Please see the CDC Health Advisory entitled, “Rapid Increase in Ivermectin Prescriptions and Reports of Severe Illness Associated with Use of Products Containing Ivermectin to Prevent or Treat COVID-19” and the DHSS Health Alert “Self-medication with Ivermectin for the Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19.”
Should you have any questions, please contact the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ Bureau of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention at 573-751-6113.
SLCR has received questions regarding whether or not Skilled Nursing Facilities can be a clinical or on the job training sight for students entering health care fields. The quick answer is YES! Long-term care facilities can use the guidance from CMS memo QSO 20-39-NH and DHSS visitation guidance as a way to say “YES” to hosting schools who are training our next workforce in long-term care. Students can be considered health care workers who are not employees of the facility but provide direct care to the facility’s residents. They can be permitted to come into the facility as long as they are not subject to a work exclusion due to an exposure to COVID-19 or showing signs or symptoms of COVID-19 after being screened. Facilities should work with the schools to ensure they are aware of infection control policies and procedures and to whom questions can be addressed.
The most recent visitation guidance from CMS and DHSS can be accessed on our website: https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/professionals.php.
For questions related to this, please contact Angela.Duvall@health.mo.gov.
Following recent announcements from the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, certain immunocompromised individuals can begin receiving third doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Missouri.
A third dose of the PfizerNBioTech or Moderna vaccines may be administered to moderately to severely immunocompromised people due to a medical condition or combination of immunosuppressive medication or treatments including but not limited to the following:
Individuals who do not meet the criteria for “moderately to severely immunocompromised” do not need a third dose at this time.
In line with federal guidelines, Missouri will use a self-attestation model for people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. Individuals will not be required to provide documentation of their health status, and they can get third doses at all venues where first and second doses are available.
This guidance does not apply to those who received the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine. For people who received either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine series, a third dose of the same mRNA vaccine should be used. A person should not receive more than three mRNA vaccine doses at this time. If the mRNA vaccine product given for the first two doses is not available or is unknown, either mRNA COVID-19 vaccine product may be administered. Individuals should wait at least 28 days between their second and third doses.
Announcements from federal health officials came after the analysis of studies demonstrating that immunosuppressed people are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19, are at higher risk for prolonged infection, are more likely to transmit the virus, and experience lower vaccine effectiveness.
Additional information regarding this guidance can be found on the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/immuno.html.
Interim clinical considerations for use of COVID-19 vaccines can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html.
Missouri’s revised standing orders can be found at https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/statewide-orders.php.
Due to the recent increase in COVID activity in skilled nursing facilities as well as outbreaks in assisted living communities, here are some resources that may be of interest to your members and ask that you share this material as widely as possible.
Below, you will find a fact sheet and social media graphics that reiterates important infection prevention strategies, including promoting COVID-19 vaccinations and continuing to wear a mask. This factsheet can be emailed to staff or used as a poster to reinforce the urgent actions CDC is asking of all healthcare providers and staff in long-term care facilities.
Additionally, there are also two slide decks that were reviewed on our partner call last week. The first slide deck summarizes the urgent action CDC recommends for protecting residents and staff from COVID infections as well as information about how CDC is working to ensure vaccine access for long-term care facilities. The second slide deck provides additional information about monoclonal antibody treatment.
LTC Infection Control Delta Factsheet
2021-08-11 LTC MAb update Slide Show
NH partner summary_21-08
Finally, below are links to existing web resources. Please share these as well.
The Department of Health and Senior Services has entered into a contract with SLS Health to assist with staffing needs for healthcare facilities, including long-term care facilities. The contract will allow skilled nursing, intermediate care, assisted living or residential care facilities to access the contract to secure healthcare staffing according to a firm, fixed rate. Payment for the staffing costs will be borne by the respective facility. Please see below attachments for additional information about the contract, how to access staffing resources, and applicable rates.
Missouri’s COVID-19 Healthcare Augmentation LTC slides
Attachment B
As of August 13, 2021, any Shanghai Dasheng Health Products Manufacture Co., Ltd. respirator with a NIOSH approval label containing a revoked approval number is no longer NIOSH-approved and cannot be manufactured, assembled, sold, or distributed.
