Covid protocol nursing homes

To give nursing homes a more robust strategy to protect residents and staff, CDC has updated its infection prevention guidance for long-term care settings to include tiered recommendations to address nursing homes in different phases of COVID-19 response, as well as new recommendations to designate at least one individual to manage the nursing home’s infection prevention program, and to create a plan for testing residents and healthcare personnel. This guidance also includes information about reporting COVID-19 data to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).

Additionally, CDC has developed guidance to implement facility-wide testing in nursing homes and updated the interim testing guidance to integrate testing with other core prevention strategies.

CDC has developed many resources specific to help support long-term facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below you will find a summary of these resources.

• Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Tool for Nursing Homes Preparing for COVID-19 – CDC’s COVID-19 Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) tool was developed to help nursing homes prepare for and respond to COVID-19. This ICAR tool should be used as one tool to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 response plan. This tool may also contain content relevant for assisted living facilities.
• Considerations for Memory Care Units in Long-term Care Facilities – Infection prevention strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are especially challenging to implement in dedicated memory care units where numerous residents with cognitive impairment reside together. This guidance provides considerations for memory care units, including when residents in a memory care unit are suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19.
• Preparedness Checklist for Nursing Homes and Other Long-Term Care Settings – Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities can take steps to assess and improve their preparedness for responding to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This checklist should be used as one tool to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 response plan.
• Long-term Care Facility Letter to Residents, Families, Friends and Volunteers – This letter helps to communicate to residents, families and volunteers the actions your nursing home facility is taking to protect its residents and staff.
• Preparing Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities to Prepare for COVID-19 – This pre-recorded webinar will provide nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other long-term care facilities with information to prepare for COVID-19.
• LTCF COVID-19 Module – CDC’s NHSN provides healthcare facilities, such as long term care facilities (LTCF) with a customized system to track infections and prevention process measures in a systematic way.