03/05/2020

PRESS RELEASE: White House Directs Survey Agencies to Support Nursing Homes in COVID-19 Prevention

For Immediate Release:
March 5, 2020

Media Contact:
Patrick Schwartz
330.933.9825

 White House Directs Survey Agencies to
Support Nursing Homes in COVID-19 Prevention

COLUMBUS - Yesterday the White House announced changes to nursing home survey practices in response to the mounting threat of COVID-19, known as the coronavirus. The Trump Administration has expressed its desire for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) surveyors to prioritize infection control in the wake of increasing numbers of Americans suffering from the disease.

The White House Coronavirus Task Force announced the change in focus at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. Vice President Pence and members on the task force elaborated on the need for this shift in focus, which was covered in detail in a memo released by CMS. 

“We are pleased that CMS has directed these important resources to support nursing homes on the frontline of care,” said Kathryn Brod, President/CEO of LeadingAge Ohio. “While no cases of COVID-19 have yet been confirmed in Ohio, nursing homes care for those who are most at risk of being affected, and deserve the partnership and support that yesterday’s announcement implies.”

According to the CMS memo:

“CMS is committed to taking critical steps to ensure America’s health care facilities and clinical laboratories are prepared to respond to the threat of the COVID-19 and other respiratory illness. Specifically, CMS is suspending non-emergency inspections across the country, allowing inspectors to turn their focus on the most serious health and safety threats like infectious diseases and abuse. This shift in approach will also allow inspectors to focus on addressing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). CMS is issuing this memorandum to State Survey Agencies to provide important guidelines for the inspection process in situations in which a COVID-19 is suspected.”

The announcement references guidance being provided to state survey agencies to change their approach to surveying nursing homes, including: limiting standard and complaint surveys; focusing efforts on nursing facilities that have had previous citations related to infection control; and continuing to focus on the most serious complaints and allegations of abuse and neglect.

“We will be focusing all of our state agency resources that are involved in inspecting nursing homes and other healthcare facilities to focus on infection control practices,” stated Seema Verma, Administrator for CMS.  “Healthcare providers are going to play a very critical role in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, and CMS has a unique role in holding healthcare providers accountable for maintaining these essential health and safety standards.”

She went on to note other plans, including:

• Issuing a call to action to hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis providers, and all healthcare facilities to review their infection control and emergency preparedness procedures;
• Reissuing some guidance around infection control, transfers between nursing homes and hospitals, and encouraging and requiring providers to consult with local healthcare officials;
• Issuing guidance around screening visitors and healthcare workers; and
• Issuing guidance to state surveyors that provides information on the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocols that they must follow when inspecting these facilities with suspected cases of respiratory illness, including coordinating with the CDC, CMS, and local healthcare officials.

LeadingAge Ohio has already been in conversation with the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) regarding how this will be enacted in Ohio. In addition to nursing homes, LeadingAge Ohio urges policymakers to address the needs of older adults living in other congregate and community-based settings.

This announcement comes on the heels of multiple deaths at a Seattle, Washington nursing home. The deaths are blamed on COVID-19. Governor Mike DeWine’s administration is taking steps to limit the spread of the disease to Ohio, including barring spectators from attending the Arnold Classic Sports Festival, which regularly draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from over 80 countries.

Founded in 1937, LeadingAge Ohio is a nonprofit organization that represents over 400 long-term care organizations and hospices, as well as those providing ancillary health care and housing services, in more than 150 Ohio towns and cities. The continuum of care reflected by the member organizations serve an estimated 400,000 elderly Ohioans daily and employ more than 35,000 persons statewide.

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