[UPDATED] CMS Guidance Tackles Survey Backlog, Lifts Nursing Home Catherine Howden, DirectorMedia Inquiries Form PDF Amended Directive and Order Regarding Nursing Home Matters An official website of the United States government An official website of the United States government CMS Updates Nursing Home Guidance with Revised Visitation On March 22, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued updated guidance for home dialysis services performed in a skilled nursing facility or nursing home (the Updated Guidance). Official websites use .govA CMS Updates Nursing Home Guidance with Revised Visitation Refer to CDC's Infection Prevention and Control guidance documents for Nursing Homes and HCP (see links below) to prevent SARS-COV-2 entry and spread in nursing homes and other long-term care settings including recommendations for vaccination, source control, visitation, personal protective equipment (PPE), SARS-COV-2 testing, and the This continues to be the safest way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, particularly if either party has not been fully vaccinated. In September 2020, CMS issued revised guidance encouraging nursing homes to facilitate outdoor visitation and allowed for indoor visitation if there has been no new onset of COVID-19 cases in the past 14 days and the facility was not conducting outbreak testing per CMS guidelines. 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244, Nursing Home Visitation - COVID-19 (REVISED). State Regulation (Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living Nursing Home Regulations, Board of Nursing, VT Nursing Home Administrator Rules). The Updated Guidance incorporates responses to comments . CMS first issued guidance addressing home dialysis services provided to nursing home residents on April 17, 2018 (the Original Guidance). Survey Process for ESRD Surveyors Reviewing Dialysis in Nursing Homes. methods for enabling timely communication and collaboration between the ESRD facility and nursing home care team; ensuring a safe and sanitary environment where the dialysis treatments occur; ensuring active participation of the nursing home care team in the development and implementation of an individualized care plan; delineation of patient monitoring responsibilities before, during, and after each treatment, ensuring any state scope-of-practice laws and limitations are adhered to when delineating responsibilities; process that ensures a review of the qualifications, training, competency verification, and monitoring of all personnel, patients, and caregivers (family members or friends) who administer dialysis treatments in the nursing home; procedures for preparing nursing home staff to appropriately address and respond to dialysis-related complications and provide emergency interventions, as needed; and. The guidance also clarified additional examples of compassionate care situations. This is an important step that we are taking, as we continue to emphasize the importance of maintaining infection prevention practices, given the continued risk of transmission of COVID-19.. )% 83 0 obj <> endobj ( Giving the example of where nursing homes provide home dialysis treatments to multiple residents in a common area, CMS noted that the ESRD facility is responsible to ensure that they are aware of the environment and setting where the dialysis treatments will be performed, i.e., in the residents room or a common area, that home dialysis is not provided unless the safety of the patient can be guaranteed, and that residents requesting privacy or requiring isolation are not dialyzed in the same room or area as others. An official website of the United States government. ( The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. See the data reported by nursing homes to the CDCs National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) system COVID-19 Long Term Care Facility Module, including resident impact, facility capacity, staff and personnel, supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilator capacity, and supplies. 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244, CMS Updates Nursing Home Guidance with Revised Visitation Recommendations, Unvaccinated residents, if the COVID-19 county positivity rate is greater than 10 percent, Residents with confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met the criteria to discontinue transmission-based precautions; or. Visitation is allowed for all residents at all times. Skilled Nursing News is part of the Aging Media Network. Nominate a future leader who is redefining the standard of hospice care. CMS noted that the decision-making process for such situations should be addressed in the agreement between the ESRD facility and nursing home. The move is a bit ironic for Holly Harmon, vice president of quality, regulatory and clinical services for AHCA/NCAL and registered nurse; such surveys would produce new risks for exposure to COVID-19. CDC symptoms for COVID-19 are located here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html A Buffalo transplant living in LA, Amy has worked as a business journalist for more than two years and has been in the profession for seven-plus. or 202-690-6145. Sign up to get the latest information about your choice of CMS topics. Issued: March 4, 2021, Updated April 1, 2021 . Alex covers the skilled nursing industry for Aging Media Network, with a particular focus on the intersection of finance and policy. lock ";$ ;X!$0D$F30120}d`+a[ k0 Last week, the CDC and the CMS issued two key updates on COVID-19 guidance for nursing homes. Official websites use .govA This continues to be the safest way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, particularly if either party has not been fully vaccinated. SPONSORED BY: .gov CDC: Group Activities, Dining Can Resume in Nursing Homes for A wide range of other infection control best practices should still remain in effect at facilities, the CDC stressed, from screening visitors for COVID-19 symptoms to close management of visitor flow within a building to continued counseling of visitors on the best safety strategies and potential risks. endstream endobj startxref PDF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid The Updated Guidance contains information regarding: Written Agreement Between an ESRD Facility and a Nursing Home. Recertification surveys, which are normally conducted between 12-15 months apart for each facility, will resume within that pre-pandemic timeframe, CMS said. Nursing homes have been severely impacted by COVID-19, with outbreaks causing high rates of infection, morbidity, and mortality. Acknowledged and Directed by the Secretary of Health: _____ Dr. Traci C. Collins . The government has increased scrutiny and staffing requirements in response to COVID-19. 