Not surprisingly, a recent study found that long-term care facility residents are among the populations at greatest risk of morbidity and mortality due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In May 2020, the CDC developed interim infection prevention and control (IPC) recommendations for healthcare personnel to prevent COVID-19, which included specific guidelines for LTCFs and an Infection Prevention and Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) Tool. Site visits were conducted at 24 LTCFs in Fulton County, Georgia that represented the vast majority (85%) of LTCF resident COVID-19 infections.
Thirty-three key indicators were evaluated from five IPC categories:
- Hand hygiene
- Disinfection
- Social distancing
- PPE
- Screening for symptoms and elevated temperature
PIC implementation was lowest in the Disinfection category (32%) and highest in the Symptom Screening category (74%). In the Hand Hygiene category, only 39% of LTCFs had hand sanitizer available in all essential locations. Efforts must be made to build, support, and monitor the capacity of LTCFs to protect the health and safety of residents through strict adherence to IPC recommendations. We know the drill, we live the life, so let’s do our part to change these statistics!
Stay the course, stay well, mask up, and stay tuned!