COVID19 UNPREPARED OUTBREAK-Possible Solutions And Preventions

Novel Coronavirus: Long-Term Care Facilities (Including Assisted Living, Nursing Homes, Independent Living, etc.)  

● Sick employees must stay home when sick. Ensure that sick leave policies are flexible and consistent with public health guidance and that employees are aware of these policies. ● When possible, employees should wear a mask when working with patients. ● Restrictions and social distancing:

– Discontinue communal dining and group activities. 

– Restrict all visitation except for certain compassionate care situations, such as end of life situations or hospice. 

– Restrict volunteers and non-essential healthcare personnel.

 – Implement active screening of residents and restrict residents with fever and/or acute respiratory symptoms to their room. 

♦ If resident must leave room, have them wear a mask.

 – Consistent or cohorts of staff, in which staff are assigned to the same unit or hallway. 

♦ Identify dedicated employees to care for COVID-19 patients. 

– Provide enhanced Infection Control training to all staff. 

● Encourage employees and residents to:
 – Ensure employees clean their hands according to CDC guidelines. 
– Encourage residents to wash their hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
 – Cover their nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze then throw the tissue in the trash.
 – Make sure tissues are available and sinks are well-stocked with soap and paper towels.

● Screen visitors at entry to facility especially when community wide transmission. 

– Implement isolation strategies immediately and communicate with internal staff to implement isolation procedures (nursing, sides, PT/OT, dietary, housekeepers, etc.).
● Plan for employee absenteeism. – Have a plan to bring in temporary staff if insufficient staff due to illness like a staffing agency. – Develop staff policies to allow and account for potential absenteeism during community wide outbreaks.
● Prevent introduction of illness from visitors and staff. – Create a policy and enforce that health care providers who are sick should not return to work until cleared to do so. Additional guidance is forthcoming. – Consider a policy requesting or requiring that staff and visitors wear a mask with mild respiratory symptoms without fever.

 ● Frequent environmental cleaning (to prevent COVID-19 to gain entry into facility). – Frequent daily cleaning with an EPA- registered, hospital grade disinfectant. – Frequent cleaning of high touch surfaces to decrease environmental contaminations.
● Plan and prepare for PPE supply disruptions. – Monitor supply levels. – Anticipate orders will take additional time to be filled. – Bundle care in rooms where PPE is indicated to eliminate waste of PPE. – Do not attempt to horde or stockpile PPE. – Do not attempt to reuse PPE unless indicated by national guidance.

PROTECT YOURSELF 

Stay informed and up to date with your local news for COVID-19 updates. Take everyday actions before, during, and after the event to protect yourself and others: 

… Stay home when sick. 

… Avoid crowds and people who are sick.

 … Delay all travel, including plane trips, and especially avoid going on any type of cruise. 

… Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of your elbow. Then wash your hands. 

… Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. 

… Clean your hands often. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. If you don’t have soap and water, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. 

… Clean and then disinfect surfaces and things you touch often, such as tables, chairs, doorknobs, light switches, elevator buttons, handrails, countertops, remote controls, shared electronic equipment, shared exercise equipment, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks. 

… Keep your homes cleaned and disinfected by following these instructions.

GET READY IN CASE YOU GET COVID-19 

Use your plan 

… Watch for symptoms and emergency warning signs: 

» Symptoms include, fever, cough, and trouble breathing. » If you feel like you are developing symptoms, call your doctor first. Tell them that you think you might have COVID-19. This will help them take care of you and protect others.

 » If you are not sick enough to be hospitalized, you can recover at home. Follow your doctor’s orders and CDC tips for how to take care of yourself at home. 

» Keep your friends and family up to date on your health. Let them know if you need anything. You should not leave your house when you are sick. 

… Know when to get emergency help 

» If you get worsening symptoms, call 911 right away: 

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath 

• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest 

• New confusion or inability to arouse 

• Bluish lips or face 

• *This list is does not include everything. 