616 0 obj <> endobj Billing for Home Infusion Therapy Services on or After January 1, 2021 Revised. Given the ongoing risk of COVID-19 transmission, CMS continues to. Facilities should continue to follow all relevant CMS guidance available. Visitation can be conducted through various means based on a facilitys structure and residents needs, including in resident rooms, visitation spaces, and outdoors. Visits should still adhere to infection prevention protocols, CMS was quick to add physical distancing should still be maintained during peak gathering hours, like mealtimes. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America's most pressing health threats. Services (CMS) guidance on nursing home visitation regarding COVID-19 . hb```b``fd`e`` B@16N-N,| Y=|d``QCSznz 21AI#tR# NFb- n T@ag2W3Fk G/us{TL^jw\*O'8(x|=-N0p-yev @( t` @2 !aPAP$V@EBA1/,T&Lo0d:g'b|g7HeXxa-j5f`H3#l3?L^ji`4k;Em9j- 0 She is an avid (sometimes poolside) science fiction reader, nature lover and roller derby novice. Given the ongoing risk of COVID-19 transmission, CMS continues to recommend facilities, residents, and families adhere to the core principles of COVID-19 infection control, including maintaining physical distancing and conducting visits outdoors whenever possible. Read our affirmation about nursing home residents right to vote. 2023 Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. %PDF-1.6 % Although outbreaks increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission, as long as there is evidence that the outbreak is contained to a single unit or separate area of the facility, visitation can still occur. On September 23, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the QSO Memo, "Nursing Home Visitation - COVID-19 (REVISED)" (Ref: QSO-20-39-NH), which was originally issued September 17, 2020 and has seen several revisions ( March 2021, April 2021) throughout the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). Nursing Homes | CMS - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services All rights reserved. The ESRD survey tasks for review of home dialysis in a nursing home involve tasks at the ESRD facility prior to the on-site visit at the nursing home, tasks conducted onsite at the nursing home, and tasks conducted at the ESRD facility after the on-site visit. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to release the final version of the MDS Item Sets later in 2022, which will be effective beginning October 1, 2023. [1] The vulnerable nature of the nursing home population, combined with the inherent risks of congregate living in a healthcare setting, have required aggressive efforts to limit COVID-19 exposure and to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within these facilities. Innovative talent drives the aging industry forward. During the height of the pandemic, CMS had limited onsite surveys and activities to FIC investigations; complaints and facility-reported incidents alleging immediate jeopardy; revisits to verify removal of immediate jeopardy; and infection-related complaints. Use this toolkit to help stay up-to-date on CMS and HHS COVID-19 links to useful information, news and updates, stakeholder calls, and other resources. Skilled Nursing News The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. PDF January 2021 Vermont Long-Term Care Facilities Overview Today, CMS is announcing guidance on expanding indoor visitation in nursing homes, in response to significant reductions in COVID-19 infections and transmission resulting from ongoing infection control practices, and high vaccination rates in the nursing home population following the authorization of COVID-19 vaccines by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDAs) authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use. A federal government website managed and paid for by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Added Harmon: Now more than ever, we need to be lending caregivers a helping hand. Accepting submissions for 2023 starting February 1st. .gov The evaluation shall include vital signs as well as the identification of new or worseningsigns or symptoms. CMS Compliance Group, Inc. is a regulatory compliance consulting firm with extensive experience servicing the post-acute/ long term care industry. Quarterly Update to the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) Procedure-to-Procedure (PTP) Edits, Version 27.1, Effective April 1, 2021. Guidance for Long-Term Care Providers and Facilities. In September 2020, CMS issued revised guidance encouraging nursing homes to facilitate outdoor visitation and allowed for indoor visitation if there has been no new onset of COVID-19 cases in the past 14 days and the facility was not conducting outbreak testing per CMS guidelines. Certain protocol tasks taken during a survey can be triggered based on ongoing investigations or concerns brought up during the onsite observations or interviews. Residents in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met criteria for release from quarantine. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday issued two updates regarding survey and visitation guidance steps to address the backlog of complaint and recertification surveys, and revising visitation to include all residents at all times.. Compassionate care visits include visits for a resident whose health has sharply declined or is experiencing a significant change in circumstances. Find information about CDC infection prevention and control recommendations for long-term care facilities, testing guidance, training resources for staff, and resources for communicating with residents and families. SPONSORED BY: Skilled Nursing News is the leading source for news and information covering the skilled nursing industry. PDF Ltccc Alert: New Federal Guidelines on Nursing Home Visitation Visitation can resume based on the following criteria: If the first round of outbreak testing reveals no additional COVID-19 cases in other areas (e.g., units) of the facility, then visitation can resume for residents in areas/units with no COVID-19 cases. Innovative talent drives the aging industry forward. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday issued two updates regarding survey and visitation guidance steps to address the backlog of complaint and recertification surveys, and revising visitation to include "all residents at all times." Access this Medicare.gov tool to check COVID-19 vaccination rates for nursing home staff and residents. Recent Regulatory Requirements for Minimum Nursing Staff.