Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS just posted QSO-21-10-CLIA with revision date of April 15, 2022.  The Memorandum is 35 pages in length with the last 32 pages consisting of the FAQ document.  Look for the verbiage in red. COVID-19 Pandemic Response, Laboratory Data Reporting: CARES Act is the document referenced…… Continue reading Surveyor Guidance for New and Modified CLIA Requirements Related to SARS CoV-2 Test Result Reporting Revised

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Xavier Becerra, has extended the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) for an additional 90 days, effective Saturday, April 16th, 2022, which is the date that the current PHE is set to expire. The new expiration…… Continue reading BREAKING NEWS: HHS Extends COVID-19 PHE an Additional 90 Days

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has posted the latest nursing home data for the week ending March 27, 2022. Comparing the March 27th data to the March 20th data shows these changes: Resident vaccination rate increased 0.1% from the previous week (same as past 2 weeks)Residents with booster doses (new the week of 2/6)…… Continue reading Latest CMS, CDC and NHSN Nursing Home COVID-19 Data

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS issued a Press Release this afternoon after this morning’s posting of QSO-22-15-NH & NLTC & LSC: “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking steps to continue to protect nursing home residents’ health and safety by announcing guidance that restores certain minimum standards…… Continue reading CMS Returning to Certain Pre-COVID-19 Policies in Long-term Care and Other Facilities

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Just a few minutes this morning (April 7, 2022), CMS issued QSO-22-15-NH & NLTC & LSC. CMS is ending the specific emergency declaration blanket waivers for SNFs/NFs, inpatient hospices, ICF/IIDs and ESRD facilities listed below. The termination of these blanket waivers will have no effect on…… Continue reading BREAKING NEWS: Update to COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Specific Providers

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, CMS posted revised guidance for COVID-19 HC Staff Vaccination for all providers participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs. Just as it did late in 2021 and early 2022, in response to the 2 multi-state lawsuits and the 3rd challenge from the…… Continue reading CMS Revises Guidance for the Interim Final Rule – COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The NHSN Vaccination Team provided two webinars on Tuesday, March 29th and Thursday, March 31st to review the new (optional) Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms. These are the new and improved versions of the Excel Data Tracking Worksheets. These worksheets are available in the NHSN application for…… Continue reading New Optional Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms in NHSN

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare This March 29, 2022, webinar recording discusses the guidelines for medical and religious exemptions reporting in the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), and the impact these exemptions have on vaccine measures for facilities. The webinar was part of TMF’s Nursing Home Office Hours and is just…… Continue reading Understanding Religious and Medical Exemptions for Vaccinations (COVID-19)

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted nursing home COVID-19 data for the week ending March 20, 2022. Comparing the March 20th data to the March 13th data shows these changes: Resident vaccination rate increased 0.1% from the previous weekResidents with booster doses (new the week of 2/6) increased by 0.7% this past weekStaff vaccination…… Continue reading Latest CMS, CDC and NHSN Nursing Home COVID-19 Data Posted

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On March 29, 2022, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) “authorized a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for older people and certain immunocompromised individuals. The FDA previously authorized a single booster dose for certain immunocompromised individuals following completion of…… Continue reading FDA Authorizes Second Booster Dose of Two COVID-19 Vaccines  for Older and Immunocompromised Individuals