Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Arlington, Va., March 8, 2022 – As the world enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is issuing an urgent call-to-action to shore up the nation’s infection prevention and control (IPC) infrastructure. Even before the…… Continue reading Between a Rock and Hard Place: Recommendations for Balancing Patient Safety and Pandemic Response

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare WASHINGTON – For two years, millions of the nation’s healthcare workers have been battling the coronavirus. Many have endangered themselves as they care for those who contract COVID-19 while working in high-risk settings that expose themselves and their families. As the nation moves to the next phase…… Continue reading US Department of Labor Announces Enforcement, Effort for Focused Inspections in Hospitals, Nursing Care Facilities Treating COVID-19 Patients

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The CDC has updated its Summary Document for Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Authorized or Approved in the United States. This is a 4-page document.

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has posted nursing home COVID-19 data for the week ending February 20, 2022.[NOTE: On this landing page, you’ll also find resources and ways to explore and visualize the data and links to the left, as well as the buttons at the top of the page.]…… Continue reading Latest NH COVID-19 Data – CMS, CDC and NHSN

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, the White House released the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan (NCPP). If you listened to President Biden’s State of the Union address the previous evening, he spoke about this very plan. “the U.S. government is releasing the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan –…… Continue reading National COVID-⁠19 Preparedness Plan

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare This research letter was published in the JAMA Health Forum on February 25, 2022. “The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the US health care workforce owing to changes in the use and finances of health care clinician offices and institutions, increased health risks, burnout from increased patient…… Continue reading US Health Care Workforce Changes During the First and Second Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CDC updated mask guidelines on Friday, February 25, 2022. In short, here’s what that looks like: “COVID-19 Community Levels are a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined…… Continue reading CDC Updates Public/General Mask Guidelines

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has updated the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines website as of February 24, 2022. Here’s what you’ll see on the landing page:  The What’s New in the Guidelines information is located here.  It includes: Therapeutic Management of Hospitalized Adults…… Continue reading Updated COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has posted the nursing home COVID-19 data for the week ending February 13, 2022. Comparing the February 13th data to the February 6th as well as to the January 16th data (approximately 1 month ago), note these differences: Resident vaccination rate remains the same as the previous week as…… Continue reading Latest CMS, CDC and NHSN Nursing Home COVID-19 Data

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is making more than $560 million in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 General Distribution payments to more than 4,100 providers across the country this week. “Provider Relief Funds…… Continue reading HHS Distributing $560 Million in Provider Relief Fund Payments to Health Care Providers Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic