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November 19, 2020
This report from the Missouri Hospital Association is designed to help you stay abreast of recent developments related to COVID-19.
Share our online form with individuals interested in receiving this update.
Government Action
Clinical Guidance
Education
Noteworthy
PPE & Supply
Testing, Reporting & Treatment
Vaccine Updates |
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The effective reproductive rate, represents the effective transmission rate for COVID-19. Ideally, the Re should be less than 1. Click the Re rate above or visit our website to view the weekly regional dashboards and learn more.
Source: Washington University Institute for Public Health |
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Government Action
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Gov. Parson Extends State Of Emergency
Staff Contact: Jane Drummond
Today, Gov. Parson extended his declared emergency through March 31, 2021. The extension allows the state’s Emergency Operations Plan to remain activated and continues waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements to assist health care providers in responding to the COVID-19 crisis.
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HHS Updates CARES Act Relief Fund Reporting Requirement FAQs
Staff Contact: Andrew Wheeler
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued new and revised CARES Act relief payment reporting requirement FAQs. HHS added three additional questions dated Nov. 18. The FAQs update the reporting of net patient revenues from years prior to 2019 and clarify capital equipment purchase qualifying expenses.
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Clinical Guidance
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CMS Urges Nursing Homes To Follow COVID-19 Guidelines During The Holidays
Staff Contact: Sarah Willson
In advance of the holiday season, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is urging nursing home staff, residents and visitors to follow established COVID-19 guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus. Guidelines include remaining six feet apart, wearing a face covering and limiting the number of visitors. CMS says, “Extra precautions taken now will help to ensure that our loved ones stay healthy and safe for the short amount of time remaining until a safe and effective vaccine becomes available.”
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Education
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CDC Hosts COCA Call On Telehealth And Health Equities
Staff Contact: Keri Barclay
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is hosting a Clinical Outreach and Communication Activity, “The Impact of Telehealth on Health Equity from the Perspective of Large Healthcare Systems during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” at 1 p.m. CST Tuesday, Dec. 8. Discussion will focus on the challenges and opportunities related to telehealth implementation. Presenters will discuss how telehealth has affected health equity in their patient populations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, strategies to expand access that can reduce disparities and improve culturally responsive care to help achieve health equity within each organization will be shared. Call details are available on the event web page.
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ASPR Produces Lessons Learned Speaker Series
Staff Contact: Kara Amann-Kale or Keri Barclay
The Assistant Secretary For Preparedness and Response produced a speaker series that highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic brought health care, public health, emergency medical services and emergency management together to adjust health care operations. Eric Alberts, corporate director of emergency preparedness at Orlando Health, Inc., explains lessons learned by Orlando Health during the pandemic, including the role of safety officers, internal communications, adding negative air flow rooms and redeploying staff.
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ACHE Publishes Webinar On Leveraging APPs To Create Innovative Responses
Staff Contact: Jill Williams
The American College of Healthcare Executives released a recording from their recent webinar, “Making the Shift: Strategies for Leading and Deploying Advanced Practice Providers in Times of Crisis,” which examines how advanced practice providers can be used to meet a wide variety of health care needs during a crisis. Based on a new white paper, the webinar identifies strategic leadership approaches for APPs to promote patient safety, explores the variety of roles APPs can play across settings and examines common challenges APPs can address in hospital systems.
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Noteworthy
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CMH Offers Virtual Options And COVID-19 Dedicated Services
Staff Contact: Andrew Wheeler
In February, virtual care options expanded at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar, Mo., with the addition of virtual visits and telemedicine appointments. Using virtual tools, CMH created an opportunity to keep patients and health care professionals safe. The program provides options for patients to see their primary and specialty care physicians, and midlevel and behavioral health providers online through the CMH patient portal. Since the beginning of the pandemic, CMH has exceeded 10,000 virtual clinic visits and continues to provide ongoing virtual care.
