Cultivating LTC Leaders: Topics in Regulatory, Legal and Compliance Management – 12-month webinar series
January – December 2021
Standards of Care: Master the Core Elements of LTC Clinical Excellence – 12-month webinar series
January – December 2021
Medicare from Start to Finish – Virtual workshop
February 9-10, 2021
RAI Process from Start to Finish – Virtual Workshop
March 16-18, 2021
Federal Review Course for Nursing Home Administrators – Virtual Workshop
April 19-20, 2021
February 18, 2021: The Artifacts of Culture Change 2.0 – It’s Here
Guides: Karen Schoeneman, Karen Schoeneman Consulting: Quality of Life and Culture Change, and Carmen Bowman, Regulator turned Educator, Edu-Catering: Catering Education for Compliance and Culture Change
The Artifacts of Culture Change (ACC), originally developed in 2006 by Karen Schoeneman and Carmen Bowman as a CMS funded project, has recently been updated and expanded into the ACC 2.0, reflecting the many culture change and person-directed practices that are part of turning an institution into a home/community. The ACC 2.0 is integral to the culture change movement and a great way for communities to assess and measure where they are on the culture change journey, celebrate accomplishments, and generate goals and action plans for the journey. There are now two ACC 2.0 tools: one for nursing homes and the other for assisted living communities ACC-AL). Life plan communities have their choice of the two.
This webinar will provide an overview of the ACC 2.0 for nursing homes and the new ACC-AL for assisted living. Karen and Carmen will explain why and how the 2.0 versions were developed, introduce the subsections with examples, and describe best practices for completing the tool as a team.
And there’s more. Pioneer Network will soon be hosting web-based versions of both tools for download and/or online completion, along with videos to assist in completion of the tools. New web pages will soon be available with helpful resources to support teams in learning how to implement the practices reflected in the tool.
February 19, 2021: Increasing Movement Intentionally – Video, Virtual, Visual During Family Visits and with Validation®
Guest: Kim Eichinger, Executive Director of Dynamic Living at Country Meadows Retirement Communities
Join Kim and Carmen, both certified in the Validation Method® for a variety of ideas on increasing movement during a pandemic. From items placed in the room that naturally create movement to ideas for roommates to consider; from doorway exercises to prompts from all staff team members; from video suggestions to virtual and family visit options. Get your creative juices flowing using Validation to match the natural rhythms of the person. The results can be amazing, as opposed to forcing a person to do what we think they should.
March 3-5, 2021: 30th Annual Nursing Home Administrator Conference – VIRTUAL
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in the best interest of the health and safety of our attendees, the Missouri League for Nursing’s Nursing Home Administrator Conference is being held VIRTUALLY this year. This VIRTUAL conference will offer 20 hours of CE in 2.5 days.
Nursing Home Administrators will be provided with essential information needed to effectively serve long-term care residents and successfully perform their leadership role and job responsibilities.
March 10-12, 2021: 2021 Winterfest Conference & Trade Show: Refresh, Refocus, Renew
Location: Ameristar Hotel & Spa, St. Charles
Missouri Association of Nursing Home Administrators is pleased to invite you to attend their midyear conference, Winterfest. We have all experienced a very challenging year and need to Refresh, Refocus, Renew! The goal of this conference is to provide long-term care administrators and their staff practical and inspirational education hours along with the opportunity to network and socialize with colleagues. It is also the only MANHA-sponsored conference that provides a chance to view the latest technology, products, and services offered by suppliers.
January 21, 2021: Working Together to Find Our Way to Yes
How many times have you or your team had a great idea about how to do something in your community, and you want to say ‘yes’, but are stopped short because it might be too risky, or the biggest reason heard, that the regulations say you can’t do it.
Even as we say this, we know that person-centered practices and the regulations are not at odds. Sometimes it’s the interpretation, or more often, it’s not WHAT we do, but HOW we do it that creates the conflict.
Pioneer Network is proud to bring together a dynamic panel of individuals from the field of aging services – all of them risk-takers at heart – to share and discuss ideas on how we can work together to find a way to say yes to the person-centered practices we strive to bring to our communities.
Please find this week’s review of CDC’s COVID-19 resources and information. We continue to highlight COVID-19 vaccine information in addition to resources specific to healthcare quality and worker safety and health.
COVID-19 VACCINE RESOURCES
CDC COVID Data Tracker — Vaccinations are now being tracked on CDC’s COVID Data Tracker. Numbers reported on CDC’s website are validated through a submission process with each jurisdiction and may differ from numbers posted on other websites. Differences between reporting jurisdictions and CDC’s website may occur due to the timing of reporting and website updates.
How to Report COVID Vaccine-Related Adverse Events — As Americans start receiving their first COVID-19 vaccines, additional data on potential adverse events are needed in real time. Healthcare providers will play a critical role in reporting vaccine-related adverse events through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Providers can also encourage individual patients to self-report potential adverse events as they occur through v-safe, CDC’s new patient reporting platform. Read more in this new CDC Medscape Expert Commentary by Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Team Lead.
Updated Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Authorized in the United States — This guidance has been updated to include the following:
To learn more, please visit: mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines.
Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination in Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF) — Making sure LTCF residents can receive COVID-19 vaccination as soon as vaccine is available will help save the lives of those who are most at risk of dying from COVID-19. CDC updates frequently asked questions for Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control and Healthcare Professionals regularly based on feedback from professionals on the ground.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
US COVID-19 Cases Caused by Variants — The cases identified are based on a sampling of SARS-CoV-2-positive specimens and do not represent the total number of B.1.1.7 lineage cases that may be circulating in the United States and may not match numbers reported by states, territories, tribes, and local officials.
SARS-CoV-2 Transmission from People Without COVID-19 Symptoms — Researchers used a model to assess the proportion of COVID-19 spread that likely occurs from infected people who do not have symptoms. They found that more than 50% of new COVID-19 infections were estimated to have come from people without symptoms. These findings underscore the importance of measures such as wearing masks, social distancing, and washing hands to slow the spread of COVID-19. Strategic testing of people who are not ill, such as those who have been exposed to COVID-19 or those with frequent contact with the public, can also reduce the spread of COVID-19 until safe and effective vaccines are widely available.
Summary for Healthcare Facilities: Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of PPE during Shortages — This quick reference summarizes CDC’s strategies to optimize personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies in healthcare settings and provides links to CDC’s full guidance documents on optimizing supplies which provide additional strategies and details.
Summary for Healthcare Facilities: Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators during Shortages — This summary is intended to help healthcare facilities optimize supplies of disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirators when there is limited supply during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Updated People with Certain Medical Conditions — Revisions were made on December 23, 2020 to reflect recent data supporting increased risk of severe illness among persons with Down Syndrome from the virus that causes COVID-19. Revisions also include addition of sickle cell disease and chronic kidney disease to the conditions that might increase the risk of severe illness among children.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) — Allergic Reactions Including Anaphylaxis After Receipt of the First Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine — United States, December 14–23, 2020 — This report summarizes the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of people in the U.S. with anaphylaxis and non-anaphylaxis allergic reactions following administration of a first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during December 14-23, 2020. Monitoring by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System detected 21 cases of anaphylaxis after administration of a reported 1,893,360 first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (11.1 cases per million doses); 71% of these occurred within 15 minutes of vaccination. Post-event follow-up indicates that the patients experiencing anaphylaxis fully recovered following treatment. You can learn more here: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) — Rates of COVID-19 Among Residents and Staff Members in Nursing Homes — United States, May 25–November 22, 2020 — A federal mandate issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), required nursing homes to commence enrollment and routine reporting of COVID-19 cases among residents and staff members by May 25, 2020. This report uses the NHSN nursing home COVID-19 data reported during May 25–November 22, 2020, to describe COVID-19 rates among nursing home residents and staff members and compares these with rates in surrounding communities by corresponding U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) region. You can learn more here: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) — Assessment of Day-7 Postexposure Testing of Asymptomatic Contacts of COVID-19 Patients to Evaluate Early Release from Quarantine — Vermont, May–November 2020 — On May 8, 2020, the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) issued a Health Update recommending shortening the duration of quarantine for persons exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Exposed persons who were in quarantine could be tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on or after quarantine day 7. Those who had remained asymptomatic throughout quarantine and who received a negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test result on or after day 7 could end quarantine. You can learn more here: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
UPCOMING CALLS/WEBINARS
COVID-19 Partner Update Call: CDC COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Guidance and Tools – Thursday, January 21, 2021, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) — Dr. Cliff McDonald, Acting Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Melanie Taylor, Deputy, COVID-19 Contact Tracing Innovations Support will present. Ms. Michelle Putnam, Deputy, Policy Unit Partnerships & Risk Management Team will moderate. Dr. McDonald will share updates on CDC’s COVID-19 response, including the latest scientific information and what everyone should know about protecting themselves and others. In addition, Dr. Taylor will provide an overview on contact tracing guidance and tools. All questions will be collected in advance of the webinar. Click here to register
The call will be recorded and posted with previous Partner Update webinars here.
Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) – Treating Long-COVID: Clinician Experience with Post-Acute COVID-19 Care — The Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) will hold a call Thursday, January 28, 2021, from 2:00–3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). During this COCA Call, presenters will share their firsthand experiences with treating long COVID, focusing on the pulmonary, neurologic, and psychological aspects. They will also describe their experiences with establishing clinics that provide care for patients with these long-term effects. For more information, please visit: COCA Calls/Webinars
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT — Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) – COVID-19 Vaccines: Update on Allergic Reactions, Contraindications, and Precautions — The Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) hosted a call Wednesday, December 30, 2020. During this COCA Call, presenters gave an overview of recommendations for use of COVID-19 vaccines in certain populations. Clinicians learned more about the recent reports of anaphylaxis following vaccination, as well as CDC’s updated clinical considerations around contraindications and precautions to vaccination. For the recording of this call, please visit: COCA Calls/Webinars
CMS has revised the criteria requiring states to conduct focused infection control surveys due to the increased availability of resources for the testing of residents and staff and factors related to the quality of care. In addition, CMS has provided Frequently Asked Questions related to health, emergency preparedness and life-safety code surveys.
See the memo for details.
This series will provide a deep dive on new and emerging COVID-19 outpatient therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies. The goal of this mini-series is to equip clinicians with the appropriate knowledge, resources, and tools needed to initiate and scale administration of these therapies and reduce strain on the U.S. healthcare system.
Registration is at https://hsc.unm.edu/echo/institute-programs/covid-19-response/us-covid19/hhs-aspr/miniseries.html.
The upcoming event on January 6, 2021 will discuss the recent and very successful experience with MABs in the State of Michigan.