See the link below to find the approval numbers of the respirators that have been de-certified. The approval number starts with TC-84A. If you can’t find this number on the respirator or its packaging, it was never NIOSH approved in the first place and shouldn’t be used, but if it has any of the listed TC numbers in the link below on the respirator itself or its packaging, you should discontinue use immediately and remove from use any that have been distributed.
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/resources/pressrel/letters/respprotect/CA-2021-1038.html
Changes are underway for CDC’s Weekly NHSN COVID-19 Vaccination Modules. In anticipation of recommendations for additional COVID-19 vaccine series, new questions on COVID-19 vaccine doses will be added to the current data collection forms in August 2021. The main changes to the forms for all three facility types are listed below:
To help facilities prepare for these changes, CDC is conducting listen-only training webinars.
Topic: Changes to the Weekly NHSN COVID-19 Vaccination Data Collection Forms for Long-Term Care Facilities
Date: Wednesday, Aug 25, 2021
Time: 2:30 – 3:30 PM ET
https://cdc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_tC-VNNB_QIaHs5IslpwmcQ
Below is a link to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services COVID-19 after action survey. This survey is designed to gather feedback from a variety of healthcare and public health partners and organizations. Please respond by selecting the discipline that reflects your organization and submit one survey per organization, excluding state agency partners. Your responses to this survey should be based on your organizations role and perspective of the COVID response. Receiving input from a variety of stakeholders, at all levels of the response, will help us better identify our strengths and weakness of the public health and medical services emergency Support function.
Please see this FAQs for more information. Thank you in advance for your participation!
Healthcare personnel and resident COVID-19 vaccination coverage data submitted to NHSN provide critical information to public health officials. These data are used to assess resource needs and enable partner coordination for the deployment of vaccination supply and administration support.
We ask that you pay close attention to the following questions in the Vaccine Supply section of the vaccination coverage forms:
NHSN strongly encourages users to continually review responses to these questions in the NHSN application to ensure the information reported is up-to-date and accurate. This will give public health officials a better sense of any current COVID-19 vaccine supply needs and issues that facilities may be encountering. Data collection forms for residents and healthcare personnel of long-term care facilities can be found under the “Data Collection Forms and Instructions” heading of the following webpage: https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/ltc/weekly-covid-vac/index.html.
If your facility is experiencing issues with COVID-19 vaccine supply, please contact your state or local jurisdiction for assistance and learn more through this CDC webpage: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/long-term-care/pharmacy-partnerships-access.html.
For questions related to NHSN and data reporting, please contact us at: NHSN@cdc.gov.
NHSN COVID-19 Vaccination Data Collection Forms for Healthcare Personnel will be Revised
What are the changes?
New categories will now include:
How should I prepare?
Long-term care and non-long-term care facilities should develop or update data tracking mechanisms to collect weekly COVID-19 vaccination data on these new categories of healthcare personnel.
How can I learn more?
CDC will be conducting training webinars this fall. More information on these webinars will be shared later this summer, so stayed tuned!
Who do I contact with questions?
Please send an e-mail to NHSN@cdc.gov with ‘COVID-19 Vaccination Data Reporting’ in the subject line.
August 20, 2021: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Guest: LaVrene Norton, Action Pact Founder & Executive Leader and Megan Hannan, Action Pact Consultant; with Host Carmen Bowman
Need help getting everyone out of the doldrums of COVID? Let free the spirit of joy and love – work together to bring back the simple pleasures of home. Create team on the fly. Let music and laughter rock the halls. Wave!
Think Neighborhood. Have a block party.
We begin again with a short presentation on the Artifacts of Culture Change as they can offer us a measurable road map. We will then head down the path to Neighborhood where culture change begins. Where good neighbors work together to enjoy and share the simple pleasures of daily life.
The healthcare continuum is again becoming strained with the number of positive cases across the state. This portal was originally established in November to improve communication across the care continuum to assist in ensuring Missourians have access to the right care in the right setting.
