Thursday, August 27, 2020, is the effective compliance date for the recent order from Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health requiring long-term care facilities to provide greater protection of staff and residents from COVID-19. By this date, nursing homes, personal care homes, assisted living residences, and private intermediate care facilities throughout the state are ordered to develop, implement, and adhere to policies and procedures to obtain and distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to staff providing direct care to COVID-19 residents.
The policies and procedures must, at a minimum, include the distribution of respirators, such as N95 masks, to staff providing direct patient care to residents who are or are suspected of being COVID-19 positive and to staff assigned to provide direct patient care in COVID-19 units.
The respirators distributed by each facility must be National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) approved respirators, or if those are not available, respirators approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including those approved through an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Respirators must be given to staff before the beginning of the staff member’s shift, and the respirator must be replaced as soon as practical if the facility is notified by a staff member that their mask has become soiled, damaged, or otherwise ineffective.
If a resident, family member, or staff member at a facility is concerned about the safety at a facility, an anonymous complaint can be filed with the state’s Department of Health (DOH) or DHS.
Compliance Perspective
Failure by long-term care facilities to implement current guidelines from their state DOH, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for providing effective PPE that includes N95 masks for staff caring for residents with COVID-19 or who are suspected of having the virus may result in the spread of the Coronavirus to both staff and residents, placing them in immediate jeopardy, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures required by both state and federal regulations for protecting staff and residents against the spread of COVID-19, including the procurement of sufficient numbers of N95 masks.
- Train staff regarding the proper use and disposal of PPE and N95 masks when providing direct care to COVID-19 infected residents and residents suspected of being infected. Educate staff about how to file complaints regarding safety concerns either with their supervisor, through the facility’s Hotline, or directly to the state’s DOH or DHS.
- Periodically audit to ensure that the facility has implemented state and federal required policies and procedures, and that staff are equipped and trained on the proper use and disposal of PPE.
