Close up image of a caretaker helping older woman walk

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has approved a two-year, $6.7 million proposal for a smart-entry screening platform to be implemented across 285 Kentucky Medicare-certified nursing homes.

The program, announced last week by state Gov. Andy Beshear (D), involves sensors placed at key points of facility entry and smart badges to be worn by all employees. Known as the Long-Term Care Autonomous Screening and Vaccine Tracking Project, it was proposed by senior living provider Trilogy Health Services’ nonprofit, the Trilogy Foundation, the company said, and is funded through the CMS Civil Money Penalty Reinvestment Program.

Contactless screening devices will be supplemented with tailored questions about infectious disease, and the project will help assist infection preventionists in contact tracing when needed, Beshear said. The project is a national first, he added, with a goal of helping reduce person-to-person spread of infectious disease among healthcare workers and the more than 22,000 residents in these facilities, and in the community.