Along with our national partner, theAmerican Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (ACHA/NCAL), HFAM has been collaborating with federal and state agencies as well as hospital partners to discuss best practices, provide operational support, and communicate information.
These are the operational actions that you and your teams should continue to take:
The #1 action you and your teams can do right now is keep all people with cold/flu symptoms out of your centers.
Employees simply cannot come to work if they are symptomatic.
Continue to post signs, send emails, and communicate with residents, families, staff, vendors – create single points of entry.
Be prepared to over-communicate with staff, residents, patients, families, and vendors.
Inventory supplies and medication - especially infectious control gear (speak with hospital partners now about shortages).
Review your policies and training.
Closely monitor the health of your patients, residents, and staff.
Establish lines of communication with your hospital partners and your local and state health officials.
We expect the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue additional guidance for our sector, and to host a national call or WebEx later this week.
Last week, AMDA released GUIDANCEon COVID-19 in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Settings. We urge members to view this guidance and continue to implement and assess your infection control procedures.
HFAM continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation with our state and national partners and will keep members informed. Additional information for healthcare professionals can be found on the CDC and on theMDHwebsites.