Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP  Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Late in the day on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, the DOJ announced that it “requested COVID-19 data from the governors of states that issued orders which may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan…… Continue reading Latest Department of Justice (DOJ) Action You May Find Interesting

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Dear NHSN LTCF Users, Mark your calendars and prepare to join us for two webinars to learn about recent NHSN COVID 19 Module Updates and answers to frequently asked questions. The first webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 1 at 1:00 PM ET and the…… Continue reading Upcoming Office Hours for LTCFs: NHSN COVID-19 Module Updates (Webinars)

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has been busy once again – now with a 3rd Interim Final Rule with Comment Period (CMS-3401-IFC). AHCA/NCAL has posted a High-Level Summary that provides an easier-to-digest (3-pages) view of this IFC.  Thank you AHCA/NCAL!  You and your team should still review the entire IFC…… Continue reading CMS Announces New Reporting and Testing Requirements for Nursing Homes

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare A Press Release issued late afternoon on August 25, 2020 promises to bring “sweeping regulatory changes.”  The broad categories of this initiative are: New testing requirements for nursing homesHospitals must report dataNew reporting requirements for labsPhysician and pharmacist orders for tests I’ve excerpted the “high” points…… Continue reading Interim Final Rule with Comment Period Coming: Additional Policy and Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Just announced today (August 25, 2020), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is implementing an unprecedented national nursing home training program for frontline nursing home staff and nursing home management. The training is designed to equip both frontline caregivers and their management with the…… Continue reading National Training Program to Strengthen Nursing Home Infection Control Practices

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare In partnership with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Project ECHO is mobilizing our national network of ECHO partners to rapidly deploy COVID-19 ECHO programs to train mentor, and support nursing home staff on infection prevention and control. With support from the Agency for…… Continue reading National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network Conversation Series

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Monday, August 24, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Medicaid Informational Bulletin (CIB) that provides guidance to states on flexibilities that are available to increase reimbursement for nursing facilities that implement specific infection control practices, such as designating a quarantine or…… Continue reading Nursing Home Strategies for COVID-19 Only Isolation of COVID-19 Residents

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare What Happened in Room 10? is a piece written by Katie Engelhart and published August 23, 2020 in the California Sunday Magazine.  Being from the Midwest, I had never heard of this magazine until I spotted the thread in Twitter that afternoon.  It’s a stunner, to…… Continue reading What Happened in Room 10?

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare I blogged on the updated Interim Guidance for Rapid Antigen Testing for SARS-CoV-2 earlier this week.  Thursday, August 20, 2020, AHCA/NCAL posted CDC Interim Guidance for Rapid Antigen Testing … AHCA/NCAL Member Summary (thank you so much!).  “This document provides an explanation and summary of this…… Continue reading COVID-19 News for Week Ending August 21, 2020

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — United States, 2020–21 Influenza Season “updates the 2019–20 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of seasonal influenza vaccines in the United States (MMWR…… Continue reading Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: 2020-2021 Influenza Season