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From NADSP:
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From our partners at ANCOR:
The White House and CDC announced this past Friday, the beginning steps towards vaccine distribution for LTC settings. The program is available to ICFs and group homes per their response to my inquiry: “There is no size limit for facilities and groups homes for individuals with disabilities are included.”
Starting Monday, providers can sign up to enroll in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care Program. Through this program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has engaged CVS and Walgreens to secure the COVID-19 vaccine and provide on-site vaccination of residents in LTCF, at no cost to the facility.
Sign up should be done via the REDCap (redcap.link/LTCF) beginning on Monday, October 19. Nursing Homes will sign up via the NHSN portal.
Immunization with a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is a critical component of our Nation’s strategy to reduce COVID-19 related illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. Early in the COVID-19 vaccination program, there may be a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination efforts may focus on those critical to the response, providing direct care, and those at highest risk for developing severe illness from COVID-19. This includes long-term care facility (LTCF) residents (i.e., nursing home, assisted living facility, and independent living facility residents). When vaccine is available, it is important that LTCFs recognize that these vaccines will have requirements for storage, handling, administration, and reporting more stringent than seasonal influenza vaccine and other vaccines.
All LTCFs have an option to enroll in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care Program. Through this program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has engaged CVS and Walgreens to secure COVID-19 vaccine and provide on-site vaccination of residents in LTCF, at no cost to the facility. This program provides end-to-end management of the COVID-19 vaccination process, including cold chain management, on-site vaccinations, and fulfillment of reporting requirements, to facilitate safe and effective vaccination of this patient population, while reducing burden on facilities and jurisdictional health departments.
Starting October 19, 2020, LTCFs will be able to indicate how they would like to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination services.
When completing the form, facilities will need to indicate participation in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care Program and their preferred retail provider (CVS or Walgreens). If opting to not participate in the program, facilities must indicate their alternate plan for securing vaccine supply and vaccinating residents.
Sign Up will remain open for two weeks, this decision is not binding and can be changed during these two weeks. Once the forms close, a facility must coordinate directly with the selected pharmacy provider to change any requested vaccination supplies and services.
For questions specific to the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care Program, please contact eocevent494@cdc.gov.
From what I have read about the vaccines, they vary greatly in form and storage requirements, therefore, depending on which ones are approved and when, administration might not even be something we are able to handle in house.
Of note, when I signed up this morning, it did give an option for one to select their own pharmacy first and choose either CVS or Walgreens as a back-up.
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Catherine Thibedeau
Orono ME
207-866-3769 (103)
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The Statewide Provider Partnership meeting will be held on Thursday, October 22, 2020, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. This meeting is open to all employment service providers in Pennsylvania. Please see the agenda and the “Meeting Question and Comment Form,” which is an important document for you to use before, during, and after the meeting. Please take the time to review it, as it includes the specific areas we hope to discuss during the meeting, and it will be critical to ensure that your feedback and questions are received if we run out of time during the meeting. Consider preparing answers to the questions beforehand, and adding to it if necessary, during the meeting. We want to make sure everyone has a chance to provide input, either during the meeting or after!
Please feel free to email if you have any questions or concerns. Register for the meeting here.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) today reminded people needing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal history background checks as a condition of employment that the December 31 deadline to obtain this clearance is approaching, and strongly encouraged anyone needing this clearance to start the process now. Earlier this year, Governor Wolf signed Act 18 of 2020, which extends the time period for certain professions required by the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) to obtain an FBI background check upon hiring…”
In order to receive an FBI background check, fingerprints must be submitted as part of the criminal history check. Fingerprint scans can be taken at an IdentoGO location in the Commonwealth. A map of all open IdentoGO locations is available here, and this map is updated as new offices begin to reopen. Anyone seeking fingerprinting services should call IDEMIA’s customer service at 844-321-2101 to ensure the location is still operating, schedule an appointment, and discuss necessary COVID-19 safety precautions.
If employers have a large number of employees needing new or renewed clearances, arrangements can be made to have fingerprinting occur at the workplace. Mobile fingerprinting services are available for an additional fee through IDEMIA for groups of 20 or more needing clearances. Agencies with this need should contact IDEMIA to schedule.
Under Act 18 of 2020, individuals who are required to obtain an FBI background check were given additional time to meet this requirement because of closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension for new hires to obtain the FBI background check lasts until 60 days following the expiration of the disaster emergency declaration issued by Governor Wolf or December 31, 2020, whichever is sooner. Individuals seeking a renewal of the FBI Criminal History Background Check have until December 31, 2020 to obtain the check. All individuals required to obtain additional clearances, including the Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check and the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, must still obtain these clearances prior to employment. Both of these clearances can be obtained online.
Act 18 of 2020 applies to individuals who must get their FBI Criminal History Background Check prior to beginning employment as found in Section 6344 of the CPSL and those individuals required by Section 6344.4 of the CPSL that are due to have their fingerprint checks renewed. The law does not extend the fingerprinting and background check requirement for new volunteers under the CPSL, public school employees prior to employment, and others required to receive FBI background checks under different departments.
If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.
The Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting transcript from the October 7, 2020 meeting has been posted. The next MLTSS Subcommittee is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, 2020 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm and will be held via webcast. The information to participate is available below: