November 12, 2020
As part of Southwestern Health’s commitment to providing you resources to meet the increased needs of your patients and to keep our community healthy, please read this information and share it with your colleagues and staff. We will continue to produce updates with the latest information and tools. Thank you for all you are doing to meet the challenges of COVID-19.
Back in Lockdown Mode

In our last issue, we spoke about the various challenges of reopening, like rigorous testing schedules and making sure visitors receive proper education about virus and PPE safety. Since then, however, the spike in COVID-19 cases across North Texas has once again reached “Code Red” levels, meaning more than 10% of the population is currently infected by the virus. As a result, our SNF partners have gone back into lockdown mode and are only allowing essential caregiver visitations.

SWHR is monitoring the situation very closely with our hospitals and will continue to provide you with an updated list of facilities currently accepting COVID-19 positive patients (see the bottom of this email). If you are aware of a facility not on our list, please let us know.
CMS UPDATES
New COVID-19 Training Available

A new CMS training program called the “CMS Targeted COVID-19 Training for Frontline Nursing Home Staff and Management” is now available on the CMS website. The program, which President Trump first announced in late July, will feature five modules for frontline clinical staff: 

Module 1: Hand Hygiene and PPE
Module 2: Screening and Surveillance
Module 3: Cleaning the Nursing Home
Module 4: Cohorting
Module 5: Caring for Residents with Dementia in a Pandemic

The site also has 10 modules geared toward operational management. Some of the management topics include: Emergency Preparedness and Surge Capacity, Telehealth for Nursing Homes, and Getting Your Vaccine Delivery System Ready.

CMS is directing their quality improvement contractors, or Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), to include the new training on any QIO action plans being developed with nursing homes they collaborate with. This will help ensure as many nursing home staff teams as possible are aware of the training. A certificate of completion is offered for each training course. The training is available on the CMS Quality, Safety & Education Portal.

In addition to this training, CMS and the CDC will be conducting bi-weekly webinars featuring subject matter experts, in a question & answer format, through January 7, 2021, from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET. Registration for the webinars can be found here.
Nursing Home Resource Center

On top of their new and comprehensive training modules, CMS has also recently launched an online platform after identifying opportunities for government response to improve. The platform is meant to be a centralized hub for facilities, providers, residents and their families, combining the latest information, guidance and data on nursing homes.

Before the launch of the resource center, finding critical, up-to-date guidance for nursing homes during the pandemic was difficult and time-consuming. Not only is this resource center considered a one-stop shop for providers and caregivers, it also has an information platform for residents and their families to help them make better educated healthcare decisions. CMS has said that this tool will remain in place long after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nursing Home Resource Center can be found here. 
Skilled Nursing Facilities Accepting COVID-19 Patients

Below is a list of current quality skilled nursing facilities that are accepting new positive patients. *Please note, this list is subject to change*
Benbrook Nursing and Rehab (Benbrook) 817-528-5217
Carlyle at Stonebridge Park (Southlake) 817-431-5778
Carrara (Plano) 469-969-0740
Christian Care Center (Mesquite, dementia only) 972-918-5274
Edgewood Rehabilitation & Care Center (Mesquite) 972-288-8800
Keller Oaks (Keller) 817-577-9999
Mansfield Nursing and Rehab 940-297-1367
Marine Creek (Ft. Worth) 817-624-6164
Presbyterian Village North (Dallas) 214-355-9643
Terrell Healthcare 972-563-7668
The Healthcare Resort of Plano 972-379-0000
The Village at Richardson 972-231-8833
Traymore Nursing Center (Dallas) 214-358-3131 
Walnut Place (Dallas) 214-380-9615
Wellington Oaks (Ft. Worth) 940-297-1360
Williamsburg Village (Desoto) 972-572-6200
Willow Park (Weatherford) 817-757-1200
Villages of Lake Highlands (Dallas) 214-342-7105
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