Category: Gero Nurse Prep

Visit the AHCA/NCAL Gero Nurse Prep booth at Delivering Solutions 24.

We are exhibiting at the AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo, October 6-9, 2024, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando FL. Come visit us at booth #623 and find out how Gero Nurse Prep can help you demonstrate gerontological nursing competency. Want to know more now? Visit our website at https://www.geronurseprep.com/

RSV: Why It’s Different and Why It Matters for Long Term Care

The Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a respiratory virus that impacts long term care residents each year. RSV is more common during the fall and winter months, similar to influenza (flu).
RSV Impact 
Each year, it is estimated that between 60,000 and 160,000 older adults in the United States are hospitalized, and 6,000 to 10,000 die due to RSV infection. Similar to the flu and COVID-19, RSV is more dangerous for older adults due to their age, weakened immune systems, and other underlying health conditions. RSV can lead to lung infections, pneumonia, and worsening of other conditions such as asthma, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
RSV Vaccine 
In May of 2023, the first vaccine for RSV was introduced in the United States. The CDC recommends was introduced in the United States. The CDC recommends the RSV vaccine if you are aged 75 or older, or if you are aged 60 to 74 and have a risk factor for severe RSV disease, including living in a long term care facility. The RSV vaccine is not currently an annual vaccine, meaning if you received the RSV vaccine last year, you do not need to get it again this year.
Eligible adults can get an RSV vaccine at any time, but the best time to get vaccinated is in late summer and early fall. This timing ensures you’re protected by the time RSV starts to spread in your community and ensures you get maximum protection during the winter months.
Symptoms of RSV 
According to the CDC, people infected with RSV usually show symptoms within 4 to 6 days after getting infected. Symptoms of RSV infection usually include a runny nose, decrease in appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever, and wheezing. These symptoms usually appear in stages and not all at once.
Diagnosis and Treatment 
Unlike flu or COVID-19, antiviral treatment is not recommended for RSV. This is one of the reasons that getting vaccinated is so important in reducing the severity of an RSV infection.
Since antiviral treatment is not available, many providers do not test patients for RSV. However, molecular and antigen diagnostic tests do exist. The CDC recommends that providers consider testing for RSV when residents with acute respiratory illness test negative for both influenza and COVID-19.
Infection Control Practices 
When residents have any symptoms, facilities should refer to CDC’s Infection Control Basics and apply Transmission Based Precautions.
The bottom line is that RSV poses a threat to long term care residents, and its symptoms are similar to those of COVID-19 and flu. The most important thing providers can do is encourage vaccination among residents for RSV and follow CDC guidance in preventing and managing outbreaks in the facility. The CDC viral respiratory pathogens toolkit is a great resource for handling all three common respiratory viruses.
Visit GetVaccinated.us for additional resources to help prepare for the upcoming respiratory virus season.
HHS has also launched a new campaign to educate the public on the importance of vaccination. The Risk Less, Do More campaign has resources to help providers discuss vaccines and prevention with staff and residents.

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Distinguish Quality Measure Exclusions from Clinical Standards in Long Term Care

​In the long term care profession, understanding the differences between Quality Measure (QM) exclusions outlined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and clinical standards of practice can be challenging.

Read more by going to https://www.providermagazine.com/Articles/Pages/Distinguish-Quality-Measure-Exclusions-from-Clinical-Standards-in-Long-Term-Care.aspx

Survey Tip: Transfer and Discharge Pt. 2

A new survey tip has been posted to the AHCA Survey Regulatory page​ for your review. In the Survey Tip section, on the Survey Regulatory page, you will find tips related to recently noted survey trends. In the latest survey tip​, you will find information about regulations for transfer and discharge of residents. The tip sheet provides tips regarding F625- Notice of bed-hold policy and return.

For more tips related to transfer and discharge, please visit the Discharges- Making the Safest Transition for Your Residents webinar on ahcancalED. Email any questions regarding survey prep to regulatory@ahca.org.

