The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) has announced a new initiative to assist long-term care facilities (which includes skilled nursing facilities, personal care homes, assisted living residences, etc.) respond to COVID-19, recover, and improve resiliency.

This new initiative, the Long-Term Care Resiliency, Infrastructure Supports, and Empowerment (LTC RISE) is funded by a federal grant provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which began on January 1, 2022, replacing the Regional Congregate Care Assistance Teams (RCATs), whose contract expired December 1, 2021.

With LTC RISE, these long-term care facilities may take advantage of improvement project opportunities in the following areas:

• Implementing infection prevention and control and emergency preparedness best practices to enhance delivery of resident-centered care;
• Building a sustainable outbreak response operation construct that meets the facility’s needs; and
• Promoting professional development and a resilient long-term care facility workforce.

LTC RISE will continue to offer the following RCAT prevention and response support to LTC RISE-eligible facilities:

• A dedicated phone line with 24/7 access, including designated office hours for inquiries, consultations, and follow-up calls from long-term care facilities; and
• Consultation and technical assistance, assessment and feedback, training, and incident management coaching.

The LTC RISE program is a partnership among DOH, Department of Human Services (DHS), Pennsylvania Emergency Management Association (PEMA), and the following healthcare organizations that have established partnerships covering six regions across Pennsylvania to support preventive and emergent assistance for LTCFs:

• Penn Medicine, in partnership with Temple Health;
• The Pennsylvania State University;
• LECOM Health; and
• AMI Expeditionary Healthcare.