We are renewing our request for long-term care communities to complete a brief survey each day in order to identify available beds for potential admissions. Participation in the bed availability survey is voluntary. The survey may be accessed at https://arcg.is/1rjKy8.
The dashboard was reset on July 15th, so any homes that have not submitted data since the reset occurred will need to submit an initial survey – old update links will no longer work. Homes that have submitted data since the reset can continue to submit using the update link.
Reminder: After submitting the initial survey, a confirmation email will be provided for a link to update your survey each day (instead of submitting a new survey). Submitting a new survey results in multiple surveys showing on the map with different bed numbers. This makes it difficult to know which totals are current. Please use the link emailed after the initial submission to edit facility bed availability. Please do not submit an “initial” submission more than once. If information does not change from day to day, the submitter can simply update the date and submit – the prior day’s information will populate.
The survey information will populate an accompanying dashboard that will be available to hospitals to use as a tool in finding placement for those patients who would be best served in a long-term care setting. This dashboard may be accessed at https://mophep.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/f1e0745f93fe46b482d8ff4585f821bf. To view instructions on utilizing the dashboard, click on ‘Instructions’ under the map for information.
QIPMO has collaborated with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) in response to the novel Coronavirus known as COVID-19. In doing so, QIPMO has formed a new Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) team with a primary goal of assisting Missouri Long-Term Care Facilities to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases.
Please see the flyer or visit the following QIPMO webpage – https://nursinghomehelp.org/icar-project/.
Missouri has limited PPE reserves to assist in filling these critical needs and will prioritize healthcare providers providing direct care to confirmed or suspected COVID patients. Note requests should only be submitted after all normal supply chains, including the Missouri COVID Supply Solution, have been exhausted and providers have a supply of twenty-one days or less on hand.
Please be sure to describe the urgent need for PPE and your situation in the comments on the form.
https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/ppe.php
LTC Bed Availability Portal
The healthcare continuum is again becoming strained with the number of positive cases across the state. This portal was originally established in November to improve communication across the care continuum to assist in ensuring Missourians have access to the right care in the right setting.
We are renewing our request for long-term care communities to complete a brief survey each day in order to identify available beds for potential admissions. Participation in the bed availability survey is voluntary. The survey may be accessed at https://arcg.is/1rjKy8.
The dashboard is being reset and all previous data is being deleted, so all communities will need to submit an initial survey – old update links will no longer work.
Reminder: After submitting the initial survey, a confirmation email will be provided for a link to update your survey each day (instead of submitting a new survey). Submitting a new survey results in multiple surveys showing on the map with different bed numbers. This makes it difficult to know which totals are current. Please use the link emailed after the initial submission to edit facility bed availability. Please do not submit an “initial” submission more than once. If information does not change from day to day, the submitter can simply update the date and submit – the prior day’s information will populate.
The survey information will populate an accompanying dashboard that will be available to hospitals to use as a tool in finding placement for those patients who would be best served in a long-term care setting. This dashboard may be accessed at https://mophep.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/f1e0745f93fe46b482d8ff4585f821bf. To view instructions on utilizing the dashboard, click on ‘Instructions’ under the map for information.
Abbott BinaxNOW Testing Supplies
To order Abbott BinaxNOW from the state (one time shipments):
Missouri Long Term Care Facilities (RCF, ALF, ICF, and SNF), private Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF-IID), and Adult Day Care programs may order free Abbott BinaxNOW Testing Supplies from DHSS and SEMA via the following link: https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/testing-resources.php.Then scroll down under BinaxNOW Testing to the BinaxNOW hub and click on that link – then scroll to the icon for long-term care facilities and click on that icon. It takes you to a gray colored page that says to click ‘here’ to re-order; from that re-order form, click on Facility Type in the upper right hand corner and choose LTCF from the drop down box; then click on the your facility’s name in the drop down box entitled Facility Name.
The re-order form should then auto populate your contact information into the form and you simply tell us how many tests you need toward the bottom of that form, then click submit.
To reinstate direct shipments of Abbott BinaxNOW from the federal government:
Providers should email their facility information, shipping address and the BinaxNOW delivery Point of Contact for the facility and request to be added back onto the direct shipment list to Binax.Team@hhs.gov. Please be aware this can take up to 2 weeks to begin receiving shipments again.
