Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted the most recent county positivity rates for March 29, 2021.  My usual reminders: Archived dataQSO-20-38-NH 

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has posted the NH data for the week ending March 14, 2021. Cases and deaths for both residents and staff continue to stay low after plummeting following the targeted LTCF vaccination programs: CDC COVID-19 data as of 6am (ET) March 25, 2021 6am (ET) March…… Continue reading Recent CMS and CDC COVID-19 Data Posted

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has updated this NH toolkit – we’re up to version 20 as of March 25, 2021.  It currently has 206 pages.

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Join the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call.  *** Register in advance for this Zoom Call***   https://cms.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_bQEwUmx4RBOqTCXI50fLRA Thursday, March 25, 2021 … 4:00 – 5:00PM (ET) During this call, we will…… Continue reading COVID-19 National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call – March 25, 2021

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Guidance released March 10, 2021 regarding Updated Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations in Response to COVID-19 Vaccination | CDC affects only select elements of the current Nursing Home ICAR tool until an updated version of the tool is available. Please reference this guidance when using the ICAR tool to…… Continue reading CDC ICAR Tool for Nursing Homes Preparing for COVID-19 Updated

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has posted the latest COVID-19 county positivity rates – March 22, 2021. Reminders: Archived data located hereRegulatory guidance located within QSO-20-38-NHUpdated visitation guidance within QSO-20-39-NH(revised March 10, 2021), specifically indoor visitation and county positivity rates (pages 3 and 4)

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare As part of President Biden’s National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will invest $10 billion from the American Rescue Plan to ramp up screening testing to help schools reopen, $2.25 billion to scale up testing…… Continue reading Biden Administration to Invest More Than $12 Billion to Expand COVID-19 Testing

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Workplace Vaccination Program website was updated March 16, 2021.   This website is extremely valuable for information and resources regarding COVID-19 vaccination in our workplaces.  “By providing information about COVID-19 vaccination and establishing supportive policies and practices, employers can help increase vaccine uptake among essential workers.…… Continue reading CDC Updated Information

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Minnesota Department of Health posted this LTCF guidance today at 10:23am (bolding added by me): Effective immediately, MDH has updated guidance for long-term care facilities including nursing homes and assisted-living-type facilities related to non-medical outings and visitation consistent with the March 10 updates from the…… Continue reading Minnesota Providers: Updated Outing Guidance for LTC Facilities

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On March 15, 2021, CMS is updating the Medicare payment rates for COVID-19 vaccine administration. Effective for services furnished on or after March 15, 2021, the new Medicare payment rate for administering a COVID-19 vaccine will be approximately $40 to administer each dose of a COVID-19…… Continue reading Medicare COVID-19 Vaccine Shot Payment Increased