Are the Infection Prevention and Control Practices for your LTC Up to Date with the new CMS Guidance?

It’s no secret that long-term care facilities, especially skilled nursing homes and assisted living centers, have faced a tough period since the pandemic began. Now, things are getting even more complicated because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has introduced new guidelines for evaluators conducting regulatory compliance checks. On June 29, 2022, CMS released a fact sheet stating, “We’re providing surveyor guidance that clarifies specific regulatory requirements and outlines how compliance will be assessed.” Additionally, they mentioned that they're updating their guidance for state agencies to enhance the handling of complaints and incidents reported by facilities. When does the new guidance take effect? Surveyor guidance will become active starting October 24, 2022. Among several other significant changes across ten different areas, the new CMS guidance specifically targets infection control. Under the infection control section, the following points stand out: - Facilities are now required to have at least one part-time Infection Preventionist (IP). - The IP must be physically present on-site and cannot act as an off-site consultant or operate from a different location. - The role of the IP is crucial for managing infectious diseases through an effective infection prevention and control program. - Specialized training for IPs is necessary and available. This means each location must have an Infection Preventionist working on-site part-time but enough to meet the needs of the facility. Furthermore, the Infection Preventionist must establish and maintain an "effective" infection prevention and control program. However, the criteria for determining the effectiveness of such a program remain vague. The revised CMS long-term care surveyor guidance might serve as a blueprint for on-site LTC Infection Preventionists regarding what inspectors will focus on to ensure compliance with CMS regulations. To help the Infection Preventionist develop and implement an effective infection prevention and control program, we’ve compiled some resources we believe could be beneficial: Here’s a collection of links from independent, non-governmental sources we think might prove useful: - [https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/ltc-infection-preventions-responsibilities-doubled-due-covid-19-pandemic](https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/ltc-infection-preventions-responsibilities-doubled-due-covid-19-pandemic) - [https://www.ahrq.gov/hai/quality/tools/cauti-ltc/modules/resources/guides/infection-prevent.html](https://www.ahrq.gov/hai/quality/tools/cauti-ltc/modules/resources/guides/infection-prevent.html) - [https://apic.org/resources/topic-specific-infection-prevention/long-term-care/](https://apic.org/resources/topic-specific-infection-prevention/long-term-care/) - [https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/long-term-care-impact-covid-19-first-look-comparative-cross-national-statistics-0](https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/long-term-care-impact-covid-19-first-look-comparative-cross-national-statistics-0) - [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7064182/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7064182/) Additionally, we’ve gathered some links to CDC articles you might find valuable: - [https://www.cdc.gov/longtermcare/staff/index.html](https://www.cdc.gov/longtermcare/staff/index.html) - [https://www.cdc.gov/longtermcare/prevention/index.html](https://www.cdc.gov/longtermcare/prevention/index.html) - [https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/nursing-home-long-term-care.html](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/nursing-home-long-term-care.html) - [https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/projectfirstline/index.html](https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/projectfirstline/index.html) Together, let's Outsmart Infection®. Sri Trang USA offers a complete range of Ventyv® brand disposable medical gloves. As a leading global glove manufacturer, we provide consistent, high-quality products to keep both wearers and patients safe. Ventyv products are helping prevent infections and save lives daily. Together, let's Outsmart Infection®. For more information on this topic and other infection control issues, we encourage you to subscribe to our blog. Read More

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