A thorough review of infection control policies and staff education is going to be more important than ever in order for long-term care providers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in their facilities, experts said Monday.
The notice comes after a Washington state nursing home became the first site in the United States of a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, leaving one resident dead and others hospitalized. A total of six people have died in the state from the respiratory disease as of late Monday afternoon.
“The recent Washington state nursing home discovery of COVID-19 makes it necessary for facilities in long-term care to carefully review their infection control and prevention policies, procedures and practices,” Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, vice president of curriculum development for the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing, told McKnight’s.
Education is key
Facilities should have a system in place to screen residents, visitors, staff and volunteers for the disease, Stewart said. She explained that education will also be key and called on providers to educate staff members on the signs and symptoms of the disease, which include a fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
“With the threat of a community outbreak, facility leaders will want to review and revise their emergency preparedness plan to ensure they have the necessary resources if they are faced with an outbreak,” she added.
Stewart also called on providers to use resources provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently released guidance on how long-term care facilities can prevent the spread of coronavirus amid the U.S. outbreak.
The CDC’s guidance for preventing coronavirus from entering a facility tells providers to: post signs at the entrance instructing visitors to not come in if they’re showing signs of the disease; ensure sick leave policies allow staff members to stay home if they’re showing signs of a respiratory infection; and assess resident symptoms upon their admission.
To stop the spread within a facility, providers have been cautioned to keep residents and employees informed; monitor potential symptoms in residents and staff; promote hand and respiratory hygiene; identify select employees who will care for infected residents and provide infection control training; and provide supplies to ensure easy and correct use of personal protective equipment.
To halt the spread between facilities, the agency suggested providers notify other facilities prior to transferring a resident who’s suspected of having the disease and reporting any possible cases in patients and staff members to their local health department.
“Many people believe the coronavirus means the infected person will die as a result. The truth is, the bulk of those diagnosed with it today have mild symptoms,” she explained. “Use the resources from the CDC to help with education, including how COVID-19 is spread.”
Plans ‘more than adequate’
The American Health Care Association also weighed in Monday on what facilities can do to protect their residents from the virus. Providers’ emergency preparedness and infection control plans “should be more than adequate for a viral pandemic that’s occurring,” David Gifford, M.D., chief medical officer and senior vice president of quality and regulatory affairs for AHCA, said during a media call Monday afternoon.
Gifford noted that despite the outbreak concerns, officials are not recommending that relatives remove their loved ones from facilities.
“Moving someone out who needs that care can be very disruptive and problematic. If COVID-19 is in the community, they can still be exposed,” he explained.
Meanwhile, some facilities have also been having trouble locating the equipment due to many supplies, like masks and gloves, being manufactured in China, according to Gifford.
“We have heard of some facilities having some shortages, and some of their suppliers are having some backorders out there. We have been talking to and relaying this [information] to the CDC and [Department of Health and Human Services]. With that, they’ve been recommending, and we’ve been recommending our members, to reach out to the local and state health departments to help find supplies,” Gifford said.
The association is also planning to host a webinar on the coronavirus for long-term care providers. The webinar will be held today at 4 p.m. EST here.