DHSS guidance related to COVID-19 outbreaks, visitation, reporting, waivers, etc.- can be found on our website:
COVID-19 Reporting Requirements
|
|
Reporting Process/Form |
System |
Purpose/Description |
Required? |
Time Frame |
|
1 |
REDCap: DHSS |
Reporting form for all positive case results, including staff and residents. This includes Point of Care (POC) and PCR testing. |
Yes, for all SNF, ICF, RCF, ALF, ICF-IID and Adult Day Care |
Within 24 hours of positive result |
|
|
2 |
Long Term Care Facility COVID-19 Outbreak Testing Data Reporting |
REDCap: DHSS |
Reporting portal for outbreak testing dates, number of residents and staff tested. |
Yes, for all SNF, ICF, RCF, ALF, and ICF-IID. |
Within 24 hours of testing |
|
3 |
Web Portal: Managed by NHSN |
NHSN-required fields solely for certified nursing homes (SNF/NFs). |
Yes, for all certified SNF/NF. Voluntary for any state licensed only facility (RCF/ALF/Adult Day Care) or ICF-IID. |
Weekly, with a preference for submission on the same day each week |
|
|
4 |
Web Portal: NHSN |
POC test reporting that includes both positive and negative POC test results (even if potentially a false positive). |
Yes, for any facility not reporting to DHSS in Row 5 |
Within 24 hours of result of POC test |
|
|
5 |
Secure File Transfer/CSV file: DHSS |
POC test reporting that includes both positive and negative POC test results (even if potentially a false positive). |
Yes, for any facility not reporting to NHSN in Row 4 |
Within 24 hours of result of POC test |
Archived Listserv messages can be found on our blog site: https://ltc.health.mo.gov/
Missouri Long Term Care Facilities (RCF, ALF, ICF, and SNF), private Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF-IID), and Adult Day Care programs may order free Abbott BinaxNOW Testing Supplies from DHSS and SEMA via the following link: https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/testing-resources.php.
If your organization is a new requester from the state, the form will direct you to complete a new application for tests rather than just re-ordering. The link for the initial application for each user type is within the above re-order link.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires nursing homes to submit information each week to the National Healthcare Safety Network’s (NHSN) COVID-19 Vaccination Data Reporting Module. The deadline for reporting the previous week’s cumulative vaccination rates is every Sunday by 11:59 p.m. ET.
To help keep your reporting weeks organized at-a-glance, the Health Quality Innovation Network (HQIN) has developed a printable NHSN Weekly COVID-19 Vaccination Data Reporting sheet outlining the NHSN submission deadlines for 2021.
HQIN has provided NHSN reporting assistance to many facilities across the state. If you would like to receive no-cost assistance, we encourage you to join the HQIN Nursing Home NHSN Reporting Group. This will enable HQIN to view your data for problem-solving and quality improvement purposes. Download How to Join the HQIN Nursing Home Reporting NHSN Group for easy instructions on how to join.
As your dedicated Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), HQIN is available to support you and your facility with the required COVID-19 vaccine administration reporting. If you have questions, please contact HQIN.
About the Health Quality Innovation Network
Led by Health Quality Innovators and its quality improvement partners, the Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence, KFMC Health Improvement Partners, and the Kansas Healthcare Collaborative, HQIN is the Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for Kansas, Missouri, South Carolina and Virginia. To learn more visit https://www.hqin.org.
Testing remains a key tool to keeping Missourians safe and open for activity. Testing is not only for those who are symptomatic, but important for periodic surveillance especially when interacting with vulnerable populations and crowds. Many camps, events, and travel now require evidence of a test result before participation.
A simple test can provide peace of mind. Missouri provides several options for obtaining a free COVID-19 PCR test without any symptom criteria. The opportunities for testing include:
More information about testing can be found at www.health.mo.gov/communitytest.
Below is the DHSS Health Advisory, dated 06/30/2021, entitled, “National Pause for the Distribution and Utilization of Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab for the Treatment of Mild to Moderate COVID-19” Should you have any questions, please contact the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ Bureau of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention at 573-751-6113.
