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DOH

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Please help the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Family Health find out what is needed to support transition age youth with special health care needs/disabilities. The Bureau is working with PEAL to outreach to families and will be asking questions about transition planning, bullying, safe relationships, and reproductive health and sexuality.

A $25 Gift Card will be provided per family. We are looking for young adults (12–21) to participate by themselves and also for young adults to participate with their family member to support communication. You can view the flyer for more details here.

Registration for Youth Only
If you are younger than 18, please ask your parent/guardian to register with you.
REGISTER

Registration for Youth Attending with Parent/Family Caregiver
REGISTER

You will need to fill out a form to receive your $25 gift card. If you are ages 12–17 and participating alone in the focus group, you will need parent signatures to receive a gift card and a release form to participate. The links to complete the forms below. Please save and send to Mary Hartley, whose contact information is also below.

If you need any accommodations, support, or have questions, please contact Mary Hartley via email or call (412) 281-4404, ext. 208. We are happy to help!

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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.

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Photo by Jakayla Toney on Unsplash

COVID-19 testing is an essential activity that increases safety for congregate care settings as part of a comprehensive mitigation strategy. Two resources are now available for providers and facilities.

Operation Expanded Testing (OpET) is a federal testing resource that may be useful to your organization. Please see the presentation slides for more detailed information. Providers wishing to use OpET as a resource should coordinate directly with Eurofins.

OpET At A Glance

  • No contract is needed for participation in OpET.
  • No charge. OpET is 100% funded through the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
  • No exclusivity. The organization can end testing at any time for any reason.
  • All supplies are sent to testing location two weeks in advance at no charge.
  • All training is supplied at no charge.
  • No charge for courier services; Eurofins will coordinate specimen pickup and supply delivery.
  • No waiting to get another sample. Auto retesting (reflex) if PCR pooled group is found to be positive.
  • No cost rapid testing. When used in conjunction with PCR pooled testing program, antigen testing is available for program options.
  • 24-hour results turnaround (TAT) for PCR testing.
  • Reporting is fully automated and HIPAA compliant using Concentric by Ginkgo.
  • Testing flexibility — facility can determine their own testing frequency, with specific PCR pooled groups of 5–24 samples at a time.
  • Staff can participate in the OpET program.

If you wish to enroll or have questions related to Operation Expanded Testing, please contact Eurofins via email or call 833-742-0862. Questions related to this communication should be directed virtually here.

In addition, due to the recent surge in COVID-19, the Bureau of Human Services Licensing (BHSL) has been receiving a large number of requests for testing support. If your facility needs testing due to an active outbreak or to prepare for an outbreak, please contact the Dept. of Health via email for questions about LTC testing assistance and/or to get access to testing support and resources. You can also complete and submit the “Universal Testing Needs Assessment Form.” If eligible, someone will contact you for scheduling.

If you are a facility requesting additional Abbott BinaxNOW cards, please email with the amount of tests requested and your shipping information. Note that your facility must have a CLIA certification to perform rapid COVID antigen testing to be eligible for the BinaxNOW cards.

Please contact the Dept. of Health for any additional information on testing.

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A Message from Kevin Dressler:

Health Alert Updates

Please see the three Health Alert Network (HAN) updates from the Department of Health regarding treatment for COVID positive people, as well as work restrictions for exposure and return to work guidance. These HANs have been updated over the past two weeks, can be of assistance in updating your COVID response plans, and have components built into them to assist in mitigating staff shortages.

You can also find information at the DOH HAN website.

Department of Health Division of ICF

I would like to announce to the group and welcome Susan DiFuccia as Acting Chief of the Division of ICF. She replaces Orlando Hernandez, whom recently retired after an honorable career in the DOH Division of ICF. Susan has been the Supervisor for the Jackson Center and Pittsburgh DOH survey teams for many years as well as a respected member of the DOH Division of ICF, whom will thrive in her new role.

ICF Taskforce Meeting

The next ICF Taskforce Meeting will be held on February 24, 2022, from 1:00 pm–3:00 pm. A link to the meeting will be forthcoming. If you have any specific topics, please send them to me for possible inclusion in the meeting agenda.

6600 Regulations Update

The 6600 regulations update will be shared for public comment in the coming weeks. Please look for them and provided comments as designated in the announcement. There will also be an opportunity to discuss the regulations at the next ICF Taskforce Meeting.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is sending out this reminder to get immunized against the flu. The current flu season is underway and can last until May 2022. While influenza activity is still low overall nationally, an increase in influenza A (H3N2) viruses has been detected in recent weeks nationally and in Pennsylvania.

It was recently reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) that 80% of flu cases so far this year have been in children and young adults with the H3N2 influenza virus. This virus has been associated with a more severe flu season in the past for individuals age 65 and older and young children.

A flu shot will help protect you against the flu viruses that are circulating. This season, flu shots (quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine [IIV4], recombinant influenza vaccine [RIV4]) and the nasal spray (live attenuated influenza vaccine [LAIV4]) are available.

Read the full Alert here.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Health, in partnership with the Northwestern Pennsylvania Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Coalition and the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative, have created the NAS Family Guide Toolkit to help educate families and individuals about NAS, treatment options, and other supports. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a group of withdrawal symptoms in newborns that show up after being exposed to medications or substances, most often opioids, benzodiazepines, and/or barbiturates, during pregnancy.

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The Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Advisory Board, established under section 1252 of the Federal Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C.A. § 300d-52), will hold a virtual public meeting on Friday, November 5, 2021. Due to health concerns related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the virtual public meeting will be conducted by means of Microsoft Teams from 10:00 am–3:00 pm.

Meeting materials will be sent out before the virtual public meeting and will also be available on the TBI Advisory’s website.

To join the Microsoft Teams meeting, dial: (267) 332-8737. The conference ID is 594 546 760#.

The Department of Health’s (DOH) Head Injury Program (HIP) strives to ensure that eligible individuals who have a traumatic brain injury receive high quality rehabilitative services aimed at reducing functional limitations and improving quality of life. The TBI Advisory Board assists the Department in understanding and meeting the needs of persons living with traumatic brain injury and their families. This quarterly virtual public meeting will provide updates on a variety of topics, including the number of people served by HIP. In addition, meeting participants will discuss budgetary and programmatic issues, community programs relating to traumatic brain injury, and available advocacy opportunities.

For additional information, or for persons with a disability who wish to attend the virtual public meeting and require an auxiliary aid, service, or other accommodation to do so, contact Nicole Johnson, Division of Community Systems Development and Outreach at (717) 772-2763, or for speech and/or hearing-impaired persons, contact V/TT (717) 783-6514 or the Pennsylvania Hamilton Relay Services at (800) 654-5984.

Questions about the meeting should be directed to Nicole Johnson.

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