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Start thinking about the 2023 Disaster Planning Conference. Save this date. Or if you already know you are going to attend – Excellent! Register now to attend in person or virtual. We are happy to have you.
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On April 21, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved a new emergency temporary standard (ETS) for COVID-19.
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For hospitals, the past year of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the most frenetic, intense periods in health care in memory.
For other sectors – restaurants, tourism, and more – things slowed to a snail’s pace. This is also true of government, where state and federal legislators in 2020 processed a limited number of bills as they focused on the crisis and their communities.
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CDPH has issued All Facilities Letter 20-75, which sets thresholds for COVID-19 outbreaks in hospitals. Hospitals are required to report outbreaks and unusual infectious disease occurrences to their local health department and CDPH Licensing and Certification District Office. Under these definitions, acute care hospitals are to report an outbreak when they have:
In all counties: Two or more cases of confirmed COVID-19 in a patient seven or more days after admission for a non-COVID condition with epi-linkage. Epi-linkage among patients is defined as overlap on the same unit or ward for any duration or having the potential to have been cared for by common health care personnel within a 14-day time period of each other. In purple or red tier counties: Two or more cases of confirmed COVID-19 in health care personnel with epi-linkage who do not share a household and are not close contacts outside of the workplace. Epi-linkage among health care personnel is defined as having the potential to have been within six feet for 15 minutes or longer while working in the facility during the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms or a positive test. For example, the health care personnel worked on the same unit during the same shift. In orange or yellow tier counties: Three or more cases of confirmed COVID-19 in health care personnel with epi-linkage who do not share a household and are not close contacts outside of the workplace. The same definition of epi-linkage in the bullet above applies.
The state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy updates the color tiers and is searchable by county.
Long-term acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities are to report an outbreak to their local health department and CDPH District Office any time one or more residents has a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis 14 days or more after admission for a non-COVID condition, without an exposure during the previous 14 days to another setting where an outbreak was known or suspected to occur.
Additional thresholds for a facility should investigate and report to the local health department are provided for acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, and long-term care facilities.
Next CDPH Call for Health Care Facilities: Oct. 6, 8-9 a.m. (PT) Dial: (844) 721-7239 Passcode: 7993227
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On March 4, Congressional leaders reached a deal on an $8.3 billion spending package to combat the novel coronavirus. The Senate subsequently passed the measure, and the President has signed it.
The bill, H.R. 6074 (116), provides new discretionary spending to bolster vaccine development, research, equipment stockpiles, and state and local health budgets. Key components are:
$400 million will be sent to state and local governments within 30 days after the bill is enacted, with each state receiving at least $4 million. $490 million in mandatory spending by lifting constraints on Medicare payments for telehealth so beneficiaries can freely consult their doctors remotely — avoiding hospitals and physicians’ offices, where they might risk exposure to the virus $836 million to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for research and development of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics $10 million will be allocated to worker-based training to prevent and reduce exposure for hospital employees, emergency first responders, and other workers on the front lines. $3.1 billion to shore up medical supplies and supplement the Strategic National Stockpile, including:
$100 million for community health centers $826 million for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the development of coronavirus vaccines, treatments, and tests $2.2 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including $950 million to support the response efforts of state and local health agencies; about half of that must be allocated in the next 30 days. $61 million for the FDA for vaccines and other efforts to counter the virus, keeping up with shortages in medical products, and efforts to boost U.S. manufacturing of those items
$1.3 billion for the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development for aiding the global fight against the virus Raises the cap from $10 million to $100 million for emergency evacuations $20 million to the Small Business Administration to increase the number of loans for businesses affected by the outbreak $136 million to replace funds recently shifted from various health accounts, including mental health and substance abuse programs
CHA will continue to work with members of the California congressional delegation to respond to member hospitals’ needs.
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The President has declared a national emergency, which allows hospitals to submit requests for reimbursement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for certain funds.
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State Updates Testing Priority GuidanceOn Sept. 22, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released Updated COVID-19 Testing Guidance. It states that California’s testing capacity and turnaround time have improved. As a result, and until further notice, CDPH advises that all four tiers in the Testing Prioritization Guidance dated July 14 will have equal priority for...
The world has been so focused on COVID-19 that it seems summer, and wildfire season, snuck up on us. Responding to wildfires in the midst of a pandemic is another example of how important it is for health care personnel and communities to work together. Preparing and thinking outside the box when it comes to wildfires while dealing with a community spread pandemic helps improve our response.
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What should hospitals do if a local public health order contains a requirement that differs from state guidance?
First, read the local public health “order” very carefully. Many documents issued by public health officers (PHOs) are actually “advisories” or “guidance,” rather than orders that carry the force of law.
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CHA has recently received several requests for information about laws that require hospitals to notify first responders who may have been exposed to a communicable disease while caring for a patient. State law requires a hospital’s infection control officer to notify the employer of a prehospital care professional (emergency medical technician, paramedic, fire fighter, peace officer, and others) if a patient has a specified communicable disease that may have been transmitted to the first responder.
