 |
|
|
|
COVID-19 Updates: May 1, 2020
|
This update includes:
- CMS Issues Interim Final Rule with New Requirements for COVID-19 Reporting for Nursing Homes
- WHCA/WiCAL Launches Virtual Spring Conference
- State Licensure Application for Temporary Nursing Facility Expansion Units and Transfer Options during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
- Mandatory Use of the Misconduct Incident Reporting System (MIR) Beginning June 1, 2020
- DHHS Releases Total CARES Act Awards for Tranche 1
- HealthPRO Launches the PROReport Online Educational Platform
- New White House Plan to Bolster LTC Coronavirus Battle Wins AHCA/NCAL Support
|
As of today, there are 7,314 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin and 327 deaths caused by the virus. Click
HERE
to view the latest outbreak information from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Click
HERE
to view COVID-19 projections for Wisconsin and the United States.
|
CMS Issues Interim Final Rule with New Requirements for COVID-19 Reporting for Nursing Homes
|
Last night, CMS issued an
interim final rule with comment period which revises § 483.80 establishing explicit reporting requirements for long-term care (LTC) facilities to report information related to COVID-19 cases among facility residents and staff. These reporting requirements are applicable on the effective date of this interim final rule which is the date of the publication at the Office of the Federal Register. AHCA will notify members when it is published.
Under this new requirement nursing facilities must:
Electronically Report to CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)
- Electronically report information about COVID-19 in a standardized format specified by the Secretary, which will rely on CDC NHSN portal that went live on Wednesday, April 29 with the new LTCF COVID-19 module. This report to CDC must include but is not limited to:
- Suspected and confirmed COVID-19 infections among residents and staff, including residents previously treated for COVID-19;
- Total deaths and COVID-19 deaths among residents and staff;
- Personal protective equipment and hand hygiene supplies in the facility;
- Ventilator capacity and supplies in the facility;
- Resident beds and census;
- Access to COVID-19 testing while the resident is in the facility;
- Staffing shortages; and
- Other information specified by the Secretary.
- Provide the information specified in the list above at a frequency specified by the Secretary, but no less than weekly to NHSN.
- This information will be posted publicly by CMS to support protecting the health and safety of residents, personnel, and the general public.
In addition, providers must continue to comply with state and local reporting requirements for COVID-19. AHCA will continue to advocate to align State and CDC reporting to avoid duplication of effort that is taking staff away from resident care.
Inform Residents, their Representatives, and Families
- Inform residents, their representatives, and families of those residing in facilities by 5 p.m. the next calendar day following the occurrence of:
- Either a single confirmed infection of COVID-19, or
- Three or more residents or staff with new-onset of respiratory symptoms occurring within 72 hours of each other.
- This information must:
- Not include personally identifiable information;
- Include information on mitigating actions implemented to prevent or reduce the risk of transmission, including if normal operations of the facility will be altered; and
- Include any cumulative updates for residents, their representatives, and families at least weekly or by 5 p.m. the next calendar day following the subsequent occurrence of either:
- Each time a confirmed infection of COVID-19 is identified, or
- Whenever three or more residents or staff with new onset of respiratory symptoms occur within 72 hours of each other.
- The preamble to the rule states that facilities are not expected to make individual calls. Providers may use general communication platforms easily available to residents, representatives and families such as listservs, website postings, and recorded telephone messages.
AHCA will continue to advocate for CMS to issue clarifying language that makes this feasible and as least burdensome as possible.
|
WHCA/WiCAL Launches Virtual Spring Conference
|
Today, WHCA/WiCAL officially launched our virtual spring conference! The easy-to-use Virtual Conference platform was created by WHCA/WiCAL Select Business Partner,
Pathway Health. We are excited to open the Virtual Spring Conference doors, and are confident it will provide you with the education you seek, with the flexibility you need!
Registered Attendees: Access emails were sent yesterday evening. Please check your email for your access information. IF you don't see the email/invitation in your inbox, please check your JUNK or SPAM folder. The sender will appear as from WHCA / WICAL. The first email provides information about navigating the platform, and has the subject line, "Hello and welcome to the WHCA/WiCAL 2020 Virtual Spring Conference". The second email provides you with your Virtual Conference access information, with a subject line of, "WHCA / WICAL Invite". If you did not receive an email or if you are not able to locate the email in your inbox/spam/junk folders, please email jena@whcawical.org for assistance.
NOT Registered: Click
HERE and select Virtual Conference Registration. The fee is $294 for Members & $354 for Non-Members. Please email jena@whcawical.org after registering to speed up your access to the Conference.
Upcoming LIVE Sessions:
May 5th @ 10 AM: Accounting for COVID-19 Funding
May 6th @ 2 PM: Seniors Thriving in Place
May 7th @ 10 AM: Evolving Trends: The New Generation of Therapy Services
May 8th @ 10 AM: Employment Issues During COVID-19 Pandemic
Questions regarding the Virtual Spring Conference can be directed to Director of Development, Jena Jackson, at
jena@whcawical.org
|
State Licensure Application for Temporary Nursing Facility Expansion Units and Transfer Options during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
|
The purpose of the memorandum is to establish the process for Nursing Facilities and Skilled Nursing Facilities (collectively "nursing homes") to temporarily cohort, transfer, and/or discharge residents within and between facilities during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a number of blanket waivers under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act relieving certain regulatory burdens so that nursing homes can establish temporary COVID-19 locations in both nursing home and non-nursing home spaces to provide care for the duration of the Public Health Emergency.
This memorandum provides guidance on how the CMS blanket waivers affect the ability of nursing homes to establish temporary expansion and/or surge sites in light of applicable state laws and administrative rules. The temporary cohorting and transfer/discharge options discussed in this memorandum are intended to allow nursing homes flexibility to the extent necessary to maintain the health, safety and well-being of residents during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
|
Mandatory Use of the Misconduct Incident Reporting System (MIR) Beginning June 1, 2020
|
The Division of Quality Assurance earlier today sent out a reminder that the Department of Health Services (DHS), Division of Quality Assurance (DQA), Office of Caregiver Quality (OCQ), has developed an online reporting system for providers to submit allegations of caregiver misconduct that occur in DQA regulated health care facilities. The Misconduct Incident Reporting (MIR) system is a secure, web-based system for providers to submit the Misconduct Incident Report (F-62447) forms, as required by state regulations. OCQ continues to protect clients and residents by actively investigating reports of caregiver misconduct during the COVID-19 emergency.
- Consistent with prior notifications, effective May 1, 2020, all DQA-regulated Community Based Residential Facilities, Adult Family Homes and Residential Care Apartment Complexes must use the MIR system to report allegations of caregiver misconduct.
- All provider types regulated by the DQA Bureau of Health Services are notified that use of the MIR system will be required beginning June 1, 2020.
- All regulated health care providers are encouraged to transition to the MIR system now.
You must use the system after the above dates unless you are unable to access the system due to technical issues. In that case, reports will be accepted via email at
dhscaregiverintake@wisconsin.gov, fax, or postal mail. Providers are highly encouraged to register with the MIR system as soon as possible before June 1, 2020. It may take up to 3 business days for OCQ to process your registration. During this time you will not be able to access the MIR system.
To obtain access to the MIR system, complete the two step process below, which is also described in publication
P-02312.
- Create a Wisconsin Logon Management System (WILMS) account for the facility. Each facility may only have up to two WILMS accounts for the purpose of submitting reports to the MIR system. It is suggested that you use a non-personally assigned email to create the WILMS account so that you do not have to make a new account if that person leaves.
- Register the WILMS account with the MIR system.
User instructions for the MIR system can be found in the publication
P-02312A.