Of special note, because of the increase in cases in the Southwest region, there will be one additional testing day this week and one next week, Friday, July 2 in Joplin, and Tuesday, July 6 in Wright County– see below.
Testing remains a very important tool in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is now offering two options for FREE COVID-19 testing.
First, there are in-person testing events hosted around the state. Individuals are not required to pre-register or have an appointment, simply show up to one of the events below to receive the test. A government issued ID is not a requirement for this testing, but having one available onsite speeds up the registration process. Additional testing sites (with regular or one-time opportunities) may be added as indicators suggest the need for additional testing. The following events listed below are scheduled as of today. The latest information can always be found at www.health.mo.gov/communitytest.
Second, Missouri residents may order a free test to be mailed to their Missouri address. These are PCR kits that are designed for self-collection with a return FedEx shipping container. Once received back by the laboratory, the result is returned to the person tested (via email provided) within 48 hours. More information about the at home self-collection kits and a link to order are also found at www.health.mo.gov/communitytest.
In-person Testing Events Scheduled as of June 29, 2021:
St. Louis Area
Central Area
Southwest Area
Kansas City Area
Southeast Area
Community Corps Members:
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, staff in nursing homes have been providing ongoing care to our nation’s most vulnerable. It’s on trusted messengers like you to make sure we’re reaching people who need to be protected from the COVID-19 virus.
Building vaccine confidence among Long-Term Care Facility staff and residents is important. That’s why we wanted to pass along useful data, materials, and resources to be able to guide conversations, answer questions, and help get people vaccinated.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Resources:
Keeping our communities safe has never been more critical. Thanks for all you do.
The HHS COVID-19 Community Corps Team
Missouri is experiencing a rise in individuals contracting the Delta variant (B.1.617.2, first detected in India) of the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2. It was announced by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention yesterday that the Delta variant has been reclassified as a “variant of concern” in the United States. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has been closely monitoring these developments and has been on the national leading edge of aggressive wastewater testing for variants of concern.
The Delta variant joins the B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.427/B.1.429 (Epsilon) variants circulating in the United States which are already classified as variants of concern.
Deemed highly transmissible, the Delta virus has been already detected in over 70 countries of the world, and is projected to become dominant worldwide. It is also causing more serious illness and hospitalizations among those who have not been vaccinated.
Monitoring the spread of emerging variants in the United States relies on widespread, rapid sequencing. While this national effort is still somewhat limited, it is clear that the variant has become prevalent in communities throughout Missouri. In February, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) began testing wastewater samples to look for the presence of these variants. These testing results are displayed in a new layer of the COVID-19 sewershed surveillance StoryMap.
The unpredictability of emerging variants is cause for continuation of infection prevention precautions.
“Our greatest concern in Missouri is areas with lower vaccine uptake,” said Robert Knodell, Acting Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). “With this variant being easier to spread and possibly causing more severe illnesses among unvaccinated people of all ages, vaccinations are the best way to stop this virus in its tracks.”
This recent rise of the highly transmissible Delta variant underscores the importance of continued testing for COVID-19 of all those with related symptoms, as well as those who have been exposed to the virus but may not have symptoms.
Social distancing and appropriate masking remain important and effective public health countermeasures. Vaccination is the most effective and long-lasting tool for protection from this infection. DHSS continues to encourage anyone age 12 and up to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Get the facts about COVID-19 vaccines and where to get vaccinated at MOStopsCovid.com.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) along with the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council released a new resource, the “Missouri Plain Language Guide for People with Disabilities, their Families and Caregivers,” on COVID-19 and the vaccine.
Through this partnership, the new guide will ensure that important information related to COVID-19 and vaccine access is more accessible to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and others with disabilities affecting reading, comprehension and other cognitive functions.
“After reading this new Missouri Plain Language Guide, I was very impressed with two very important things: 1) the amount of important and vitally necessary information that it contains; and 2) how plain and understandable the format is, that was used to present it, without diluting any of the valuable information that it conveys to the reader. I believe that this will prove to be a very valuable tool for persons with disabilities and many others,” said Cathy Enfield, Chairperson and Self-Advocate, Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council.