Please call your doctor or 911 for any other symptom that is severe or concerning

CAREGIVERS, GET READY 

Community Organizations 

… Community preparedness planning for COVID-19 should include older adults and people with chronic illness and disabilities, and the organizations that support them in their communities, to ensure their needs are taken into consideration. Assisted-living facilities, long-term care facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and independent living facilities 

… Be vigilant to prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19. Screen staff and visitors for symptoms of COVID-19, cough, fever, or difficulty breathing. 

» Information for retirement communities and independent living facilities

 » Information for information on long-term care facilities 

… Identify alternatives, such as telehealth, to ensure residents continue to receive care in the event regular services are disrupted. 

… Identify individuals who may have unique medical, access, and functional needs. Work with them to develop a plan if they or their caretakers become ill. 

… Plan for the possibility that usual services may be disrupted. 

This includes services provided by hospitals and other healthcare facilities, banks, stores, restaurants, government offices, and the post office.

Family and Caregivers 

… Continue to take everyday steps to stay health: wash hands often, avoid touching your face, avoid sick people and crowds, and disinfect surfaces.

 … Have a COVID-19 plan for yourself. Review your loved ones’ COVID-19 plan 

… Know what medications 

 your loved one is taking and see if you can help them get extra on hand. 

… Monitor food and other medical supplies (oxygen, incontinence, dialysis, wound care) needed. Create a back-up plan. 

… Stock up on food pantry items to have on hand in your home to minimize store trips. 

… If you care for a loved one living in a facility, monitor the situation, ask about the health of the other residents frequently, and know the protocol if there is an outbreak. 

… Find out if your loved one’s medical providers have a formal “telehealth” system, and if not, ask if they can still communicate by telephone (instead of visits) in case there are interruptions to regular services.

New research shows that assessing blood pressure can be done by fingertip pulse oximeters, a tool not generally used for that purpose.

University of British Columbia (UBC), USA, conducted research showing that quick and easy blood pressure monitoring could soon be at your fingertips with the use of pulse oximeters, so assessing blood pressure could now be taking a turn in providing medical assistance.

What do you know about pulse oximeters?

Lead researcher Mohamed Elgendi, an adjunct professor of electrical and computer engineering at UBC explains: “We found that the oximeter, which clips on to a finger or toe to measure heart rate and the amount of oxygen in the blood, can detect normal, elevated or high blood pressure with up to 95% accuracy.”

“This suggests that it can, with a few tweaks, do double duty as a BP monitor in the future.”

Hypertension or high blood pressure is linked to 1,100 deaths each day in the USA alone, therefore it is vital to regularly monitor people at risk. Such conditions could also lead to poor blood flow, heart disease and even strokes. The challenge however, has been that current methods of assessing blood pressure has limitations.

“While the inflatable cuff is easy to use, its accuracy depends on its placement on the arm and the observer’s skill.” adds Elgendi.

“Another technique, intra-arterial blood pressure measurement, is highly accurate but invasive, requiring the doctor to insert a needle into an artery.”

                 COVID-19 Healthcare Planning Checklist

Planning for a potential emerging infectious disease pandemic, like COVID-19, is critical to protecting the health and welfare of our nation. To assist state, local, tribal, and territorial partners in their planning efforts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response has developed the following checklist. It identifies specific activities your jurisdiction can do now to prepare for, respond to, and be resilient in the face of COVID-19. Many of the activities in this checklist are specific for COVID-19, however many, pertain to any public health emergency. This checklist is adapted from a variety of HHS Pandemic Influenza Pandemic Planning resources. It is not intended to set forth mandatory requirements by the Federal government. Each jurisdiction should determine for itself whether it is adequately prepared for disease outbreaks in accordance with its own laws and authorities. We strongly encourage continued review of HHS’ Centers for Disease Control (CDC) COVID-19 guidance which is available on their website for the most current information.