Important Note: The provider is responsible for ensuring the security of the WILMS account. The individual using each account must be a current employee of the entity or licensee. If reporting responsibilities are reassigned as a result of staff departures or other changes, the entity or licensee must provide DQA with the name of the new staff person who will be using the WILMS account to submit reports by sending an email with the name of the individual to
dhsdqamir@dhs.wisconsin.gov. The password created by the previous account user should also be changed by following the instructions under “Change Your Password” on the
DOA WILMS main page.
|
DHHS Releases Total CARES Act Awards for Tranche 1
|
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recently posted total state-by-state CARES Act Provider Relief Fund allocations for Tranche 1. Couple of notes:
- The data is for Tranche 1, only. No Tranche 2 information is available; and
- The state-by-state figures are for all providers – no provider type by provider type breakdown is currently available from DHHS.
DHHS also notes, “Note that this breakdown shows the amount allocated to billing organization for eligible recipients based on the billing organizations' address, not necessarily the state where the providers are operating.”
To view the document, click
here. If you have any questions, please contact
Mike Cheek.
|
HealthPRO Launches the PROReport Online Educational Platform
|
HealthPRO today announced that they will be launching a new virtual reporting platform, The PROReport. This is a weekly online educational platform highlighting hot topics with industry experts.
The kickoff edition of the PROReport,"The Road to Re-Opening: Advanced Infection Prevention Best Practices," will be held on Tuesday, May 5 at 12:00 p.m. CST and will focus on new medical information related to the spread of COVID-19, practical guidance to operationalize re-opening efforts, and an introduction to a comprehensive
Infection Control Mini-Toolkit
This week's presenters include:
|
New White House Plan to Bolster LTC Coronavirus Battle Wins AHCA/NCAL Support
|
President Trump unveiled new measures in a White House briefing on Thursday aimed at bolstering the federal government’s efforts to aid long term care facilities in their battle against the COVID-19 pandemic by directing more personal protective equipment (PPE) to facilities, increasing virus testing for residents and staff, and generally raising the profile of nursing facility residents in what the president said is a sustained program to “do right” by the nation’s seniors.
The plan by Trump and his health care team, including Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), won the support of the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL).
“Today’s announcement sends a clear message about the important role of long term care in the national health care system and our response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mark Parkinson, president and chief executive officer of AHCA/NCAL.
Among a host of steps outlined by Trump, one is to convene a new commission in May to tackle how best to protect and managed the COVID-19 outbreak in America’s nursing facilities. The Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes will be composed of leading industry experts, doctors and scientists, resident and patient advocates, family members, infection and prevention control specialists, and state and local authorities, the president said.
“We appreciate the commission and plan of action announced today by the Trump administration as an important step forward to ensure long term care facilities receive the vital support needed during this unprecedented public health crisis,” Parkinson said. “The plan detailed today builds on the work announced earlier this week by Vice President Pence to expedite direct shipment of PPE to more than 15,000 nursing homes around the country.”
He said in addition, Monday’s announcement from the administration that long term care residents and staff with symptoms are now a high priority level for testing is another positive development for America’s nursing facilities and assisted living communities.
“The public health system’s focus on long term care residents and staff must not waver, Parkinson said. “Seniors and those with underlying conditions are susceptible to this virus. Therefore, long term care facilities will need more PPE, testing, and resources.”
He said AHCA/NCAL looks forward to working with the new commission to identify ways that the public and private sectors can support the needs of provider health care heroes and “ensure they have the additional resources needed to stem the tide of this pandemic among our residents.”
Parkinson said long term care facilities face an uphill battle in stopping the COVID-19 virus, and the profession appreciates the administration’s support in making long term care residents and caregivers a priority in keeping them safe.
“It is not too late to turn this difficult situation around. What we need now is for everyone to rally around nursing homes and assisted living communities the same way we have around hospitals,” he said.
“And that means continuing our focus on testing, PPE, staffing, and funding just as health care providers have received. We will continue to work with local, state, and federal health officials to ensure all possible actions are taken to keep our nation’s long term care residents safe.”
|
Pat Boyer, MSM, RN, NHA
| Director of Quality Advancement and Education |
pat@whcawical.org
|
|
|
