CMS to provide “Point-of-Care” COVID-19 Testing Kits  

CMS has announced this week that it will be giving nursing homes in the United States “point-of-care” COVID-19 tests. The administration has said the dissemination of the testing kits will begin, starting next week with 2,000 facilities, with the overall goal of reaching all 15,400 nursing homes. Admiral Brett, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, described the tests as “rapid, on the spot, 20 tests per hour” devices.
SNFs will receive the tests, based on a ranking order determined by Seema Verma and her team at CMS, that takes into account the rate of the virus’ spread within a facility’s community, and will largely focus efforts first on the country’s current COVID-19 “hotspot” areas.
CMS will also position Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) across the country that will provide assistance to nursing homes in hotspot areas as identified by the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Additionally, enhanced surveys will be sent to facilities in these hotspots that will help identify facility need and coordinate available resources. 

For more information, you can read the full article from McKnight’s: Long-Term Care News. 

Read the full CMS press release here .