BriggsNetNews

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP
Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare

The National NH Stakeholder Call sparked great interest yesterday. So many registrants, so much information. Here are the main takeaways until the recording is available at: www.cms.gov/cms-national-stakeholder-calls.

• CMS will be sending these new test kits to NHs in the very near future: Celltrion DiaTrust™  (No answer to the question if these will replace the BinaxNOW™ test kits.)  The new test kits are rapid with results in 15 minutes.

• CMS has updated the NH Visitation FAQ document as of February 2, 2022.  The updated item on this 7-page FAQ is found within the answer to Question #12. New Items are:
  • Question #13: Are there best practices for improving air quality to reduce risks during visitation?
  • Question #14: What are ways a facility can improve and or manage air flow during visitation?
  • Question #15: Is there funding available for environmental changes which reduce transmission of COVID-19?
  • Question #16: Can a state require facilities to test visitors as a condition of entering the facility?

This FAQ is also found on the CMS Current Emergencies website.  Evan Shulman referenced the How to safely visit nursing homes infographic posted last week.

• Kara Jacobs-Slifka, Long Term Care Lead, Prevention and Response Branch (CDC) spoke to the updated fully vaccinated vs. boosted status information found on the Stay Up to Date with Your Vaccines website.  This landing page was last updated on January 16, 2022 but is still current today.

• Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemicwas updated during or right after this stakeholder call ended. Jacobs-Slifka referenced it in her remarks at the beginning of the call.

There’s a lot of information in this IPC so be sure to review it with your team!