In response to ongoing patient and community needs, CMH opened a COVID-19 hotline and created a COVID-19 drive-thru testing site in March. The hotline is for nonemergency calls and is a central location for patients and residents with COVID-19 symptoms to have questions answered or to schedule virtual visits. The drive-thru testing site is open Monday through Saturday and tests patients with COVID-19 symptoms with a doctor’s order. Patients receive their test results in one to three business days.
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PPE & Supply
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HRWG Provides PPE Preservation Strategies And Resource Request Process Guide
Staff Contact: Stacie Hollis
The Healthcare Resilience Working Group published a guide on personal protective equipment preservation strategies and resource request processes. This is a concise stepwise guide for health care facilities and first responder organizations to plan and implement PPE preservation strategies, including information on ways to obtain new PPE supplies.
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Testing, Reporting & Treatment
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FDA Authorizes First COVID-19 Test For Self-Testing At Home
Staff Contact: Keri Barclay
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the first COVID-19 diagnostic test for self-testing at home and that provides rapid results. The Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit is a single-use test that is intended to detect the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. The test kit has been authorized for home use with self-collected nasal swab samples in individuals ages 14 and older who are suspected of having COVID-19 by their health care provider. It also is authorized for use in point-of-care settings, such as doctor’s offices, hospitals, urgent care centers and emergency rooms, for all ages but samples must be collected by a health care provider when the test is used at the POC to test individuals younger than 14 years old. The test currently is authorized for prescription use only.
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FDA Updates Guidance On Convalescent Plasma
Staff Contact: Leslie Porth
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its guidance on investigational COVID-19 convalescent plasma to extend the period of enforcement discretion through the end of February 2021. This will allow continued access to convalescent plasma for the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The guidance also recommends convalescent plasma not be collected from individuals who have received an investigational COVID-19 vaccine.
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Vaccine Updates
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COVID-19 Vaccine Updates And Resources Available To MHA Members
Staff Contact: Jackie Gatz or Meghan Henderson
Yesterday, MHA convened a COVID-19 vaccine update that included state leadership to provide information about this rapidly evolving situation. Weekly meetings with leadership from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Bureau of Immunizations will occur and be available to MHA members. All hospitals that are interested in serving as vaccinators during any phase of vaccine administration, regardless of cold storage capacity, should register in the ShowMeVax program as soon as possible. A training, hosted by MHA, on the SMV system currently is available to MHA members to support this process.
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State Of Missouri COVID-19 Vaccine Website Now Available
Staff Contact: Mary Becker
The official COVID-19 vaccine website for Missouri – MOStopsCOVID.com – now is available for the most up-to-date information on facts regarding the vaccine for residents and vaccinators. The site was developed with input from diverse perspectives to ensure it presents the facts for all audiences.
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Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Shows 94.5% Efficacy
Staff Contact: Jackie Gatz or Meghan Henderson
Moderna, Inc. announced that its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against COVID-19 is 94.5% effective, according to early data. The candidate currently is subject to a phase 3 clinical trial, with 30,000 U.S. participants enrolled, including those at high risk of severe COVID-19 complications. The Moderna announcement follows similar claims of effectiveness by a vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, with a prominent difference between the two vaccines. While the Pfizer candidate must be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius, Moderna’s is stable between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius — the temperature of standard refrigerators — for up to 30 days. The U.S. already has purchased 100 million doses, pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
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APHA, NAM Host Vaccine Webinar
Staff Contact: Leslie Porth or Jackie Gatz
The American Public Health Association and the National Academy of Medicine held their 15th webinar to discuss the path to a COVID-19 vaccine, including steps forward in the development and allocation of vaccines. This webinar series, “Responding to COVID-19: A Science-Based Approach,” explores the state of the science surrounding the current outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. and globally, with a focus on the emerging evidence on how to best mitigate its impact. Hear from trusted experts in such fields as public health, infectious disease, risk communication and crisis standards of care.
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