“There is so much information available about COVID-19 and vaccines, that it could be hard to navigate through the information. We value the collaboration with DHSS, to provide accurate information in a plain language format that is accessible to so many who experience disabilities. We look forward to continuing this important work to ensure the disability community has information to make decisions about their health,” said Vicky Davidson, Executive Director, Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council.
People with disabilities, their family members and caregivers have been eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the earliest phases of Missouri’s vaccine rollout. Currently, any Missourian age 12 and older is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Since the beginning of 2021, DHSS and the Missouri Advisory Committee on Equitable COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution have been focused on deploying new strategies and resources to meet the disability community where they are – this new guide is a resource to support Missouri’s disability community and those individuals, family members and caregivers who support them.
“Since day one at DHSS, our goal has been to ensure Missouri’s most vulnerable, people with disabilities and those who support them (i.e., their families, caregivers and disability service providers) were at the front of the line to receive the free vaccine throughout our vaccine roll-out process. Throughout the year, we have also been working to deploy new strategies and resources to meet the disability community where they are. Our new plain language guide is an additional resource for Missourians with disabilities and those who support them,” said Sara Hart Weir, co-chair of the Missouri Advisory Committee on Equitable COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution.
Enfield added, “We simply need information to be supplied in a clear, plain and understandable way. As Chair of the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council, I am proud of the work that our members and staff did on the document. I applaud their efforts and the efforts of all those who were involved.”
If you or someone you know is unable to visit a COVID-19 vaccination clinic without assistance, please call the COVID-19 Hotline at 877-435-8411 and press option 4 to be routed directly to your local Area Agency on Aging to make a vaccine appointment. You can also register individuals for the vaccine by visiting Missouri’s COVID-19 website, MOStopsCovid.com. COVID-19 Hotline hours of operation are Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.-2 p.m. (Hotline is open on Saturdays through until June 11.) Individuals are encouraged to call soon to ensure their names are added to the list.
June 18, 2021: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Guest: LaVrene Norton, Action Pact Founder, Executive Leader/CEO
Need help getting everyone out of the doldrums of COVID? Let free the spirit of joy and love – work together to bring back the simple pleasures of home. Create team on the fly. Let music and laughter rock the halls. Wave!
Think Neighborhood. Have a block party.
We begin again with a short presentation on the Artifacts of Culture Change as they can offer us a measurable road map. We will then head down the path to Neighborhood where culture change begins. Where good neighbors work together to enjoy and share the simple pleasures of daily life.
DHSS will cease recoupment of excess Abbott BinaxNOW cards effective Friday, June 11 – meaning any recoupment requests must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 11 in order to be sent a mailing label. As before, we will only accept unopened boxes and box lots that have at least 30 days or more to expiration, please refer to the most recent extension expiry letter from Abbott. After that date, the recoupment form will be removed from the DHSS website.
If your facility has an excess of Abbott BinaxNow Cards, which you are unable to use prior to them expiring, please provide your information on the recoupment form link: https://mophep.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/1913bb3c639843c49b74350a4652d750.
SEMA will send you UPS shipping labels and the tests will be sent to the state warehouse for redistribution- so they do not expire before they can be used.
Please note the following:
CANCELLING DIRECT SHIPMENTS
The sooner we’re all vaccinated for COVID-19, the safer we’ll all be. And that is especially true for point of care staff. That’s why the Health Quality Innovation Network (HQIN), in collaboration with the Missouri Nursing Home Advisory Council, is seeking brief statements from the frontline – why your staff members chose to be vaccinated.
Peer-to-peer encouragement can boost vaccine confidence as well as vaccination rates.
Would any of your team members be willing to share their vaccination “story?” All it takes is completing a brief online form and uploading a photo, which could be a selfie, the staff member being vaccinated, or even an image to depict the reason they got vaccinated such as to keep their loved ones and residents healthy.
To participate, simply share the COVID-19 Vaccine Experience Consent form with staff or complete it for them (with their consent).
The collection of powerful impact statements will be developed into posters and social media posts so that we can spread the word, rather than the virus.
Questions? Email HQI.