additional resources as they become available.
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 at 2:30 PM CT
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.”
On Monday, December 19th, Carrie Reed, DSc, MPH, Acting Chief of the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch of the Influenza Division at CDC and Dr. Barbara Mahon Acting Director, Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division (CORVD) in CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) will join us to talk about Nowcast, a model that estimates the most current estimates of circulating variants. It is a tool that LeadingAge members can use to track the most current information about COVID in their community, by variant, in order to determine if any actions need to be considered. We’ll talk with these CDC experts about how aging services providers can use Nowcast.
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.
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