Health Care’s Value Revolution Focusing on Quality Over Quantity

Provider financial returns have long been driven by the quantity of services provided, not the outcomes that were achieved. However, as we journey deeper into the 21st century, it’s becoming clear that this volume-driven approach is no longer sustainable, nor beneficial to patients.

https://www.providermagazine.com/Articles/Pages/Health-Care%E2%80%99s-Value-Revolution-Focusing-on-Quality-Over-Quantity.aspx

Survey Tip – Transfer and Discharge

A new survey tip has been posted to the AHCA Survey Regulatory page for your review. In the Survey Tip section on the Survey Regulatory page, you will find tips related to recently noted survey trends. In the latest survey tip, you will find information about regulations for the transfer and discharge of residents. The tip sheet provides tips regarding F623, Notice Before Transfer.
For more tips related to transfer and discharge, please visit the “Discharges – Making the Safest Transition for Your Residents” webinar on ahcancalED​. Email any questions regarding survey prep to regulatory@ahca.org.

Are Robots the Solution to Senior Care Staffing Shortages?

The challenges we face as senior care executives are as multifaceted as they are pressing. Among the most formidable is the persistent staffing shortage that plagues our industry.

While the worst staffing shortages occurred during the pandemic, its reverberations continue to ripple through our operations. COVID-19 laid bare the vulnerabilities inherent in our current model of senior care staffing, exposing the precarious balance upon which our ability to deliver essential services rests. The sudden onset of the pandemic exacerbated an already tenuous situation, with many health care workers forced to grapple with increased workloads, heightened health risks, and unprecedented levels of stress and burnout. Even today, 94 percent of senior care facilities find recruitment difficult, with 67 percent reporting it’s due to a lack of interested or qualified candidates.

Read more at https://www.providermagazine.com/Articles/Pages/Are-Robots-the-Solution-to-Senior-Care-Staffing-Shortages.aspx

Don’t Let Popcorn Affect Your Next Life Safety Survey

The only thing better than eating fresh popcorn is enjoying the mesmerizing entertainment it provides during the explosive transformation of the kernels.  How that transformation occurs, however, can have an impact on life safety compliance and subsequently your survey results.

Find the full article at https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/Don%E2%80%99t-Let-Popcorn-Affect-Your-Next-Life-Safety-Survey.aspx

CDC Releases Vaccine Recommendations for This Fall/Winter

Even though summer is in full swing, it’s time to start looking towards our fall vaccination efforts. Last week, the Centers for Disease Prevention & Control (CDC) released updated recommendations for COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines.
Updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendation
CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine for the 2024-2025 Fall/Winter Respiratory Virus Season. This is regardless of whether or not they have ever previously been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine. Updated COVID-19 vaccines will be available from Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer later this year. This recommendation will take effect as soon as the new vaccines are available.
 
Updated 2024-2025 Flu Vaccine Recommendation 
CDC recommends everyone 6 months of age and older, with rare exceptions, receive an updated 2024-2025 flu vaccine also for the 2024-2025 Fall/Winter Respiratory Virus Season. September and October remain the best times for most people to get vaccinated. For adults (especially those 65 years old and older) and pregnant people in the first and second trimester, vaccination in July and August should be avoided unless it won’t be possible to vaccinate in September or October.
Simplified RSV Vaccine Guidance for Seniors   
For this upcoming respiratory virus season, CDC has modified their recommendation for the RSV vaccine for seniors, specifically suggesting that:
  • Everyone ages 75 and older receive the RSV vaccine.
  • People ages 60–74 who are at increased risk of severe RSV, meaning they have certain chronic medical conditions, such as lung or heart disease, or they live in nursing homes, receive the RSV vaccine.
This recommendation is only for adults who did not receive the RSV vaccine last year as the RSV vaccine is not an annual vaccine.
Providers should contact their pharmacies and begin the process of ordering vaccines for the upcoming season. Providers should also check out the resources on the AHCA/NCAL #GetVaccinated website​ for resources on navigating the reimbursement and administrative requirements as well as resources to help improve vaccine uptake.

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